Graffiti is any mark, scratch, carving, drawing or painting made on a building, a piece of street furniture or any other surface without the consent of the owner.
- Graffiti is criminal damage irrespective of what it looks like.
- If a mark, scratch, carving, drawing or painting appears in a place to which the public have access and it does have the consent of the owner, it is not an act of graffiti.
- Keep Britain Tidy is not an art critic and does not wish to be drawn into debates about whether graffiti is a legitimate art form.
- However, we do recognise that some local authorities have given graffiti artists the permission to work in public places. This forms part of their strategy to deal with the wider problem of graffiti and can be a powerful way to engage children and young people in their local communities. It may even improve certain local environments. Nonetheless, projects of this kind should only be approached with caution when the local authority is certain that key critical success factors are in place.
- The rest of a local authorities’ strategy should include the rapid removal of graffiti along with education and enforcement activity.
To see our research on graffiti click here.