Caught on camera

YOUR caught! . . . Insp Mark Davis with Will Wills from Oldham Council’s Streetscene.

A JOINT operation between the police and Oldham Council is targeting yobs who daub graffiti across the town.

Neighbourhood policing teams have been given 34 digital cameras to take photographs of graffiti across the borough.

The images are sent to Oldham Council StreetScene officers, who clean up the area, and then before and after images are uploaded on to www.tidyoldham.co.uk to show the public what has been done.

And the police use any information gained from the pictures to identify the culprits and build up evidence to prosecute.

Insp Mark Davis, of Oldham East Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “This partnership has only been in place for a couple of months and has already seen some success, with officers making a number of arrests.

“Now officers have the resources available to take photographs of the graffiti, we have been able to identify repeat locations.

“The neighbourhood policing teams are also continuing to make inquiries at schools and with local residents to try and identify the culprits.

“There is nothing artistic about the daubing of graffiti. It is pure vandalism and has a negative impact on the lives of residents.

“Our partnership with the council is an excellent example of how agencies can work together to tackle the problem of graffiti and related criminal behaviour.”

Councillor Mark Alcock, cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, added: “The Tidy Oldham initiative is proven to be a great success with residents and partners in Oldham, it allows people to report issues on the move using a mobile phone or in the comfort of their own home.”

To report incidents of graffiti, call Oldham Council’s Environmental Enforcement Team on 0161-770 6644.

Anyone with information about those responsible for graffiti in their area should call their local neighbourhood policing team on one of the numbers below:




::Failsworth and Hollinwood on 0161-856 8914 (Failsworth West, Failsworth East and Hollinwood) .



::Oldham West on 0161-856 8927 (Coldhurst, Werneth, Medlock Vale and Alexandra).



::Oldham East on 0161-856 9028 (St Mary’s, Waterhead and St James) .



::Saddleworth and Lees on 0161-856 4524 (Saddleworth North, Saddleworth South and Saddleworth West and Lees).



::Royton and Shaw on 0161-856 8983 (Crompton, Shaw, Royton North and Royton South) .



::Chadderton on 0161-856 8825 (Chadderton North, Chadderton Central and Chadderton South).