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Do You Know These Vandals?

October 23rd, 2008

These vandals were captured by our infra-red camera destroying one of our election hoardings with a box knife 11 days ago. Do you know them?

I would have overlooked some of the more clever ‘art’ on the signs. Indeed some of the early indelible pen work was so good I did not like to see it cleaned off. But the thuggish destruction is chewing up the donations and voluntary effort of people of all parties. Prosecution is needed.

It is time for the Police to be involved. Vandalism of $1000 per week may be routine for some of our long-suffering property owners. The Police may be weary of finding minor offenders then seeing them recycled immediately because our youth justice system favours feeble excuses, but the public is sick of it.

We have been able to keep replacing the signs, but I know that smaller parties are actually having their message successfully suppressed. The money for every political party comes from generous individuals who want to see changes in New Zealand, whatever their political persuasion.

We plan to catch these political thugs who don’t like free speech or opinions different from their own. If the Police choose not to treat it seriously there is always private prosecution.

The boys below* were in a separate group disturbed defacing one of our hoardings last weekend, followed and photographed. Do you know who they are?

If you know them, please warn their parents.

*[I've met with two of the boys. They've apologised and their pictures have accordingly been removed. SF]

Filed under Politics

Comments

I note with disgust that the National signs throughout Wellington Central are being systematically destroyed virtually every evening costing you $1000 a week. Initially they were cut out. Then the supports were smashed to bits and now some are even having petrol poured on them and burned repeatedly. The Labour /Green axis of intolerance believes that the end always justifies the means. The EFA limits your freedom of speech and the political thugs destroy your message of hope. The Wellington police are not interested in these crimes. The criminals are the fanatics who do this do so out of hatred for democracy and hatred of your right to put your point of view. Watch out for dirtier tricks and especially “The Really Big Lie”, which wil be pulled out in the last few days of the campaign too late to counter.

[...] Franks has blogged some photos of vandals destroying or defacing his signs. Go have a look in case you recognise [...]

While I don’t condone this action (all election posters bar the odd moustache are off limits), perhaps they just need to take a cue from Rodney Hide and wait for 6 months so they are immune from prosecution.

“The Electoral Commission said the party should have declared the space under rules requiring disclosure of donations in kind worth more than $10,000 a year.
The ruling against ACT says it should have declared the office space, which was donated for several years till 2005. It noted the non-declaration was outside the six-month limit for prosecution, but ordered ACT to make amended returns for the years it used the space.”

See if it’s acceptable from the very top, how are they to distinguish what’s right and wrong – just wait 6 months.

I think Phil is seeing too much in it. The culprits are most likely just brainless vandals. On a main street in Mount Maunganui where young people walked at night a group of apartments had their letter boxes vadalised repeatedly and across the road some commercial hoardings were regularly vandalised. I see the political hoardings as much the same.

Bob:

There are plenty of brainless yobs on the North Shore whose social graces and understanding of the nuances of private property rights are pretty much non-existent. But this is my second general election up here, and I haven’t seen a single hoarding (of whatever party) vandalised.

What’s that about?

The top left kid looks like the same one as the blond in the bottom series.

Stephen, the problem we’re having with the Green billboards is not people vandalising them but people stealing them.

Seems they are so good that lots of people want one of their own.

And, Paul, I’m still trying to figure out what your point is, if you ever had one to begin with.

You mightn’t like Stephen, or Rodney, or the parties they represent. That’s your right. But before you try and give these vandals a pass, how about a little respect for the thousands of volunteers — across the political spectrum — who’ve gotten off their arses and are participating in this campaign rather than running around under cover of darkness with Stanley knives. They’re being p***ed on my these gutless cowards too.

As a Nat Party member on a busy road, I’ve let the local candidate put up a hoarding on the fence – on Monday someone stuck a bunch of Labour brouchures over the hoarding. Far too many brouchures to be a random vandal.

Unforetunately, someone took them down before my wife could get a photo. But I wouldn’t be surprised why

We are having a similar problem with Libertarianz signs – our Legalise (marijuana leaf outline) signs are so popular that they are being stolen within 12 hours. Hopefully this means that they are safely inside someone’s flat and dozens of people are looking at them … we can only hope.

I wonder if it wouldn’t be worth it for the parties to band together and share the cost of an infrared camera to watch over each of the major sites … and if one party didn’t want to chip in, you’d know it was their groupies doing the vandalism!

