What's new

New graffiti laws for New South Wales The NSW Government has announced tough new laws to fight graffiti vandalism. The Graffiti Control Act (the Act) received Royal Assent on 3 December 2008 and is due to commence in early 2009. The key reforms include: It will soon be illegal to possess implements such as marker pens or etching implements with the intention of using them to damage or deface premises New powers to issue on-the-spot fines to retailers who fail to properly secure their spray paint can displays, or where spray paint cans are sold to persons under 18 years of age. Consolidation of existing graffiti legislation into a specific Act that deals solely with graffiti vandalism. The Act also replicated the scheme currently set out under sections 67A-67C of the Local Government Act 1993 for the carrying out of graffiti removal work by local councils and enables penalty notices to be issued for the offence of selling spray paint cans to minors and for the offence relating to the unsecured display by retailers of spray paint cans. More details Under the present legislative arrangement, the Summary Offences Act 1988 makes it an offence to sell spray paint cans to young people under the age of 18 years. Section 10D requires retailers to properly secure spray paint displays to prevent customer access without assistance. In addition, under section 10E, police have the power to confiscate spray paint cans from unsupervised minors. There are also stringent penalties in the Crimes Act 1900 and in the Summary Offences Act 1988 to deal with graffiti crime. These laws provide the courts with a number of ways to deal with graffiti offenders ranging from fines, bonds, community service orders to prison sentences. For example: Section 195 of the Crimes Act – up to 5 years imprisonment for maliciously damaging property Section 10A of the Summary Offences Act – a fine of up to $2,200 or 6 months imprisonment for damaging or defacing property by means of spray paint Section 10B of the Summary Offences Act – a fine of up to $1,100 or 3 months imprisonment for possessing spray paint with the intention to damage or deface property. After commencement, the offences currently featured under sections 10A and 10B of the Summary Offences Act will be included in the Graffiti Control Act 2008. Offences under the Crimes Act 1900 will remain unaltered. The Act also expands the definition of graffiti implements so that it includes spray paint, any marker pen and other implements designed or modified to produce a mark. Other recent legislative changes 2007 New laws were introduced to prevent persons under 18 from defacing property These laws require young people in possession of spray paint to demonstrate it is for a legitimate purpose The laws give police the power to confiscate spray cans from young people who fail to demonstrate it is for a legitimate purpose 2006 Retailers of spray paint cans are required to keep their stocks in locked display cabinets with fines of $1,100 for sale to juveniles