Youngsters use art to brighten up their area
Young people from Knowle West and Filwood helped brighten up their neighbourhood by painting graffiti art on rubbish bins at an action day.
Future Proof, whose tag line is "Believe in Knowle West", painted 12 bins, including several from local primary schools, to show their determination to serve their community in constructive ways.
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Bristol City Council youth offending service manager Adrian Quinn said: "By helping young people play an active role in maintaining and improving their local environment, this project helps them to continue to develop a sense of citizenship and responsibility.
"This, in turn, can help reduce anti-social behaviour and crime.
"Well done to Future Proof for taking an active step in making their community a brighter place to be."
The group is also involved in work to recondition bikes that local people cannot afford to get fixed.
Comments
by Rick, Knowle Park
Saturday, May 30 2009, 4:13PM
“Let me see if I have this right... a Bristol City Council employee applauds the spraying of graffiti on council-tax funded equipment as a way of 'serving their community' and 'developing a sense of... responsibility'.
I hope the same BCC employee ensured the children were also informed that, under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act, it is illegal to sell aerosols to anyone under the age of 16.
Why are we paying for idiots like these for this sort of nonsense?
Is this the same Bristol City Council that painted over private-owned graffiti in Stokes Croft earlier this month because it was perceived as an eyesore?
Is this the same Bristol City Council that in April was reported to be spending £150,000 to recruit 'rubbish police' "with the power to prosecute anyone they catch... spraying graffiti"? (This website, Mon, May 4th)
The same Bristol City Council that employs a 'Clean and Green Team' which, amongst other things, supervises the removal of graffiti by "people sentenced to do community service" after being convicted of "crimes such as driving, financial and graffiti offences."? (This site, Monday, Nov 17th, 2008)
Now contrast this utter nonsense and council tax-funded tolerance of criminal behaviour with that of South Gloucestershire Council which, in January and in partnership with other organisations, began distributing DVD's to schools showing the exact opposite, i.e. that graffiti blights communities. (This site, Tues January 27th)
How about a Bristol City Council-promoted "day of action" promoting the clean up of graffiti by children to "serve their community in constructive ways" and "develop a sense of citizenship and responsibility.".
(Or is the employee, a Youth Offending Service manager, just trying to sow the seeds of future 'customers' to keep himself and his colleagues in a well-paid job?)”