[Good suggestion]

Its bad , but at least it keeps a NZ worker busy remaking them

lol Hopefully perhaps the worst example of the broken window fallacy I’ve heard today…

Same problem in Dunedin. However it would appear that Young Labour members are the perpetrators here. We also have some great photos of them defacing National billboards and the office.

I wouldn’t be all suprised if they’re Labour party activists!

Stephen, didn’t i drive past one of your signs lying down burnt the other day?

“Thugs”? They’re just kids. Don’t you think this is a bit over the top? I bet you got up to all sorts of shenanigans when you were a teenager. Have you forgotten?

nope of the pics at all show actual damage in progress just people that may or may not be doing something and i would hsve thought people would see that ?>??

[The infrared shots posted are only a few of a series showing the systematic carving out of eyes and the tearing of other chunks. If you look carefully you can see the knife. We had standard instructions at that time to the nearby young supporters not to approach the vandals too closely if they were using knives. Now they'd be approached with flash cameras.]

Isn’t the message obvious? Give up!! Either that or put your cameras to some productive cause like getting rid of boy racers – they’re the real menace!! Oh yeah and property developers too!! That should give you some decent campaign material – God knows someone needs some.

I live on a strategic corner site of a major intersection in Christchurch. In the past I have allowed all political pursuasions to use the fence as a posting point for billboards. No more!

Having spent nearly $1k having my fence repaired and repainted since the last election because of spray painted graffiti and other damage I am simply not prepared to go down that road again.

Vandalism in our community is out of control and the sooner the elected ones do something about this the better.

In the part of town where I live it’s really only the National board and the Green board that are still standing on a day-to-day basis. They’re the sturdiest construction of the lot, so perhaps that’s why.

The Nat board was drawn all over, instead of being knocked down. And the Greens board spent the first week lying down, but must have been more securely installed since then.

I don’t think its party-political – at least not here – Knocking them down and ripping them up is probably just a whole heap of fun for some teenagers (or eternal adolescents of any age).

Comment to SOE. I quote “Either that or put your cameras to some productive cause like getting rid of boy racers – they’re the real menace!! Oh yeah and property developers too!!”

Don’t worry most of those idiots are going broke at the moment. Quite funny to see their Porsches and Ferraris being repossessed. Suckers! Oriental Bay – the graveyard of developers

That Labour/Green axis is really clever. They’re damaging their own signs just to cover their tracks!

I have photographed all vandalised billboards in my part of Auckland. It’s a huge effort and waste of time for the parties to fix them up each day.
The number of billboards vandalised is: Act 11, Green 10, Labour 32, National 15. I also have a video camera recording certain billboards all night.
Mostly the vandals are groups of teenagers who knock down almost anything. Two groups of teens in their parents’ cars knocked down only Labour billboards. The police have their rego numbers and they are likely to be prosecuted for wilful damage. The police also have caught the teens knocking down ACT billboards.
The polynesian teens are very efficient at taking down billboards quietly.
The video of seven affluent white teens attempting (but failing) to knock down a Labour billboard was considered very amusing by a TV company.
A sad individual in a white 1992 Toyota Caldina spent quite a bit of money and time making a very neatly done large sticker to stick on Helen Clark. I have him on video driving past three times and photographing it.
The person sticking new faces on Clark was very lucky that I had not been recording during the day at that time. I’ll get you next time.

ah, get over it mate – if you think a billboards make any difference you’re dreamin. Not only are they an infringement on public space photo’s of obnoxious self important enemies of the working class are an unwelcome blemish on our city streets

Nah, I’m sure those people in the photos above are hard core Labour terrorists just made up to *look* like punk kids. Its a conspiracy for sure.

Isn’t this sort of vandalism the sort that crime fighters are talking about nipping in the bud.
Now it might just be larrikins letting off a bit of steam, but add alcohol or drugs to the mix a bit down the track and who knows what sort of mischief they will get up to next.
I believe this sort of behaviour can be the starting point of really anti-social behaviour for those that are inclined to the criminal side of life. For those whose personalities thrive on thrills and danger may find that vandalism becomes ho-hum boring and look for bigger ‘hits’ to provide the thrills.

