Media centre

Tuesday 18 Nov 2008

RAILWAY VANDALS COME CLEAN

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

Two young graffiti vandals are scrubbing the slate clean by helping to clean up a railway bridge in Glasgow after their spray paint spree.

Alan and David, both 19, will spend three days painting over the ugly graffiti in the west end of Glasgow as apart of an innovative restorative justice scheme pioneered by Network Rail, British Transport Police and SACRO.

Both Alan and David were charged by the police in early 2008, when they were caught defacing a wall in Inverkeithing, Fife.

Due to the nature of the offence and the background of the accused, the procurator fiscal decided to offer them the opportunity of an alternative to prosecution by diverting the case to Sacro`s restorative justice service. Both young men chose the restorative justice option and during a subsequent meeting they acknowledged their disruptive behaviour, expressed regret and apologised for their actions. Finally, both of them agreed to get involved in a Network Rail clear-up caused by other graffiti vandals.

Mark Henderson, community safety manager for Network Rail in Scotland, commented:

“The restorative justice programme is a partnership between Sacro and Network Rail to help young people understand the dangers of misusing the railway and the true cost of the damage they cause. In 2007, railway crime cost the railway industry an estimated £264m. This unnecessary cost is a massive drain on our society and is obviously preventable. In Scotland alone, the railway has to employ the equivalent of six full-time members of staff to continually clean graffiti from the railway.

“Every year, dozens of young people are killed or injured accessing the tracks to spray graffiti and damage property. In many cases, restorative justice is not an option, we will simply ask British Transport Police to prosecute offenders. Graffiti and vandalism on the railway is regarded as a serious crime by the courts and frequently results in prison sentences for offenders.”

Craig Millard from Sacro commented:

“Again here we can see the advantages of restorative justice as opposed to punitive measures. Network Rail has had the chance to be heard and have a say in what they think is a fair resolution for this incident. The lads responsible have also had the chance to take responsibility for their actions and avoid a conviction. The creativity of the process has allowed those involved to move forward positively.”