Vandal chaser: Greater Riverstone Neighbourhood Watch-Eye Watch precinct co-ordinator Paul Hutchinson paints over a tag in Riverstone. Picture: Mike Sea
POLICE and community groups have urged residents to use their mobiles to help catch Glenwood and Riverstone vandals.
"The [free] VandalTrak app lets you take a photo of graffiti from the site of the vandalism in about 20 seconds flat and the data can be viewed by police," Glenwood Community Association president Chris Winslow, of Glenwood, commented on Facebook after new tags were noticed in his neighbourhood.
The apps are available for both Android and Apple devices.
Detective Inspector Brett Guyatt, said police had noticed more vandalism at Glenwood.
"It comes across the road a little bit into Stanhope Gardens," Mr Guyatt said.
A culprit was recently convicted using data collected through VandalTrak.
A 19-year-old Marayong man received 100 hours of community service, an $800 fine and paid $3000 in compensation for tagging at Glenwood and other places.
Glenwood Community Association has a five-member flying squad who paint over vandals' marks in Glenwood with paint and spray supplied by Blacktown Council.
"I think we are very much a model for other suburbs," Mr Winslow, a VandalTrak director, said.
"Graffiti happens when good people do nothing to prevent it.
"These people do it on the assumption that no one is recording this information but if everyone used VandalTrak there would be no graffiti."
Paul Hutchinson is the precinct co-ordinator of the Greater Riverstone Neighbourhood Watch-Eye Watch.
He said: "There has also been a noticeable spike in [graffiti incidents in] Riverstone, mainly on Piccadilly Street up towards Riverstone Road and over near the [Casuarina] school."
■ Should harsher penalties be introduced to deter graffiti vandalism offenders? What are your thoughts?