But is there another side to the story? Maybe we should look at the artistic side of what has been created. Walking around London, you notice lots of beautiful pieces of art that have been spray painted onto walls - most of which has been created by young people who have been dubbed as vandals.
Stuart Taylor, director of a Graffiti Workshop, which gives young people the opportunity to learn graffiti techniques, believes there is a huge amount of enthusiasm for the art form among young people.
"We have young people who see the website and the pictures of previous workshops, then contact us direct or via their youth club, youth workers, teachers or whoever with the intention of booking a workshop," he says.
In Graffiti Workshop's case, it offers a range of sessions from one-day workshops to regular weekly sessions at schools. During the sessions, the artists teach young people the basics of graffiti, the history behind the art form, drawing techniques, as well as how to prepare the wall or boards to be sprayed.
Attending such sessions is not simply about learning how to spray paint and draw. In addition, young people learn about team-building as well as taking ownership of a project. It also gives young people the opportunity to create their own unique pieces of work, which gives them a lot of self-confidence and makes them think achieving other goals is possible.
Taylor believes that while some young people find it very hard to resist using their graffiti skills on the walls and streets, running workshops and providing graffiti walls gives them an outlet for their creativity and can stop them from illegally graffiting elsewhere. Such initiatives can even prevent young people from being drawn into the criminal system and even save lives. "Graffiti artists run the risk of conviction or even possibly fatal injury (if they spray somewhere dangerous)," says Taylor.
Many of the young people who take part in the workshops recognise that they could channel their creativity into other forms of learning, such as a college course.
"Some might eventually become a practising artist and possibly make a living from it," says Taylor.
However, a lack of facilities and funding are preventing some young people who would like to participate in spray-can art from taking part.
There are organisations, though, that are willing to pay for such projects. For example, the youth opportunity fund is helping to pay for one of the workshops that Taylor is running. The money helps to cover the workshop costs, which include latex gloves, goggles, spray masks and overalls.
Projects run by organisations such as Graffiti Workshop will always strive to get young people off the streets and to achieve something positive.
Illegal street graffiti has to stop but, for that to happen, we need facilities in place where young people are able to express themselves without the fear of antagonising residents or risking conviction.
FIND OUT MORE
The following organisations specialise in running graffiti workshops for young people
- Beyond Graffiti: www.beyondgraffiti.org.uk
- Graffiti Workshop: 01803 663577 www.graffitiworkshop.co.uk
- The Signal Project: 020 7639 0017 www.signalproject.com
- Top Dogs Workshops: 01908 331820 www.topdogworkshops.co.uk/graffiti
RECOMMENDED FUNDERS
- Arts Council England: 0845 300 6200 www.artscouncil.org.uk
- Big Lottery Fund: 0845 410 20 30 www.biglotteryfund.org.uk.
