Prolific graffiti offender brought to justice by Isle of Wight police in Ryde.
A series of criminal damages in Ryde on the Isle of Wight was stopped and solved thanks to persistent enquiries by a local neighbourhood police officer.

PC Martin Rogers of the Ryde Town Safer Neighbourhoods team investigated numerous reports of graffiti in the area during October and November 2009.

A 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested and charged with criminal damage. He appeared before the Isle of Wight Youth Court in December 2009 when he was found guilty.

The teenager was made the subject of a youth offending referral order for nine months, a six-month parenting order, and told to pay £625 compensation to Isle of Wight Council and £50 court costs.

During October 2009, police started to receive reports from Isle of Wight Council Environment and Neighbourhoods Officer (ENO) Katharine Arblaster about a recurring graffiti tag appearing on public places in and around Ryde.

The tag was found in at least 14 locations including the Royal York Hotel in George Street, a disused garage in East Street, a pedestrian shelter at the Canoe Lake, and public seating in Puckpool Park.

PC Martin Rogers said:

“It was clear these acts of criminal damage were linked to the same person. The offender had even started to write ‘catch me if you can’ in some places. Photographs of the graffiti tags were analysed with support from staff from Isle of Wight Council’s Community Safety Services, which runs an online graffiti gallery.

“We acted swiftly to solve this crime series as such vandalism is sometimes the first stage of an offender committing more serious offences. The sight of graffiti can also raise the fear of crime among residents and visitors. The reality is there have been more than 100 fewer crimes in Ryde town centre compared to last year, but it is just as important for people to feel safe and confident about where they live.”

Isle of Wight Council’s Community Safety Services Operations Manager Simon Dennis said:

“We have a contractor that will remove obscene graffiti within 24 hours. The Council also records the tags left by the perpetrators with the police to look for and target repeat offenders. We will always take action against the perpetrators because it costs us, the taxpayers, tens of thousands of pounds a year to clean up this graffiti.”

To report graffiti, you can phone a dedicated Isle of Wight Council hotline on (01983) 823515 or go online to www.iwight.com/graffiti

The Ryde Town Safer Neighbourhoods team can be contacted by phoning police on 101 or e-mailing rydetown.snt@hampshire.police.uk. In an emergency, always phone 999. Find out more about your local Safer Neighbourhoods team by going online to www.hampshire.police.uk and typing in your postcode.