A former top cop has labeled Ballarat’s ongoing graffiti problem as one of the worst in regional Victoria.
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Former chief inspector Bob Barby believes the acts of vandalism are a scourge on the city and said the situation hasn’t improved since his calls late last year for leaders from Ballarat City Council, Victoria Police, the legal system and the Department of Justice to unite and clean up the graffiti mess.
“I have just traveled up the east coast of Australia and you’d have to look very hard to find graffiti in some towns. That’s not a very good situation for Ballarat,” Mr Barby said.
“I travel a lot and see what is going on. Ballarat has a very serious problem with graffiti and personally I don’t think there is enough effort going in to fixing it.”
Mr Barby said he understands the difficulties associated with policing the crime, but he urged everyone in the community to be vigilant when it comes to the issue.
He has encouraged the community to “dob in” offenders, even using mobile phones as a form of CCTV.
“It is a very difficult problem to police because the resources that have got to go into catching the people responsible aren’t always there,” he said.
“Especially when you have the ice problem in the city at the moment that is causing personal damage to our community and to the individuals themselves, whereas graffiti isn’t as much. I guess the priorities are elsewhere.”
Some of the Ballarat hotspots Mr Barby has identified include businesses in the Bridge Mall, Peel Street near the Eastern Oval, properties in Hopetoun Street and the old Ballarat Orphanage in Victoria Street.
“They are some of the main spots, but it is wide-spread,” Mr Barby said.
Mr Barby said graffiti on a number of buildings at town entrances such as Victoria Street are extremely off putting, particularly for visitors to the region.
“It is an embarrassment, an absolute disgrace, that the entrance of Ballarat you have the old orphanage and other buildings and signs covered in that,” he said.
“Private owners and businesses in this city need to get their act together to clean up the mess that is on their properties.”
The Andrews Government announced earlier this week that councils could apply for grants of up to $25,000 to deter vandals through a specific graffiti prevention program.
Under the program, councils and community groups working together can receive sizable grants for projects that prevent the vandalism.
Mr Barby encouraged Ballarat City Council to seriously consider applying for the funding.
“To have skilled people with properly displayed vehicles visit businesses and come up with good results, that’s a great idea,” he said.
“There needs to be a very, very strong effort right across the board to reduce the problem - police, council, businesses and community.”