Taking a stand against taggers

A Rotorua man's bid to prevent tagging is gaining momentum with his anti-tagging initiative becoming a reality.

Rotorua identity Mike Baird is hoping to set up a tagging patrol, in which volunteers would drive the streets in a bid to stop taggers vandalising property.

His suggestion came as the Rotorua District Council and Neighbourhood Support warned the public about prolific taggers in the community.

Mr Baird, a former breakfast radio host in Rotorua, told The Daily Post he was fed up with the amount of vandalism in Rotorua.

He said Rotorua was a beautiful city and it was about time people stood up to vandals who were defacing public and private property.

"These dirt bags may call it tagging, I call it vandalism."

After an article in The Daily Post, Mr Baird has gained support from several members of the Rotorua community.

He has also had meetings with the Rotorua District Council and is setting up meetings with various community associations and Neighbourhood Support.

As part of the anti-tagging patrol, Mr Baird proposed volunteers would drive around Rotorua keeping an eye on suspicious behaviour and reporting back to police.

He said people would only have to be on patrol once or twice a month because he expected a high number of volunteers.

Keep Rotorua Beautiful co-ordinator Christine Findon said the meeting she had with Mr Baird about the initiative went really well.

She said she could see the patrol becoming a reality.

"It was really positive," she said.

"If we could get a team together the patrol could definitely become a reality."

She said Mr Baird had the passion and motivation to get the patrol off the ground.

"It wouldn't just be about tagging," she said.

"People could keep an eye out for any suspicious behaviour." Mr Baird has already picked out a name for the patrol group - RVPs, which stands for Rotorua Vandal Patrols.

He said he was also looking at getting businesses to sponsor the project, which would pay for equipment, such as radios.

Meanwhile Inspector Ed Van Den Broek of the Rotorua Police said graffiti was a problem for most communities in New Zealand and Rotorua was no different.

He said members of the public should report graffiti and tagging as soon as they heard of it happening.

"As with any crime, the sooner police are informed, the better chance we have of apprehending the offenders and being able to hold them accountable," he said.

"There are systems in place to hold offenders accountable, regardless of their age."

He said if a member of the public's property was subjected to graffiti it was important to paint over it as soon as possible. "Research shows that the quick removal of graffiti is the best deterrent against future graffiti."