Rates of graffiti hit a 10-year high in Victoria, crime data reveals

A graffiti scourge is on the rise across the state, with a surprising LGA having the highest rate per population. Is your suburb being targeted?

Graffiti rates have hit a 10-year high in Victoria, according to the latest crime data.

The most graffiti crimes were reported to police in 2023 since the Crime Statistics Agency began collecting data in 2014, with a total of 3790 offences across the state.

It was a 13 per cent jump from the previous record of 3334 incidents the year before.

The Mount Alexander Shire had the highest rate of tagging in Victoria when compared to its population, with 488 offences per 100,000 people.

The suburb of Castlemaine was the worst offender within that local government area, with 95 per cent of incidents occurring there.

‘Pam the Bird’ aboard a train at a Melbourne train station. Picture: Instagram

Horsham, in the state’s west, came in second with 343.7 counts per 100,000 population, followed by Melbourne with 246 per 100,000.

Melbourne had the most incidents overall, however, with 434 graffitiing crimes reported to police last year.

The iconic Flinders Street Station was targeted earlier this year, and western suburb residents are fed up with seeing different versions of “Pam the Bird” on their trains, buildings and fences.

Black and white graffiti ruins the Flinders Street Station facade. Picture: Jason Edwards

Following the defacing of the heritage-listed Flinders Street Station, a Metro spokesperson said: “Graffiti has no place on our rail network and we will continue to work with Victoria Police to help deter this illegal behaviour. We spend more than $10m every year on tackling graffiti and vandalism, with more than 60 graffiti removal specialists dedicated to the problem”.

The City of Melbourne launched the Clean Melbourne Graffiti Blitz earlier this year when it signed a new five-year deal with company Clean City Services.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said graffiti removalists were now patrolling the streets of the city 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and response times had been halved.

“We’re doing even more to crack down on graffiti,” she said.

“In the past month, we have had 11 reports of offensive incidents and all of those were removed within one hour.

“We know the best deterrent to crack down on repeat offenders and incidences is to remove graffiti as soon as possible.”

A Victoria Police spokesperson said transit officers and PSOs had a presence at train stations across the state at all hours of the day, and dedicated analysts investigated footage of graffiti.

“These analysts can identify recidivist offenders just by reading a tag,” they said.

The Crime Statistics Agency data showed the cleanest streets in Victoria were in Ararat, West Wimmera, Pyrenees and Hindmarsh, where no reports of graffiti were made to police last year.

Graffiti can be a costly nuisance, but it can also have more sinister motives.

Anti-Semitic graffiti on the front fence of the Mount Scopus Burwood Campus. Picture: Supplied.

Victoria Police believe this person could help with their inquiries into anti-Semitic graffiti at Mount Scopus Memorial College. Picture: Victoria Police

Last week, Jewish school Mount Scopus Memorial College’s Burwood campus was defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti.

Jewish families have reportedly kept their children home from school in the wake of the hateful tagging.

On Monday, Victoria Police released an image of a man on a bicycle it believes may be able to assist with the investigation.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.