A call for everyone to take action and help stop graffiti across Birmingham city centre has been made, as it was revealed that the problem is costing thousands of pounds to remove every year.
The impact of graffiti on the city
City Centre Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), where local businesses collectively pool financial resources to fund improvements and local services, said graffiti affects 'the look and feel of our streets, public confidence, and the day-to-day trading environment for businesses.' They have called on residents to report incidents, stating that far more needs to be done to prevent 'graffiti damage being normalised.'
Birmingham City Council said unlawful graffiti tagging is classed as an environmental crime and a form of anti-social behaviour. It added: 'It has a wide-ranging impact on communities, contributing to: A decline in the appearance of neighbourhoods; increased fear of crime; reduced property values; additional and unnecessary costs to the council and local businesses, who must divert funds away from essential services to remove the damage.'
Recent enforcement actions
Four people responsible for significant graffiti and tagging activity in the city were recently identified by council and local policing teams and handed a Community Protection Warning (CPW) at their home addresses. The CPW contains several conditions, including prohibiting the individual from engaging in any graffiti-related activity and preventing them from carrying aerosol cans or other items typically used for tagging.
Now Southside District and Birmingham Colmore are urging businesses and the public to play a more active role in reporting graffiti incidents, helping partners build the intelligence needed to identify offenders and speed up enforcement. They said one of the main challenges is that the vast majority of incidents are never formally reported to police, limiting the ability to link offences, spot repeat offenders and take decisive action.
Four ways everyone can help
The BIDs urge that if you see graffiti:
- Report it to West Midlands Police via 101 or online
- Notify your local BID once reported, so incidents can be tracked and linked
- Share photos, CCTV footage and exact locations and timestamps to identify hotspots
- Encourage neighbouring businesses to report too; collective action strengthens enforcement
Angela Qi Huang, Business Relationship Manager at Southside District, said: 'Graffiti tagging is a scourge of the city. Our teams remove it daily, but cleaning alone doesn't stop it happening again. Beyond the financial cost, graffiti fuels further anti-social behaviour and contributes to people feeling less safe.'
Statistics and costs
In 2025 alone, Birmingham Colmore and Southside District received over 500 reports of graffiti directly from businesses. The cost of removal runs into thousands of pounds every year, with around 10% of BID cleaning budgets spent addressing graffiti across both public and private land. Critically, it is estimated that fewer than 1 in 10 graffiti incidents are actually reported to West Midlands Police. Without timely police reporting, offenders remain anonymous, patterns are missed, and enforcement action takes longer than it should.
John-Jo Von Johnson, Head of Services for Birmingham Colmore and Southside District, said: 'We know police and partners are acting, but without in-the-moment reporting from businesses on the ground, our response remains reactive. If reporting improves, enforcement can move faster and be more targeted.'
Dan Thomas, Chief Inspector for the City Centre District at West Midlands Police, said: 'Graffiti is a form of criminal damage and should be reported to police via 101 or online. Reports help us build intelligence and take action. If you have information about those responsible but don't want to report directly, Crimestoppers is available anonymously.'
