Graffit-e-nose helps catch graffiti vandals by smelling spray paint

The smell of spray paint has led to the arrest and charging of vandals as Australian police, councils and community groups trial graffiti sniffing technology. Offenders are being caught in the act by a device called the Graffit-e-nose which detects the unique chemical signature of fumes emitted from spray cans and then sends a text message to property owners or police.



A NSW Police spokeswoman said a trial in Cronulla had led to the confiscation of six cans of spray paint in January, and two youths fled the trial area in June when an alarm was activated.

''During another incident, a number of people were spoken to and 18 cans of spray were seized,'' the spokeswoman said. A co-inventor of the Graffit-e-nose, Graham Bell, said increasing the risks of detection reduced the incidence of graffiti similar to the way speed cameras discourage speeding.


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''The vandals have previously got away with it, and now they are not, and their behaviour is changing,'' he said. The Graffit-e-nose detects fumes up to 50 metres downwind of their source, and its range could be increased to 100 metres if ducts were added to pump air towards the device. In addition to sending a text message, a new model could set off alarms, turn on lights, or even activate sprinklers. It also integrates with closed circuit television.