DPM Graffiti Crew

There is a growing campaign in support of the five members of the DPM graffiti crew jailed at Southwark Crown Court last month.

Five men from South London have been jailed for up to two years for painting on trains and stations.- Andrew Gillman, 25, from St John's Hill, Battersea: 2 years custodial sentence.- Ziggy Grudzinskas, 25, from Ulundi Road, Blackheath: 18 months custodial sentence.- Slav Zinoviev, 25, from St John's Hill, Battersea: 18 months custodial sentence.- Paul Andrew Stewart, 26, from Manor Lane, Lewisham: 18 months custodial sentence.- Matthew Pease, 24, from Manor Lane, Lewisham: 15 months custodial sentence.

Three others received suspended sentences. The organisers of the Support DPM petition argue that:"-Graffiti is a non-violent crime and these men represent no threat to society.-Graffiti is a mainstream art form and the messages given in our media and general culture are confusing, these young men sought fame in a way that Banksy is celebrated for, they were incarcerated!-These young men have otherwise clean records.-The judge accepted that none of the defendants are at any risk of re-offending.-Of all of the controversial activities that young men engage in today in modern society, graffiti is at least constructive and creative.-Graffiti is a wonderful thing and as a society we have to develop ways to bring it into the mainstream rather than ostracising it’s perpetrators.-Even Judge Christopher Hardy himself said:"It would be wrong of me not to acknowledge that some examples of your handiwork show considerable artistic talent, part of what is now known as the graffiti subculture and on the way to being recognised as a valid form of art.- MOST IMPORTANTLY-These young men have a lot to offer to society. This is not achieved by incarceration. A community order for those who were imprisoned would have enabled them to give back to society and would have been far more appropriate".