How urban art cuts antisocial conduct

Project
TagDog

Purpose
To reduce antisocial behaviour and nuisance dog issues, and promote positive activities for young people

Funding
An initial pilot was funded by a £23,000 grant from the Home Office's Community Action Against Crime Innovation Fund, with £8,000 match funding from housing association AmicusHorizon. The programme now costs £24,000 a year to run and is funded mainly by AmicusHorizon with some sponsorship from businesses.

Background
During one of AmicusHorizon's neighbourhood walkabouts on a Lambeth estate, residents raised concerns about antisocial behaviour, especially graffiti and nuisance dog issues.

Meanwhile, young people had also approached the housing association saying they would like something to do. The solution was TagDog. "We decided to flip things around and look upon young people's interest in graffiti, or urban art and looking after animals, as a positive thing and something that could be built on in terms of learning and development and career pathways," says William Miller, community development director at AmicusHorizon.