Primary legislation

Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, s.43, s.44, s.45, s.46, s.47

These sections allow authorised officers of local authorities (including persons not directly employed by the authority), “accredited” officers and Community Support Officers to issue fixed penalty notices to those people who physically commit ‘minor’ acts of graffiti and fly posting (being existing offences in respect of which they are already liable for prosecution). The fixed penalty amount can be set by the local authority within a range of £50 - £80, or, if no amount is specified, the default amount (£75) will apply. Community Support Officers and "accredited persons" must use the amount set by the local authority. Discounts can be offered for early payment (the local authority sets the number of days in which the discount will apply), but the discounted amount cannot be less than £50. Guidance on fixed penalty notices has been published to help the relevant authorities get to grips with their new powers. Guidance has also been published for issuing fixed penalties to juveniles. Under section 43B it is an offence for suspected offender to fail to give, or to give false details to an authorised officer in connection to the issuing of fixed penalty notices.

Defacement removal notices (Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 sections 48-52)

These sections enable a local authority to serve a “defacement removal notice” on the owners of street furniture, statutory undertakers and educational institutions whose property is defaced with graffiti or fly-posting that is either detrimental to the amenity of the area or offensive. If the defacement is not removed within a specified time (minimum 28 days), the local authority can intervene and clean it up themselves, with due reference to guidance issued by the Secretary of State. An appeals process is available.

Graffiti (Criminal Damage Act 1971)

Creating Graffiti is an act of criminal damage under section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971. The amount of the penalty for committing such an offence will depend on the value of damage caused. (It may also be an offence under section 54, paragraph 10 of the Metropolitan Police Act 1839, section 20(1) of the London County Council (General Powers) Act 1954, and section 131(2) or 132(1) of the Highways Act 1980.)

Sale of aerosol paint to children (Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, sections 54 and 54A)

Section 54 makes it an offence to sell aerosol spray paints to persons aged under 16, with the objective of reducing the incidence of criminal damage caused by acts of graffiti. Retailers selling spray paints to under 16s commit an offence, which carries a level 4 fine (currently £2,500). Retailers are required to check the age of buyers if there is any doubt that they are least 16 years old.

Section 54A places a specific duty on local authority trading standards to investigate the extent of spray paint graffiti problems in their areas once a year and to take appropriate enforcement action where necessary to tackle underage sales.