DOODLINGS OF school pupils in Dundee are helping police crackdown on graffiti vandals as officers are able to compare scribbles on jotters with “tags”, signatures spray-painted on walls in the area.

Picture phones have allowed officers to take photos of spray-paint vandalism, which are compiled in a database at Bell Street headquarters to build intelligence and help trace persistent vandals suspected of defacing dozens of walls.

During routine visits to schools, officers are among other things able to enlist the help of teachers who may recognise the photographed “tags” taken by officers from doodlings on pupils’ jotters.

One pupil in Dundee now faces possible prosecution as a result of officers matching images sprayed on public buildings with artwork in the student’s jotter, as well as drawings found in his bedroom.

The pilot project has so far been hailed a success, and vandalism detection rates have risen by 15% since the scheme was launched in June.

The cost of vandalism in the Tayside area runs into six figures and this latest attempt is helping to break the spiralling cost and the scourge of this form of anti-social behaviour.

Tayside Police dealt with 2720 reported acts of vandalism in 2003, which is a 10.3% reduction in recorded acts of vandalism and an increase of 15% in the amount of people detected.

The impact of the pilot, which is the first of its kind in the UK, has been so great that Tayside Police have been promoting the benefits of the scheme in police publications and other forces around the country are expected to follow their lead.

Chief Superintendent Ian Alexander said, “We are not routinely going into schools to check pupils’ jotters. Officers go into schools as part of their regular duties and sometimes teachers are able to say whether a particular signature spray painted on walls that has been photographed is recognisable. If it is then we can seize jotters.

“Images are only being used for intelligence purposes and it would have to be backed up with other evidence, such as witnesses, hand-writing experts who can identify common features no matter what method is used.

“It is a very worthwhile scheme in terms of building intelligence as when a picture is taken the image is then e-mailed back to the crime management department and officers are then able to search on names that are found graffiti sprayed.

“It is extremely cost effective as people can be caught and convicted of multiple acts of vandalism because the database can link the images together so rather than having the same person appear in court several times for different cases they can appear once on several charges.”

Mobile phone company Orange supplied the force with six free picture messaging Panasonic GD87 phones to test the new approach.

Carrying out acts of graffiti carries a maximum sentence of three months’ imprisonment and if damage is significant culprits could go on indictment and face trial at the High Court.