Newsletter | Farm Weekly

UPDATE, Wednesday, 7am: Four young men will be charged with causing criminal damage after a graffiti attack in Port Fairy a month ago. Port Fairy police Sergeant Dave Walkley said the young men had been interviewed and would be charged on summons to appear in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court next year. The men - two 18-year-old Warrnambool men, a 19-year-old Warrnambool man and a 21-year-old Port Fairy man - will be charged with causing criminal damage and separate graffiti offences. Sergeant Walkley said officers had to process more than 10 hours of CCTV footage to identify the offenders. "It's been an exhaustive investigation after this graffiti attack happened over a couple of hours just a month ago, very early on Saturday morning, October 14," he said. "Two young men attended at Port Fairy that night for a party. "They left that event and went to a main street in Port Fairy with the intent of doing graffiti tags." Sergeant Walkley said those two offenders brought paint spray cans with them in backpacks. "They've done a number of tags and then gone to a Sackville Street address where they met up with other young males," he said. "From there four males left the address, climbed onto upstairs verandah awnings and painted tags on both sides of Sackville Street." The police sergeant said 18 buildings were defaced with more than 40 tags. "All the young males have assisted police with our inquiries," Sergeant Walkley said. "The value of the damage is still being determined, we're waiting on quotes and invoices, but it will be well in excess of $5000 just to paint over the tags." None of the young men have prior court convictions. "It's been a very pleasing result to have identified everyone involved and we're in the process of issuing charges," Sergeant Walkley said. "A lot of the time these sort of offences are done in the middle of the night, offenders go to great lengths to conceal their identity and it's not often the police can charge anyone with causing graffiti." The police sergeant said the investigation had been time consuming. "It's been a month-long investigation when we have far greater priorities," he said. "There have been 17 people killed on south-west roads this year and we're busy trawling through 10 hours of CCTV footage instead of being out on the roads providing a police presence. "It's just a waste of time when Port Fairy police resources could be far better allocated elsewhere." Earlier: Police are requesting any business the victim of an extensive graffiti attack in central Port Fairy overnight Friday to report damage. Port Fairy police Sergeant David Walkley said officers were still in the process of collating all the information after young offenders committed offences in the central business district. He said more than a dozen businesses - mainly in Sackville and Banks streets, were targeted with between 40 and 50 spray painted tags. "We are still taking reports and collating CCTV footage," he said. "Brooks Hardware's whole facade along Sackville Street - the best part of 50 metres - was targeted. "There were street front canopies and upstairs and downstairs of some businesses damaged. There were tags in laneways." The police sergeant said it was estimated that the damage bill would be in excess of $10,000. "We just want to make sure that all business owners impacted report the damage to police so those responsible can be held to full account for all their offending," Sergeant Walkley said. "Everything has been tagged, down to utility meter boxes. "We have some very strong avenues of inquiries and believe that arrests are imminent." Sergeant Walkley said that Moyne Shire Council and Port Fairy businesses had worked together during the past 18 months to update and improve facades in the centre of town. "This senseless attack has completely undone all the good work that has been undertaken," he said. Anyone with information about the graffiti attack is requested to contact the Port Fairy police station on 5568 1007 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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