Revealed: How much SA councils spend cleaning up graffiti in the state’s worst vandal hotpots

Ratepayers have forked out millions to clean up the mess left behind by vandals in just two years. Search the state’s graffiti hotspots and see where your area ranks.

More than 120,000 pieces of graffiti have been reported across South Australia in two years and ratepayers have forked out more than $3 million to clean up the mess.

Onkaparinga Council recorded the highest figure with around 66,000 reports in the last financial year, while Port Adelaide Enfield came in second at 9977.

Of the 20 councils that shared data about graffiti trends with The Advertiser, the rural district of Lower Eyre Peninsula ranked the lowest with just six total reports since 2016.

Overall, those councils were forced to clean more than 390,000 pieces of graffiti over the past decade, but the final number would be much higher.

Over that time, many councils have stepped up with volunteer programs to keep cleaning costs down.

Among them is Sheidow Park retiree Alex Mericka who has spent nearly every morning for the past 26 years walking the neighbourhood with his dog and cleaning up graffiti.

A back injury left the 68-year-old unable to work and bedridden, his weight peaking at 125kg.

Alex Mericka has spent nearly every day of the last 26 years cleaning up graffiti around Sheidow Park. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

“My wife bought me a dog and said, ‘Right, you’re going to start taking walks, you’re just not going to get better this way’,” Mr Mericka said.

“I started walking every day and lost 50 kilos … I was walking one day in 1998 and I thought I can’t do any work but I can do something useful.

“When I started cleaning up, this person pulled up next to me and said, ‘What are you doing mate?’ He thought I was a crim doing community service.

“I think I would have missed about thirty days in that time, but otherwise it’s every day, seven days a week.”

Pictured with his trusty fox terrier Baxter, Mr Mericka left his job due to a severe back injury and began walking to keep up his fitness. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Mr Mericka said he has faced insults and taunts by vandals caught in the act, who on one occasion even targeted his house with spray paint.

But he remains undeterred and said locals often wave to him, recognising his Marion Council ‘community volunteer’ vest.

“Over the years, these young guys can see that I get to it so swiftly that it’s a waste of time doing it in the first place,” Mr Mericka said.

“Once I caught a couple of older boys showing these two younger ones how to do it. When I went up to them and asked, ‘Why are you doing this?’ they just looked at each other and said, ‘We don’t know’.

“It just makes you feel good doing something for other people and you usually get a toot from people driving to work in the morning.”

Over the last ten years, graffiti reports to police have trended downward, with 2286 recorded in the 2014-15 compared to 1678 last financial year.

If prosecuted, graffiti vandals face fines of up to $5000 or 12 months in prison.

Though Onkaparinga Council was among the worst hit, director city operations Kirk Richardson said mobile volunteers have removed more than half a million pieces of graffiti since 2006.

Port Adelaide Enfield mayor Claire Boan said most graffiti was cleaned within four days of being reported and anything offensive was removed in 24 hours.

Street art wall mural painted on the side of 293 St Vincent Street in Port Adelaide. Picture: Simon Cross

Port Adelaide Mayor Claire Boan Picture: Supplied

“The biggest challenge for us is getting the community to report graffiti when they see it,” Ms Boan said.

“We have found that painting murals not only adds to the visual appeal of an area, but also significantly lowers graffiti and in most cases stops it completely.

“If we find an area that is constantly being hit with graffiti, we will look at painting a mural in that space.”

Local Government Association SA chief executive Clinton Jury said letting graffiti spread unchecked posed wider-reaching economic costs.

“Graffiti is a crime, it’s costly to councils and it quickly brings down how a suburb or town looks,” Mr Jury said.

“It negatively affects people living in the area, but it can also impact local tourism.

“While fines are in place, education is an important part of prevention. That along with early removal is important, so anyone who sees graffiti is encouraged to let their council know.”

Several councils responded to The Advertiser’s request for comment but said graffiti was not an issue in their locality and did not keep data.

Originally published as Revealed: How much SA councils spend cleaning up graffiti in the state’s worst vandal hotpots