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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 12 Hansard (19 November) . . Page.. 4302 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

number of young people involved in the criminal justice system because of graffiti and vandalism. Relationships between local youth and the police have improved. This has been reported by both parties and reflected in a substantial reduction in graffiti prosecutions.

There have been social outcomes, in that the young people participating have developed new social skills that have enhanced their personal careers and educational opportunities. Other flow-on benefits have been achieved for council and the community by reducing youth marginalisation and showcasing young people's talents and culture to the community.

From the outset, Warringah Council staff involved and sought the input of a broad cross-section of the community, in order to develop a sense of ownership of the project and a partnership between council and the community. A steering committee was formed to act as a guiding hand throughout the life of the project. Representatives on the committee included members of the chamber of commerce, police, Department of Juvenile Justice, New South Wales Premier's Department, interested community members, young aerosol artists, councillors and staff.

Young people, a section of the community often disregarded by government and business, have been engaged in this project as key customers and have responded enthusiastically. There has been a clear and conscious effort to involve young people in ways that are relevant to them at every stage of the project's development.

The fact that young people have become enthusiastically involved in processes that are largely foreign to them, sitting as equals on council committees, has been an achievement. For example, one of the objectives of the Warringah graffiti policy is to develop a partnership with the local community to reduce graffiti, including involving young people as partners and advisers in reducing graffiti. This was supported by the following policy principles:

• involving young people in the council's anti-graffiti program;
• recognising the need to help enforce an environment in which young people are valued and their needs are integral to local planning.

Such actions support an environment in which graffiti is minimised. To date, the level of consultation with community groups and agencies has been very high. Attendance rates at steering committee meetings indicate the strong interest in the project.

A major achievement of the project involved Robert Edwards, a young member of the steering committee, who received the Warringah young citizen of the year award for 2000. Robert had previously been a well-known tagger in the area, who had considerable contact with the juvenile justice system because of his activities. He dedicated his spare time to the project by designing and creating murals. He assisted in organising the graffiti workshops. He has been a role model for many young taggers and provided the steering committee with a valuable insight into the minds of young people who choose to use illegal graffiti as their means of communicating.

The committee has gained a great deal and, as a result, attitudes have begun to change. An outcome of Mr Edwards' influence was a change in the attitudes of the police. The

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