The innovative pilot, the only one of its kind in Scotland, means officers can now photograph graffiti and identify individuals responsible for multiple instances of vandalism by looking at distinctive signatures and styles.

Mobile phone firm Orange supplied the force’s Central Division with six free picture messaging phones to test the new “snap trap” approach. When graffiti is reported, a beat officer will make initial notes of the scene, then a photograph will be taken using one of the phones.

The officer will email the images to the crime manager at Bell St HQ. He then looks for common designs and signatures (called tags), and collates offences to identify the individuals responsible.

The move comes after Fife firefighters announced they are using similar phones to send pictures of fire scenes to hospitals to allow them to prepare for casualties.

Divisional Commander, Chief Superintendent Ian Alexander said, “The pictures can be emailed straight from the scene and stored on a database, a bit like fingerprints. We collect the images and can charge an individual with numerous offences rather than just one.”

At the moment there are five individuals CID think are responsible for multiple acts of vandalism.

Ch Supt Alexander said, “This number is likely to go up, however, as we know from tags that there are some yet to be identified who are responsible for a large number of acts.”

Chief Superintendent Alexander added, “The costs are definitely outweighed by the benefits in terms of officer time and it must be frightening to individuals involved in graffiti.”

For the first month of the trial, which started at the end of June, Orange waived the bill. Now they have donated the phones to the force.

The officer in charge of the project, Detective Chief Inspector Jim Cameron, said, “What we are trying to do is gather instances of people vandalising property through graffiti, the ultimate aim being to identify those responsible for serial vandalism.

“We want the public’s help in tracing those responsible for vandalising property — not just walls, but vans, schools and nurseries. In particular, we want help from anyone who knows this tag (pictured on front page), or indeed anyone with information on graffiti vandalism. Officers can then intervene at an early stage to stop on-going crime which is causing damage to individuals and property.

“The more we can link to each individual, the more instances we can report to the procurator fiscal, and hopefully reduce the problem.”

A photographer still has to attend each scene to record the graffiti for evidential purposes, but using picture messaging provides the police with instant intelligence on new graffiti and enables them to link instances where appropriate.

DCI Cameron added, “This is a case of exploring new technology and I wouldn’t be surprised if it spreads to other forces.”

Based on the initial indications of success, it seems likely the force will continue with the initiative.

Anyone with information regarding graffiti or vandalism in general can call Tayside Police on (01382) 223200.