Rodney District Council is looking for volunteers to keep Rodney clean, green and beautiful by helping to clean up graffiti around the district.
Rodney District is one of the most desirable and beautiful parts of New Zealand to live in. But, as in many other areas of New Zealand, graffiti can be a problem which can spoil an otherwise attractive neighbourhood.
The Council – in partnership with the Ministry of Justice – is seeking individuals and community groups who would like to be part of the Respect Rodney Graffiti Eradication project.
These volunteer teams will work as rapid graffiti removal teams and play an important part in a three year project aimed at eradicating graffiti across the district.
“Research shows that one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of graffiti is by removing it within the first 24 hours of it being discovered, which prevents vandals from getting recognition for their work” says Rodney District Council’s Graffiti Project Officer, Roslyn Prictor.
“We know how to successfully tackle graffiti by following the three R’s. This involves getting people to Report graffiti, take a digital picture to Record it, and we’re looking for volunteers to help us Remove it.”
Roslyn says that volunteers will be provided with protective clothing, equipment and free paint as part of their role. She says that the volunteers can donate as much of their time as they wish to assist the project.
“We would really appreciate people coming forward to help keep Rodney clean, beautiful and safe by being part of the Graffiti Eradication project, even if they only have a couple of hours available,” she says.
Roslyn says that graffiti can have a big impact on people’s perceptions about whether an area is safe. “Making an area graffiti free makes people feel much safer about visiting that place during the day and at night.”
If you would like to know more about becoming a Respect Rodney Rapid Removal volunteer, contact Rodney District Council on
0800 426 5169.
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Roslyn Prictor
Rodney District Council
Roslyn.Prictor@rodney.govt.nz
0800 426 5169
How you can help defeat Graffiti: follow the three R’s!
Report It
If you discover graffiti then telephone Rodney District Council on: 0800 4264169
You can also report it to your local Police Station.
The police are as keen as you to catch the offenders. If you see taggers, telephone the Police straight away to report the tagger/s description, car plate numbers and any other useful information you have about the incident.
Record It
Take digital photos of graffiti and send to the council. These should not be bigger than 500kb and can be emailed to customer.service@rodney.govt.nz The photos will be passed on to the Graffiti Project Officer to be added to the graffiti database.
Remove It
Rapid removal of graffiti has proven to be the best deterrent to combat graffiti and sends the message that graffiti will not be tolerated.