I read this article on stuff.co.nz yesterday and thought it was blog-worthy.
FYI, for those not familiar with the term “tagger”, it refers to somebody who graffitis walls, fences, public toilets etc.
Taggers in pink while cleaning up their work
Forcing taggers to wear pink vests as punishment reduces tagging, a Wellington policeman says.
Eastern Suburbs Community Constable Theo Gommans introduced the vests with the support and funding of Wellington City Council and started using them, as a deterrent, in his tagging talks at high schools.
Taggers caught by him or processed through the courts would be made to wear the vests while they cleaned up their handiwork to turn their tagging “fame” into “shame” with their classmates, he said.
Mr Gommans showed the pink vest at Rongotai College last week and was greeted by stunned silence, nervous laughter, then a big round of applause.
He expects a similar response when he visits St Patrick’s Town today.
But councillor Iona Pannett said the scheme was akin to Nazi Germany’s persecution of gay men during World War II and would reinforce prejudice against gay and lesbian people.
“What we’re saying is that we’re going to shame you as a tagger by associating you with a gay man, for a behaviour that has nothing to do with being gay or lesbian.
“Marking out people in that way is something we should move beyond.”
The vests should be withdrawn from talks at schools and another way found to deal with taggers. “There will be young men or young women who are out [as gay] or exploring [their sexuality]. The giggles and the laughter create an unsafe environment.”
An unfazed Mr Gommans said pink was the brightest, most unpopular colour he could think of and had nothing to do with being gay.
Tagging had reduced by 80 per cent in the eastern suburbs since he started using the vests in school talks, alongside a “dob a tagger” initiative, which offered a $100 reward for identifying taggers.
A teenage girl, sentenced to community work in Wellington District Court a fortnight ago, was the first person to don the vest and did so under a storm of protest, he said.
St Patrick’s Town deputy rector Wayne Mills welcomed the initiative, and said Mr Gommans had made a big difference to the community’s graffiti.
“It will certainly send a message out there to kids.”
Mayor Kerry Prendergast said the council supported the vests despite Ms Pannett’s stance.
“I think she’s a lone voice on this issue. If that’s what it takes to stop them literally doing hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage to private and public property then I think it’s a good thing.”
Personally, I think it’s the greatest thing ever. Yes, it’s embarassing, humiliating even, yes, you WILL look like an idiot wearing a bright pink vest with “TAGGER” on it while cleaning up whatever you scribbled on, and people WILL point and laugh at you, but, there’s a simple solution and a way to avoid having to endure that. Don’t graffiti things to begin with!
As for the woman who thinks it ought to be prohibited, that is the most stupid, petty argument I have ever heard. If it proves to be a problem, and LGBT groups themselves voice an objection (which I believe they have yet to do) then fine, make them wear bright GREEN vests or something, I don’t think it’s the colour that’s the issue here, it’s the whole concept of public humiliation as a deterrent.
Opinions please. 
omg. I think that’s amazing. lol. They need to do that here in Delaware. They have them in orange vests, they need to be pink instead.
Haha awesome! Are they effective in Delaware? Do you know if instances of tagging have decreased since they started using them?
I’m not quite sure if they’re effective a lot. You don’t see any tagging going on in the area that I live in, but in the parts that it does happen it has seemed to loosen up.
I’ll have to see if there’s any statistics.
I agree with you. Though I don’t understand how wearing pink makes you gay. Do gay people only wear pink? No! Do straight people never wear pink? No! that’s stupid. I wear pink all the time. The vest is just plain ugly, lol. I think it works because most people don’t like pink/wearing pink, especially if they want to be thought of as “tough” because it is the whimpiest/softest color. It has nothing to do with your sexuality, it has to do with personality.
hi holly! i think that its not as bad.. they just have to endure wearing pink.. but .. at least they will learn not to vandalize.
take care,
kyutie
Heck yes! They should have to wear the vest. They should do this with people caught littering. I hate how liter is EVERYWHERE. I know it’s hard to catch people though.
Thats a great way to humiliate taggers into not doing it again. I don’t get the argument about gays and lesbians though. Just because you wear pink doesn’t mean that your gay. Gays could wear more green for all she knows. Idiot.
Isn’t purple traditionally the ‘gay colour’? But really, no colour has a stigma attached to it that I’m aware of. More than anything else, pink is girly! I think it’d be even better if they put something more creative than ‘tagger’ on them…
I’ve finished two essays, footnotes and all! Can I put in a request for a *jumps up and down excitedly* smiley?
I have no idea, I think it’s both, if not “rainbow”. LMAO rainbow vests would have been even better…especially if they were sparkly! What else would you suggest they had on them!? ‘I am a *——-* idiot!* o.O
As for the excited smiley, I think this: :cupcake: is appropriate! Yay for having finished!
80% decrease!!? That’s really surprising. With it being “controversial” I think that just proves someone’s going to conjure up SOME sour feeling about it no matter what it is. The big argument here though, is 80%… it obviously works! At least for now.
Hahaha! Well yea, stop vandalising walls and public places!! But for some states or countries, vandalism using grafitti is actually legal for “decorating” reasons. But for states that its illegal, then yea, I think hotpink vests are totally HOT! Haha! Well public humiliation is better than being in jail, right?! :neenerneener:
Ok WTF!? It’s LEGAL!? Because it’s considered to be DECORATING!? That’s ridiculous! Do you know which states this crazy law applies to!?
Yeah, definitely better than being in prison, especially if the people concerned are teenagers, which the majority of them seem to be. Nobody wants to look like a moron in front of their friends, so no wonder it’s effective!
El-oh-el I read stuff.co.nz all the time too … well, when I eventually get my arse online, haha.
I think it’s a brilliant idea. I mean for fucks sakes at least SOMETHING’s being done – better than nothing, right? And the fact that it works is a bonus, albeit the connotations of discrimination against homosexuals, etc. I’m sick of reading about not only the amount of money spent fixing/painting over graffiti’d areas but also the amount of money spent trying to straighten the idiots out. I say stick to the hot pink if its working, and everyone else just need to find something better to do with their lives (pull their heads out of their arses) or pay for repairing the damages.
Apologies for my crass language, this issue is really one of my pet peeves.
I think that that’s a good way to punish those taggers. It should teach them not to do it again, unless they want to be humiliated.
That is really interesting, making them wear those vests. It’s like telling people, HEY LOOK, I JUST DESTROYED A BEAUTIFUL PLACE WITH MY HORRID ARTWORK, AND NOW I HAVE TO CLEAN IT UP. lol.
That’s amusing. Thanks for sharing this.
[...] Public humiliation – the way to go? : 4.6.08 : Bright pink vests for taggers? [...]