Judge praises graffiti artists – then jails them
Three vandals who caused £150,000 damage to trains must go to prison, says judge – but they're talented
Cummings, Rowe and McColl engaged in a 'planned and prolonged campaign of damage to property', the prosecutor said. Photograph: Scott Barbour/Getty Images
A gang of vandals who caused £150,000 worth of damage by covering trains and tubes with their graffiti tags have been described by the judge who jailed them as "talented artists" on an "adrenaline rush".
Blackfriars crown court in London was told that Keiron Cummings, Alex Rowe and Billy McColl embarked on a three-year campaign of vandalism that caused huge disruption to train services.
The gang, who used the tag SMT, took to the internet to show off their efforts, with Cummings posting pictures and videos on blogs and photo-sharing websites.
He also had a map of the capital's rail network in his bedroom pinpointing the raids, with the words "You need all this and more" written above it.
Jacques Howell, prosecuting, said the trio had been engaged in "a planned and prolonged campaign of damage to property of an almost industrial scale", adding: "It's not simply tagging with marker pens. The scale we are talking about is the entire carriage being daubed."
Their aim, he said, was "obviously to get kudos amongst the graffiti community".
The trio were caught after British Transport Police officers began investigating a huge increase in the appearances of the SMT tag.
Cummings, 21, Rowe, 22 and McColl, 17, were caught three times carrying paint, face masks and gloves at stations in Northwood, Watford and Ealing before they were remanded in custody.
Examining a dossier of Rowe's work, Judge Henry Blacksell said that while he understood public frustration at the damage caused by the vandals, he did not want to jail them.
Sentencing Cummings to two years in prison, Rowe to nine months and McColl to a six-month youth detention training order, he said: "I will pass the least possible sentence. These are young men and people care about them.
"I don't endorse it but I understand the adrenaline rush and the feeling it gives them and they may be isolated in their families."
He added: "I don't want to be doing this and I will [be] as lenient as I can be. They've got talent and some of Mr Rowe's portfolio you would be proud of. Clearly they are talented artists."
David McIntosh, defending, said Rowe – who has seven previous convictions for graffiti in Harrow and Rickmansworth as well as affray – had been nominated for a Pride of Milton Keynes award for his voluntary work.
He said: "He is a young man who has a lot to contribute and could put his talents to good work and he intends to do that from now on."
The court also heard that Rowe had suffered from extreme depression as a teenager, while McColl had joined the gang as a way to "fit in" and make friends.
But Judge Blacksell said the lightest possible penalty would still mean prison for the trio, who looked at the floor as he passed sentence.
He said: "This is a course of conduct which is all too prevalent in our society as well as abroad and is dealt with by people who no doubt have talent. Sadly, it's often young men who in other areas of their lives feel isolated or inadequate."
The judge added that vandalising trains was not a victimless crime as "taking trains out of service affects people who are trying to live their ordinary lives, disrupting them in ways you probably don't understand".
Cummings, of Ruislip, north west London, Rowe, of Stantonbury, Bucks, and McColl, of South Ruislip, had each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit criminal damage.
