"Smitty"

Whoever he is "Smitty" could probably teach politicians about self-promotion. His 'brand' is scrawled on houses, walls and fences from Leith Links to the Restalrig Crescent. He has obviously been working hard to get known.

Needless to say, graffiti is an eyesore and needs to be got rid of. New York had a policy of coming down hard on small crimes and the effects were that major crimes underwent a drastic reduction too. It is no surprise that the areas with little graffiti have much less anti-social behaviour than those that do. Because the atmosphere changes with graffiti, it lets people who are inclined to act anti-socially think they can get away with it.

However, in an attempt to maintain standards all over Edinburgh, the council has put in place graffiti teams that guarantees removal of graffiti within 24 hours. All you have to do is call. It is another way of preventing an area slipping or helping to bring one up.

If you have a problem with graffiti contact myself : wilsonforleith@yahoo.co.uk and I will pass it onto a direct link and help get the marks removed.