But young offenders now know how long it takes to clean it off.

Thanks to a partnership between Juvenile Justice and Newcastle and Lake Macquarie councils, teenagers are rolling up their sleeves to scrub out graffiti across the region.

One such initiative is the Lake Macquarie City Council Graffiti Hot Spot program, which allows young offenders on Juvenile Justice Community Service Orders to give back to the community while avoiding prison sentences.

In a local laneway, Charlestown MP Andrew Cornwell helped some offenders remove graffiti between Nursery Grove Parade, Mount Hutton and Sturt Street, Windale.

The young offenders also planted trees to deter future acts of vandalism.

Mr Cornwell said while there was no silver bullet approach to tackling youth crime, the program helped prevent young people from reoffending and should be supported.

Richard Morrow