Hunt for QR code vandals as City of Melbourne eyes cleaner CBD

The City of Melbourne and Victoria Police are still searching for the vandals who hijacked QR codes on council bins designed to report graffiti.

The City of Melbourne and Victoria Police are continuing the hunt for the vandals who hijacked a series of QR codes on council bins.

About 30 of the vandalised codes have now been removed from council bins after the Sunday Herald Sun revealed graffiti supporters had covertly hijacked the QR codes.

The QR codes were designed to help people report vandalism in the CBD, but the pranksters instead directed users to YouTube videos promoting the spray-can subculture.

The City of Melbourne said they will continue efforts to identify the people responsible for the criminal activity.

Cleaning up the city will continue to remain one of the key agenda items of the new year for Melbourne Council. Picture: Tony Gough

Lord Mayor Sally Capp described the matter as “highly frustrating” and said it gave an insight to the public on how challenging the anti-graffiti fight is.

“We’ll continue to target hot spots and work closely with Victoria Police to crack down on repeat offenders who are leaving a scourge on our city,” Cr Capp said.

Cr Capp told the Sunday Herald Sun that cleaning up the city would continue to remain one of the key agenda items of the new year.

“This year we’ll start implementing more anti-vandalism features, such as green walls and murals,” she said.

New figures have also revealed the equivalent of nearly eight MCGs of graffiti was removed the municipality in 2022 — more than ever before.

Graffiti supporters have covertly hijacked the QR codes intended for reporting graffiti in Melbourne. Picture: Ian Currie

The Rapid Response Clean Team removed a record 150,000m2 of graffiti across Melbourne in 2022 – a 121 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.

More than 87,000m2 of graffiti was proactively cleaned, and another 63,000m2 was removed following reports from the public.

Targeted operations saw the removal of illegal tagging on bridges along the Yarra River – Birrarung, and more than 3200m2 of graffiti was cleaned from buildings and surfaces above 3 metres.

More than 900 infringement notices and fines were slapped on people caught littering or illegally dumping rubbish last year.

Public reports of graffiti and street cleaning were up 60 per cent last year, compared to 2021.

“We’re stepping up to scrub the city clean – making sure Melbourne is sparkling for city residents, workers and visitors every day of the year,” Cr Capp added.