Vandals cost $10m

MONDAY , 11 SEPTEMBER 2006 The Dominion Post – New Zealand By LANE NICHOLS

The cost of vandalism in New Zealand schools has jumped to more than $10 million a year as the Education Ministry reviews security.

Vandalism costs surged in the past financial year and Government payments to schools to cover wilful damage reached a five-year high.

The Principals Federation says the "horrendous" costs are eating into everyday teaching resources.

Senseless damage of school property was soul-destroying for pupils and teachers. The ministry needed to fund more after-hours surveillance.

Figures made public under the Official Information Act show schools received $6.9 million in operations grant money to cover vandalism last year. Though there is no evidence of whether the entire budget was spent, an extra $2 million went on "top-up" payments.

Fire damage and arson at schools cost taxpayers another $3.7 million – the most since 2001. About half of this could be linked to arson, a ministry spokesman said.

Kaipara College in Northland had the highest individual vandalism costs – $104,000.

Naenae College had Wellington's worst figure – $70,000. Acting principal Gloria Thompson said the biggest problem was tagging, mostly done at weekends by outsiders.

Cleaning it up was frustrating and expensive, but necessary, she said.

"It's important to have a clean, safe learning environment. That's of prime importance to us. If we don't keep it clean of tagging there's a perception or feeling of insecurity and unsafeness."

Vandalism had reduced since the school installed security cameras at its own cost.

Ministry property group implementation manager Brian Mitchell said officials were investigating why national vandalism costs had shot up and was reviewing its school security policy. Changes could result in better protection for high-risk schools, including more state-funded video surveillance.

The Government already spent millions on security patrols, intruder alarms and smoke detection and sprinkler systems. However, vandalism costs were relatively low relative to the ministry's $11 billion school property portfolio.

Federation president Pat Newman said operations money not spent on vandalism could be used to fund learning and teacher support.

Smashed windows, graffiti and break-ins were the most common willful damage.

"It's a total waste of money. But it's the human cost of vandalism which is absolutely soul-destroying. It's the teachers' and kids' work. It's the feeling that you've been – violated is the not the right word – but it's almost similar . . . Very akin to your house burning down."

Miramar Central School has had serious vandalism problems in the past four years.

Principal John Taylor-Smith said staff often found broken beer bottles, smashed windows and graffiti. School fields had been chewed up by cars, classrooms broken into and a tree set alight.

The school was now in the ministry's highest-risk category,

"It's incredibly frustrating. It's just a total lack of responsibility for other people's property."

The situation had improved this year as a result of police action, security patrols and the temporary installation of security cameras.

Wellington police youth services coordinator Sergeant Greg Clark said most juvenile vandalism involved tagging – about 25 per cent of it at schools.

Some vandals offended out of boredom though "others are just wannabes that are doing it because they think it's cool".

But a hardcore group had a total disregard for people's property, Mr Clark said. "They're the type of kids who will carry on to other things because they're just anti-society – anti-everything."

Some vandals received warnings, others had to clean up graffiti and pay for damaged property. Serious offending could be dealt with in the Youth Court.

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