[The "starting point" comment is thoughtful Diane. The underlying theory of Broken Windows policing is that people inclined to preying on others will look for environmental signals of the level of risk in their activity, then act or refrain according to that perception. Persistent graffiti and un-repaired vandalism is a public confirmation that rules are not enforced, that other predators are getting away with predation. So it escalates as the marginal offenders join in. The Wadestown situation may support that theory. Wadestown people tell us of a general increase in vandalism and graffiti over the past two weeks. It may be associated with the sight of trashed billboards in that suburb morning after morning. There is now regular Police surveillance of several homes there occupied by people who benefit from Diplomatic Protection, because of threatening graffiti.We think the Wadestown destruction is separate from the systematic campaign elsewhere. The methods have differed. It may be just a simple local snob who thinks his suburb is above the vulgar enthusiasms involved in electoral politics, who is enjoying the feeling of dominance he gets by destroying the impudent intrusion of messages in his territory that he has not approved]

Stumbled across this post via stuff.co.nz, and I’m only leaving this pointless comment because of what your security code requires me to type in: a rainbow coloured “D O P E”

Maybe you still have hope for a coalition with the Greens….

I heard those signs are $300 each, what a waste of money. Do you really think they persuade people to vote for you?

God I’m sick of all the right-wing crap about axises of evil, kiwiblog makes me sick. Why can’t you people all grow up

I say get over it! It’s all part of the fun of election time, in fact it is the only fun thing to do at election time!! Even if I did know these people I would never give them up, good on them. The national party is so outdated. Bring on socialism! Feed the poor, screw the rich!

National want to privatise loads of stuff that cost the country a lot of money to create or regain from the private sector. Why do you not admit this as one of your policies rather than have it deferred as a “we’ll think about it” or “not in the first year” type statements, when you know that it is your intention.

If it is attractive to the private sector, it is because it can make money – no other reason. If it can make money and it is something that kiwis need, like broadband, railways, or banking, what is wrong with the public owning it? it is a monopoly and any profits are best returned to the country by way of tax rebates or kiwisaver investment bonds etc..

Why do you want to effectively give the profits to those wealthyl people who can afford to invest in shares?

Vote for Pedro!

BTW.. Poster #1… Phil, youre a sycophantic brown noser if ever I have seen one. Are you initials indeed S.F by any chance?

Parking on kerbs is bad. It hastens wear and tear on the kerbs and imposes unnecessary costs. Moreover it is a ticketable offense.

I think i’ll vote National so that you can get idiots like the above out of NZ…

I don’t think the vandalism’s are politically fueled.
More just teenagers being teenagers and having fun.
Get some KANWOX down in this.

Lol, Seriously… Are people surprised that these things get destroyed. When have they not been a target for vandals.

Frank, instead of an infrared camera – how about installing an infrared shotgun.

Let’s see these little shits pose in front of that… hehe

Unfortunately Stephen, because the photos aren’t that sharp and the surveillance equipment is most likely more expensive than the hoardings themselves, the incentives are for the vandals to either increase their vandalism of signs to get themselves on camera (because only they will know who they are), they will now wear balaclavas and hoodies, or they will target the cameras as a souvenir.

I remember back in the 1999 election the candidate decided to put all his coreflute up in one day, that night they were all vandalised, he had only a few spares and we (well only I really bothered) had to put up and take down our remaining hoardings every morning and night for the rest of the campaign.

If you are really serious about running a battalion against guerillas then you need to outnumber them 100 to 1. Can you afford that?

Stephen I know this will be costing you a lot in time and money, but you really do just come off looking paranoid and prone to over reaction. Look at the photos – they are clearly teenage kids with nothing better to do.

I actually saw kids damaging signs down Raroa Rd a week or two back – they were laughing and carrying on and RANDOMLY cutting the signs – nothing I saw would suggest this is some sort of personal crusade against you or any other candidate. Its just kids mucking about – surely you did that yourself?

Mind you part of me does wonder if this is a cynical attempt at getting some media attention? Your people have been saying that your name recognition is nowhere near as good as you thought it was…

i find diane’s comments incredibly worrying….take a deep breath and count to five. Just try to remember that youth aren’t all criminals, most of us are incredibly bright individuals….we just happen to not like it when we have pompus middle class men telling us that we need to be sent to boot camp to learn our manners!
as a hospitality worker who has been in the crappy trade for ten years i know exactly what section of society it is that needs to learn some manners!!!

it’s time we look back at our history and reassess the merits of the likes of Bakunin and emma goldman….

Good on ya snooch.
Guess this sort of reasoning is over old Frank’s head… with his lofty cloistered conspiracy thories.
Tut tut, I can haz bilboard damage & it is costing my poor bleeding pocket!
Democracy is live & well.

I think it is interesting that teen kids are specifically targeting your signs, Stephen. It surely shows that even youngsters can be politically minded enough to see through you.

