Residents fed up with ugly graffiti tarnishing parks and public property in their suburb are being urged to fight back with elbow grease.
Wollongong City Council and the Mercury are hosting graffiti clean-up events in Unanderra and Woonona next Saturday as part of a new pro-active approach to deter vandals.
The initiative comes after the Mercury's Halt the Hoons campaign helped raise awareness of graffiti and malicious damage across the city, sparking an increase in reporting of the problem.
Editorial: When writing's on the wall to show solutionsHeavily graffitied playground equipment at Lindsay Maynes Park in Unanderra and a playground and amenities block at Nicholson Park in Woonona will be the focus of the clean-up day, which will run from 10am to noon.
Community partnerships and safety co-ordinator Armando Reviglio said the sites were identified by council painters as being among the most frequently tagged public assets.
"We are asking residents to help remove graffiti with chemicals, gloves and masks that we will provide," he said.
"Some areas like brick surfaces and wooden fences are more difficult as they require pressure cleaning and special paints. But playground equipment and Colorbond fences are easier to clean."
Mr Reviglio said graffiti took up an enormous amount of council staff's time, with a council policy to remove offensive graffiti from public assets within 24 hours and all other graffiti within 20 days.
The day will be used to kick-off a new initiative encouraging residents to "adopt a space" in their neighbourhood.
"The council is serious about combating graffiti and we want to look at a more constructive way to work with our community," Mr Reviglio said.
"One of the things we know has been successful is adopting a space. It started with the RTA boxes about four years ago and we've also done it with bus shelters.
"We know that if people adopt a space and regularly clean it, then it's more likely it won't be targeted."
Mr Reviglio said about 30 bus shelters had been adopted and there had been a 25 per cent reduction in graffiti.
"This could reduce council costs but for those people who want to do something, this is a constructive way to be involved. By cleaning it regularly, they will clean it quicker than we can," he said.
"We also want to encourage people to report it to police. Only 15 per cent of reported malicious damage is graffiti because a lot isn't reported."
The council is also working on other initiatives including murals painted by school children. Offenders completing periodic detention are being engaged to help clean-up private property, while the council is working closely with the police on crime prevention strategies.
Help us halt the hoons
Come to the Mercury-Wollongong City Council community clean-ups at Lindsay Maynes Park, Unanderra, or Nicholson Park, Woonona, next Saturday from 10am to noon. Report graffiti to police on 131444. Report graffiti to Wollongong City Council on 4227 7816.Register with the council to "adopt a space".Register to have private property cleaned up by offenders completing periodic detention.Adopt a bus stop.Organise a school group to paint a community mural. 
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