CITY-CENTRE BIDS CALL FOR STRONGER ACTION AND BETTER REPORTING ON GRAFFITI

L-R: John-Jo Von Johnson, Angela Qi Huang and Chief Inspector Dan Thomas

Graffiti continues to blight Birmingham city centre, affecting the look and feel of our streets, public confidence, and the day‑to‑day trading environment for businesses.

West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council have confirmed that enforcement activity is under way and to further strengthen enforcement action, city‑centre BIDs are clear: far more needs to be done to prevent graffiti damage being normalised.

Southside District and Birmingham Colmore are urging businesses and the public to play a more active role in reporting graffiti incidents, helping partners build the intelligence needed to identify offenders and speed up enforcement.

City partners are taking action, including targeted patrols and spot enforcement, but graffiti damage remains widespread. One of the key challenges is that the vast majority of incidents are never formally reported to police, limiting the ability to link offences, spot repeat offenders and take decisive action.

While all city‑centre BIDs continue to clean and remove graffiti daily, this alone does not deter offenders.

Angela Qi Huang, Business Relationship Manager at Southside District said: “Graffiti tagging is a scourge of the city. Our teams remove it daily, but cleaning alone doesn’t stop it happening again. Beyond the financial cost, graffiti fuels further anti‑social behaviour and contributes to people feeling less safe.”

In 2025 alone, Birmingham Colmore and Southside District received over 500 reports of graffiti directly from businesses. The cost of removal runs into thousands of pounds every year, with around 10% of BID cleaning budgets spent addressing graffiti across both public and private land.

Critically, it is estimated that fewer than 1 in 10 graffiti incidents are actually reported to West Midlands Police. Without timely police reporting, offenders remain anonymous, patterns are missed, and enforcement action takes longer than it should.

All city‑centre BIDs operate with a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) at West Midlands Police for graffiti incidents, ensuring reports are logged, mapped and escalated to relevant partners. This creates a clearer operational picture but only when incidents are known about.

John‑Jo Von Johnson, Head of Services for Birmingham Colmore and Southside District, said:

“We know police and partners are acting, but without in‑the‑moment reporting from businesses on the ground, our response remains reactive. If reporting improves, enforcement can move faster and be more targeted.”

The current focus on graffiti from West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council reflects its growing frequency and impact, particularly on business confidence and the perception of safety in the city centre. All city‑centre BIDs work closely with West Midlands Police, Birmingham City Council and contractors to resolve issues quickly. However, BIDs are not enforcement bodies, and their effectiveness depends on accurate, timely information being shared with police.

Dan Thomas, Chief Inspector for theCity Centre District at West Midlands Police said:  “Graffiti is a form of criminal damage and should be reported to police via 101 or online. Reports help us build intelligence and take action. If you have information about those responsible but don’t want to report directly, Crimestoppers is available anonymously.”

If you see graffiti:

·       Report it to West Midlands Police via 101 or online

·       Notify your local BID once reported, so incidents can be tracked and linked

·       Share photos, CCTV footage and exact locations and timestamps to identify hotspots

·       Encourage neighbouring businesses to report too; collective action strengthens enforcement

Enforcement is happening but it needs stronger intelligence to happen faster. Reporting graffiti is not about paperwork; it’s about giving police the evidence they need to intervene, deter repeat offending, and protect the city centre.

Graffiti is not inevitable. By reporting incidents, we can move from constant clean‑up to meaningful crackdown.

Let’s take better pride in our city. Let’s take action.