I'm coming to get you, says Ipswich Mayor Pisasale
IPSWICH Mayor Paul Pisasale has a message for graffiti vandals in the city: "I'm coming to get you".
Cr Pisasale has vowed to stamp out "grubs" in the region, with the State Government pledging $8 million in a huge anti-graffiti campaign.
"I and the city have had a gutful of morons just going out there and hurting everyone - I've had enough of it," Cr Pisasale said. "I am fed-up with community assets being vandalised and having to have people paying for the clean-up caused by people with no respect for public property.
"Crime fighting starts at the coalface - which is where we are.
"This is a disease in the community costing Ipswich $400,000 per year to clean up."
Cr Pisasale, together with Member for Ipswich West Sean Choat and Local Government Minister David Crisafulli, launched the program yesterday under a notorious vandal hot-stop at the David Trumpy Bridge.
The mayor said there was an urgent need to crack down on "grubs attacking both the city's infrastructure and facades" and the funding would result in a revolutionary change to the rate of juvenile crime in the region.
Cr Pisasale said "enough is enough" and Ipswich City Council would award those who reported vandals with $2000 per conviction achieved.
"This is on top of what the police will pay you if there's an award - I'm coming to get you - make my day grubs," he said.
Brisbane City Council will receive $210,000 per year, while Ipswich, Gold Coast, Logan and Moreton Bay Councils will get $110,000 each.
A further $250,000 will go to Crime Stoppers to run a new statewide GraffitiSTOP hotline, website and Facebook page so people can alert authorities to new graffiti by phone, text or online.
Mr Crisafulli said the funding would give councils greater means to tackle graffiti head-on, while freeing them up to spend ratepayers' money on delivering vital services to the community.
"Whether it's a pedestrian bridge in Ipswich or a picnic table in Longreach, locals are proud of their community assets and they don't want them to be tagged by careless graffiti vandals," he said.
The initiative will also connect councils with the nearest regional probation and parole officer so they can use community service offenders to help remove graffiti.
