Jena, 07.05.2026 – The Jena City Council has approved a comprehensive concept for dealing with illegal graffiti, tags, and defacement. The goal is to sustainably reduce property damage throughout the city area, relieve property owners, and simultaneously promote legal street art opportunities.
- Measure: New six-pillar concept against illegal graffiti
- Actors: City Council, administration, municipal enterprises, youth welfare, and police
- Innovation: Dedicated reporting category in the city’s deficiency reporter (Mängelmelder)
- Focus: Extremist, criminal, or particularly fresh defacements have priority
A holistic approach for the cityscape
The new approach against illegal graffiti in Jena is based on a so-called six-pillar model. It includes the areas of prevention, repression, cleaning, support for private owners, monitoring, and the targeted promotion of legal graffiti surfaces. The strategy was developed across departments by a working group in which the city administration, youth welfare, municipal enterprises, and the police collaborated closely.
Faster reporting channels for citizens
To record and remove illegal defacements in the city area more quickly in the future, the city’s deficiency reporter (Mängelmelder) has been adapted. A dedicated category for graffiti is now available there. The administration sets clear priorities for processing: criminal content, extremist symbols, and very fresh tags are to be treated preferentially and removed as quickly as possible. Internal processing procedures within the city authorities are also being restructured for this purpose.
Prevention and perspectives for legal art
In addition to law enforcement, which is to be intensified through closer coordination between the police and the judiciary, the concept relies heavily on prevention. Educational projects at schools and in city youth centers are planned to raise awareness of the consequences of illegal spraying. At the same time, the city recognizes the need for creative spaces and plans to designate further legal areas for graffiti artists.
Support for private owners still under review
Since not only city property but often private real estate is affected by defacement, the concept includes a pillar for supporting homeowners. Whether and in what form funding opportunities for cleaning private facades will be implemented is currently being examined by the city administration. So far, however, no financial resources are available for private owners.
Illegal graffiti causes millions of euros in damage nationwide every year. The costs for professional facade cleaning can quickly reach four-figure amounts, depending on the surface and the paint used. Cities like Jena are therefore increasingly relying on a dual strategy: the consistent removal of vandalism and the simultaneous provision of legal spaces. Legal walls (so-called „Hall of Fames“) offer the scene space for urban art and demonstrably contribute to reducing uncontrolled defacement in the immediate vicinity. The city’s deficiency reporter (Mängelmelder), through which graffiti can now also be reported, is a central citizen platform in Jena, accessible via app or the city’s website.
Source:
Jena approves measures against illegal graffiti
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