Dangerous practice and high repair costs

A number of acts of vandalism have taken place in various parts of the town around the New Year and in January. The town newspaper Hafnfirðingur This has been compiled, based on information from the City of Hafnarfjörður, in the hope that parents will warn their children of various ages that such an activity can be extremely dangerous and that repair costs can be high. 

Björn Bögeskov Hilmarsson, director of the City of Hafnarfjörður's Service Centre, says it is a real blessing that no one has been seriously injured in the vandalism that has been unusually prominent in many places around the town recently. „It is often forgotten that it is against the law to damage other people's property, and that also applies to the shared assets of our town. The funds that the City of Hafnarfjörður has to allocate due to vandalism like this would certainly be better spent on some better and more enjoyable causes, such as t.e.g. to buy play equipment for an open playground or something that matters to us and is for improving our community, not for vandalising and damaging it.“

Björn would like to point out that although items are listed as damaged, they are in fact unusable and must be replaced. „The estimated cost of buying new containers is around 1.6–1.7 million krónur, and then the costs of cleaning and disposal are added. On top of that, there is the work of fetching new containers, securing them with ground anchors and stanchions, and it is likely that the cost of that is at least around 150,000, so the total cost of the repairs goes well over 2 million..“

Also, the danger actually posed by these acts of vandalism is often forgotten, and it is an incredible stroke of luck in some cases that no accidents have occurred to people, vehicles or other property. „We don't know who did this or how old they were. I would just like parents and/or guardians of children and teenagers to talk to their children about how dangerous this practice is and the consequences of criminal damage. Hopefully, they will think twice in future. For example, this can also have a negative impact on their CV.“ Björn says he is hopeful for better treatment.

The General Penal Code explicitly provides for both the definition of property damage and the penalties for it. Section 257 states, verbatim: „Whoever destroys or damages another person's property, or deprives them of it, shall be liable to a fine or imprisonment for up to 2 years.“

An interview with Björn was published in Hafnfirðinginn on 27 January.