ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Walls on which graffiti artists are permitted to paint are being introduced in Oxford in a bid to reduce vandalism in the city.

The new approach was prompted by the jailing of high-profile graffiti artist Charlie Silver last year. This led to an increase of nearly 400 per cent in the number of graffiti incidents reported in the city, according to council figures.

The "free walls" idea was mooted by an anti-social behaviour investigation team set up in Oxford to tackle the problem. According to team leader Daryl Edmunds, all previous approaches to cracking down on graffiti have failed.

"You've got to try and get behind what is going on and work with graffiti artists to improve and respect their local community," he said. "Unless you pretty much catch them in the act you are unable to get a conviction in court, so we had to look at new methods."

The move follows an "appreciative enquiry" in November that brought together graffiti artists, police officers, councillors and members of the public. According to 21-year-old graffiti artist Luke O'Brian, the council's bid to provide free walls is a better way of tackling the problem.

"I think people would put more effort into what they paint and how they express themselves and they would show more respect," he said

Oxford graffiti artist Charlie Silver received a 10-week sentence in August 2015 after admitting eight counts of criminal damage. More than 1,700 incidents of graffiti were reported in the last financial year compared with just 350 two years before.