APPENDIX 23
Memorandum from Telewest Communications
& ntl
INTRODUCTION
Telewest Communications, the broadband communications
and media group, currently passes 4.9 million homes and provides
multi-channel television, telephone and internet services to 1.72
million UK households, and voice and data telecommunications services
to around 70,000 business customers.
In the UK, over 11 million homes are located
within ntl's fibre-optic broadband network including, London,
Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford, Cambridge, Leeds, Cardiff, Glasgow
and Belfast. ntl now serves around 3 million residential customers
including almost 1 million broadband internet customers.
To provide its range of services to its customers,
Telewest and ntl have an extensive underground network of fibre
optic cables across the UK and a significant amount of street
furniture above ground containing essential electronic equipment.
Telewest in particular has c.110,000 pieces of street furniture
and a substantial amount of this suffers regularly from graffiti
and fly posting.
Such criminal damage can lead to the disruption
of telephone, TV or internet services to local communities as
a result of both the original damage and if subsequent cleaning
of graffiti uses inappropriate techniques or materials.
Although criminal offences are involved, we
believe that resolving the problem needs more than legal intervention.
Co-operation within a community between responsible bodies is
essential.
Currently, Telewest and ntl have initiatives
with several local authorities to tackle the issue of graffiti.
These are trials at the present time, with the objective of determining
more effective ways of dealing with the problem.
We are also working with the Home Office, together
with BT, on the development of guidelines for local authorities
dealing with the removal of graffiti as part of the Anti-Social
Behaviour Act 2003. We will continue to work with the Home Office
in the 12 pilot areas chosen to trial this new legislation, which
tackles graffiti as part of a wider drive against anti-social
behaviour.
In summary, Telewest and ntl recognise the importance
of contributing to the community and of a clean environment. However,
it is important to acknowledge that we are the victims of this
crime and that graffiti has a significant effect on us in terms
of time, money and our reputations.
What is the scale of these crimes on the local
environment?
Telewest and ntl recognise that graffiti in
particular has a significant detrimental effect on the local environment.
At any one time a significant number of our
cabinets may suffer from graffiti to various degrees of seriousness.
Whilst it may only cost a small amount to repaint one cabinet,
when this is multiplied across our operating areas, costs could
run into millions of pounds annually for a regular cleaning programme
for all cabinets effected.
It is for this reason that we are working closely
with the Home Office on the implementation of the relevant provisions
of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 to review ways of either
minimising the extent of the crime or handling its consequences
because, unless the current powers given to local authorities
under the Act are used sensitively, the potential costs incurred
by telecommunications companies could undermine investment in
the new facilities that are need to deliver the Government's broadband
Britain objectives.
Do responsible bodies who deal with the problem
and its consequences have sufficient resources and powers to do
so?
As indicated above, Telewest and ntl take the
issue of graffiti extremely seriously and we are doing all that
we can to address this problem in conjunction, where possible,
with local authorities and with the police.
Telewest receives approximately 60 complaints
per month from members of the public about graffiti on our street
cabinets. We try to respond to such complaints but this is not
an issue that we can resolve effectively without the co-operation
of the local authority and police in any area.
In the past, Telewest has cleaned or repainted
all affected street-side cabinets. Over recent years, however,
we have found this to be an ineffective way to tackle to problem
of graffiti because repainted cabinets are seen by graffiti "artists"
as a new "blank canvas".
We have, therefore, implemented a policy that
should make a practical difference in the longer term. All complaints
are recorded and allocated an engineer to perform a site inspection
of the cabinet. On visiting the site, cabinets are classed as
(a) Racist, Offensive or Obscene; (b) Badly Defaced; (c) Slightly
Defaced or (d) No Graffiti. The information is then passed to
regional administration staff to decide whether removal is required.
Telewest gives priority to any racist or obscene graffiti, which
we aim to remove within 48 hours.
Clearly, such information should be valuable
in the wider context of working with local authorities and the
police but only if adequate resources are applied. However, we
do not believe that adequate resources are available and we have
found that attitudes amongst local authorities and police forces
vary considerably. The different attitudes have made it difficult
for telecommunications companies to apply a consistent approach
to tackle the problem.
A more co-ordinated approach between the owners
of street furniture, local authorities, and the police, supported
by rigorous enforcement action where necessary, is essential for
a better environment to be achieved.
Is there sufficient dialogue and co-operation
across Government and amongst the various bodies responsible for
dealing with the problem at a local level?
Telewest and ntl do not believe there has been,
or is currently, enough dialogue or co-operation across Government.
However, we hope that the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 and the
work of the Anti-Social Behaviour Unit at the Home Office will
rapidly improve co-operation. We believe this should be given
the opportunity to work before other initiatives are introduced.
What alternatives exist for dealing with these
types of crimes outside the criminal justice system?
Graffiti is a widespread societal problem that
is difficult to resolve and a crime that is difficult to enforce.
Graffiti and its causes can vary considerably across different
geographic, ethnic and socio-demographic areas and, therefore,
generalised solutions may not work and much resource is necessary
to be able to tackle the problem nationally.
At present, in our view, the criminal justice
system is not being used enough to tackle the problem of graffiti.
This is not helped by the fact that there is no consistent application
of the law or commitment from local authorities or the police,
primarily due to lack of resources.
This suggests that there is a need for even
more co-operation across Government, in addition to that arising
from the implementation of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.
However, there is a need to consider a wide range of activities
to try to minimise the crime in the first place rather than address
only its consequences.
Telewest and ntl believe it is important to
proactively educate and rehabilitate offenders, many of whom are
young people. For example, potential offenders may be less inclined
to commit damage if they understood better the potential impact
on communications and entertainment services in their areas. Offenders
could also be used to help with cleaning the local environment.
This is why we look to our current initiatives with local authorities
to provide practical alternatives to addressing the problem if
the criminal justice system is not effective.
Examples of local initiatives include Telewest's
work with a production company called Big Foot, which hopes to
produce an educational anti-graffiti video to be shown to schools
in the London area, and ultimately nation-wide, and Telewest's
provision to Merton Youth Offending Service of a statement that
outlines the effect that graffiti has on the business. The statement
is used to educate offenders and to help them to understand the
impact of their actions.
March 2004
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