Speaking camera's warnings see off graffiti artists

RAIL police have scored a surprise victory against graffiti artists by using speed camera-type equipment that catches offenders in the act.

A motion-sensitive camera at a graffiti black spot in Glasgow has wiped out the problem by photographing trespassers and broadcasting pre-recorded verbal warnings.

The cunning FlashCam device is triggered by movement and flashes twice.

The first flash prompts those caught in the camera’s view to look towards it, then a second flash captures the offenders on film.

The United States-built equipment also issues a warning in an American accent.

It states: "You are in a restricted area. Law enforcement agencies have been advised of your presence."

The British Transport Police (BTP), which patrol the rail network, have successfully used FlashCams south of the Border to deter vandalism and rubbish-dumping on lines, and drug dealing in underpasses.

However, Scottish officers were surprised at the device’s success when drafted in for a pilot anti-graffiti project at a favourite target site near Glasgow Central station.

They said vandals had fled when they triggered the camera, leaving the site untouched.

Senior officers said they would now be keen to retain the camera in Scotland to test its other crime-busting potential.

Superintendent Ronnie Mellis, the BTP’s area commander for Scotland, said: "The camera stopped the problem dead. There is scope for us there.

"I could see us using it for tackling vandals and trespassers on railways."

The FlashCam is part of a rail industry crackdown on graffiti in Scotland.

Other measures include ScotRail’s use of new cleaning materials to remove "tags" (signatures) from trains as soon as they appear.

The BTP is also using digital cameras to compile computerised records of graffiti attacks.

However, it has yet to acquire software that can digitally match photographs of the same tags from different sites.

Mr Mellis said there was anecdotal evidence that the crackdown was shifting the problem from the railways to other areas, with an increase in graffiti in Glasgow city centre being noted.

However, he admitted that FlashCams would not provide a permanent solution to the problem, since graffiti artists were likely to return to a site when a camera was moved.

In London, installation of a cameras prompted drug users to flee from a favourite haunt in Camden after complaints were made.

The equipment has also been used to protect a memorial garden for the victims of the Potters Bar rail crash in Hertfordshire.

The garden had been attacked by graffiti artists defacing its walls.

The BTP believes eradicating graffiti is a key move in improving passengers’ sense of security while travelling on the railways.

It said: "Graffiti gives the sense of a fear of crime and danger."