So Andrew – your story I am bemused with, why didn’t you seem to do anything about it? Even if it is ‘just kids’ it highlights a huge issue, disrespect for property. Even if they are ‘fair game’ election hoardings as Franks put it, the amount of graffiti in my area has steadily gone up. Any disrespect to any item is not only illegal, but hugely negative social consequences.

Hi Stephen. I smashed over an ACT sign on Titirangi Rd a few weeks ago simply because I hate your guts. It hasn’t been fixed yet and I’m so pleased to hear that you can’t afford to replace damaged signs. Good job.

Hypocritical double standards for election self aggrandisement such as fostering, perpetuating and passing certain ageist, sexist, racist and disproportionate laws that target young males ie: boy-racers, cannabis etc, deserve derision. Lawyer/politico types who not only profit on the back of the justice-corrections mayhem but do so in complete contravention of the ‘party principles’ are evidently a lot more transparent to the younger folk who are deservedly less tolerant of such double standards than the political kith and kin.

When has ANY journalist or political commentator questioned any of the major parties over the “thou shalt not talk about cannabis” clause of the past six years of coalition agreements for example? Or ANY incumbent or serious wannabe politician checked into the efficacy of maintaining this massive grift… a billion dollar boondoggle. It is criminal, and our young folk are just being intolerantly tough on crime zeroing in on the culprits.

Want some insight into why young folk (and others) are agin yours and others political graffiti?

Look to yourselves….

It really is astounding how many people are justifying the behaviour of the youths above with such silly comments as “they are just kids” and “having a bit of fun”. Would you say that if they decided that it was a “bit of fun” to smash all the windows on the front of your house? Or to spray paint your fence?

I guess the upside is that anyone reading the comments here will see the hypocrisy and double standards of the left wing commenters.

Good luck Stephen – you are doing the right thing to catch these scum when the police are not willing or able to do it.

…great to see so many lefty clowns check kiwiblog and your blog Stephen. There’s hope for them yet…

Snooch

“Most of us are incredibly bright individuals”.

That comment pretty much refutes your claim. A handful of individuals of any age are incredibly bright, a handful are incredibly stupid. The vast majority are somewhere in the middle, grouped in a normal distribution around the mean. If you haven’t figured that out yet, expect to spend another few decades preparing food for those who have.

I don’t think Franks is complaining about your manners, he is complaining about you breaking his stuff. Spot the difference?

DarrenR
I guess you mist be one of the “incredibly bright” ones, given you have destroyed an ACT billboard in Auckland to express your displeasure with a National candidate standing in Wellington.Perhaps you could retrain as a rocket scientist.

“DarrenR
I guess you mist be one of the “incredibly bright” ones, given you have destroyed an ACT billboard in Auckland to express your displeasure with a National candidate standing in Wellington.”

Hey, what happened to my comment earlier saying much the same as this? ANyway, Darren made me laugh. AT his expense.

This is just over the top and getting out of hand.
Do you really have proof that the boys in the last 3 photos did any damage?
Things like this happen every year so me and many of my work companions don’t see what the big deal is.
Putting in infared cameras is going to cost you alot more than just replacing the signs.
Stephen needs to worry about more important things that mean more to the rest of the country. By the time the elections are over no one is going to care about this vandalism and Franks will’ve wished he’d worried about more important things.

I am the mother of one of the boys posing happily in the photo above.
He and his friend have fronted up to Stephen Franks today, apologised and will help in the mending and cleaning of signs in the area.
Wilful damage to another’s property is an offence. They consider themselves lucky to have avoided a legal consequence.
Being a teenager is no reason to dismiss the behaviour. He has fronted up, owned his actions, initiated a consequence and hopefully learnt a lesson.
Thanks Stephen for the meeting and your understanding.

Why would you stnad and have your photo taken if you knew you they had seen you and trying to snap you? Those three that got taken off have gotta be straight.

I have no time for the apologists for these vandals. People with no respect for either democracy or for other people’s property.
I will vote for people who are prepared to hold teenagers acountable for their actions, knowing that at the least it saves our country money and at most it may deter a vulnerable teen from continuing to a life as a criminal loser.

[...] at nothing to win in politics; see what they did to Stephen Franks in Wellington Central – systematic election hoarding defacement, abuse on his blog (too numerous to link to any one example), You Tube videos twisting out of [...]

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About Stephen Franks

Stephen Franks is a principal of specialist Wellington law firm Franks & Ogilvie (Commercial & Public Law) and a former Member of the New Zealand Parliament. Read more……

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