Online surveys submitted between September and December 2007 reveal that 100% of people that have reported graffiti said they were very satisfied with our service and that it is a real benefit to the community, with 80% of respondents believe they see less graffiti now. 80% of people report graffiti by email or use the website online reporting form and 100% would use our removal service again.
 
Survey results provide valuable information about the service and help to guide us in the right direction to further improve service quality and introduce new initiatives.

Because the graffiti team's three main service areas, prevention and education for younger people, removal of graffiti and pursuing enforcement action. Surveys provide the opportunity to analyse three main age groups: Young people under 11, Youths up to 18 years and Adults 18 and over which means we can make improvements and enhancements to the service to benefit all age groups.

In 2007, as a result of surveys and feedback from all age groups, we have introduced five enhancements to the graffiti removal service, these include: 

• Targeted graffiti hotspot cleans across the borough
• Closer working partnerships with partners and local agencies such as the police and safer neighbourhood teams
• Greater involvement in community events such as, the 'Safer Neighbourhood' week
• Improvements to graffiti information and material used at local community events
• Reviewing and improving questionnaire used at community events

Your correspondence
Most reports for removal services are made by telephone or by email. For the period of April 06 to March 07 we received 3,425 calls to the hotline and 502 reports of graffiti online via our website. In total we raised 4,981 graffiti removal orders, which also include letters, emails and personal visits. Find out about our targets and results

In 2007, as part of our continuing efforts to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction, we recorded the types of correspondence received, in addition to graffiti reports. These are summarised below.

The subjects of complaints vary, but the majority relate to delays in removal services. Any complaint we receive, whether formal or informal, is thoroughly investigated and resolved within our targets for replying to correspondence, in the majority of cases.

Find out about our complaints procedure.

Where are we now
In 2007 - 2008, Wandsworth Council's investment into graffiti removal services is 2nd largest in comparison to 6 Boroughs sampled.

In 2006 - 2007 we set aside just over £500,000 which shows our commitment to dealing with graffiti vandalism and reflects the extensive educational programme aimed at young people and the free removal service provided to residents and businesses in the borough. Following on from a tender exercise in 2007, new graffiti removal contracts are due to commence in February 2008, which means the service can provide even better value for money in 2008 - 2009 due to the savings made.

Read more in our press release - Graffiti blitz pays off

Capital Standards end of year performance report on litter and associated local environmental issues was published in May 2007. Wandsworth Council improved performance in 2006-2007 by approximately 3% from 2005-2006, which means, out of 28 London Borough surveyed, Wandsworth Council is now ranked in the top five for its high levels of cleanliness, i.e. reduced graffiti in the borough.

We aim to expand on all our past good work in 2008 and will continue to monitor and evaluate customer feedback and satisfaction so that we can improve service levels and keep you informed of changes.

Finally we are very pleased to announce that following an assessment on January 21st 2008, Wandsworth Graffiti Removal Service retains its Charter Mark Status for a further three years. Our assessor received some very positive feedback from service partners and colleagues spoken to on the day and was impressed with the service overall as we had demonstrated a significant improvement since 2006.

Thank you for your continued support and please keep your responses coming in!