5 minute read
Perseverance pays off
Editorial: Cassandra Stanghi
Photography: Jesse Wray-McCann
When graffiti vandal James Scott-Howarth fled the country with police on his tail in 2005, many thought he had narrowly escaped the hand of justice, especially as the years ticked by.
But those people had obviously never met Detective Sergeant Sam Greenham (pictured above).
As the ringleader of the infamous 70K graffiti crew, Scott-Howarth and his associates wreaked havoc on Melbourne’s public transport network and broader infrastructure throughout the early 2000s.
The crew’s relentless vandalism of trains and buildings resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage and significant transport disruptions.
Police were initially keeping a watchful eye on the vandals to gather intelligence, but a dedicated operation to stop the crew’s damage kicked into gear after a police memorial train was defaced in 2004 with an offensive message accompanying the group’s tag.
Det Sgt Greenham, a constable at Transit Divisional Response Unit (DRU) at the time, was among the Operation Sensa team and quickly took a keen interest in the investigation.
“The offending was so brazen and prolific, it didn’t take long for me to become invested in the job,” Det Sgt Greenham said.
The Transit DRU had its work cut out to track down the vandals but the frequency of offending meant that, with the help of Victoria Police surveillance units, local uniform members, and other intelligence gathering methods, police were able to identify the main offender, Scott-Howarth, and his associates over a five-month period.
Operation Sensa then moved into the arrest phase, with concurrent search warrants planned for December 2005.
“Scott-Howarth was in his early 20s at the time, working in the office of his father’s business and, when we executed a search warrant there, we seized his work computer which revealed a large volume of photos and videos of his graffiti damage from over the years,” Det Sgt Greenham said.
Just prior to leaving the business address, we noticed a false ceiling, so I had one of my colleagues boost me onto the roof where we located a treasure trove of items.
“There were thousands more photographs and negatives of his graffiti damage, along with clothing subsequently identified as being worn during offending and about 500 spray paint cans. It was what I would call the mother lode of evidence.”
The members working the investigation thought they’d struck gold and were ready to make an arrest, but they soon learned about a spanner in the works that would delay their meeting with the offender for nearly two decades.
“Unbeknown to us, Scott-Howarth boarded a plane to England two days prior to that search warrant. It was just by chance that he had these travel plans and, at that stage, he didn’t know we were targeting him,” Det Sgt Greenham said.
“His father got in contact with his son and let him know that we wanted to speak to him, and he made the decision to not come back for the next 17 years.”
Not one to rest on his laurels, Det Sgt Greenham kept an eye on Scott-Howarth’s life overseas by making regular enquiries with counterparts in the UK, Europe and New Zealand, while also checking in with his father once or twice a year.
In the meantime, police worked to hold seven other members of the 70K crew to account for their involvement in the vandalism, with one offender serving three months imprisonment.
“A couple of them had also fled overseas for a number of years so all of their court matters didn’t conclude until 2018,” Det Sgt Greenham said.
While the crew’s lower-level offenders were facing court, Det Sgt Greenham’s determination to catch Scott-Howarth never waned, and he had a visual reminder of his dedication.
“Much to the chagrin of some of the people I’ve worked with, about 16 boxes of case material followed me around to different stations I’ve worked at over the years,” he said.
“It was an ongoing effort to compile the 2000-page brief, and I couldn’t have done it without Sergeant Bob Derrett, now-retired Glenn Forsyth and Sergeant Duncan Browne, who I worked with on the investigation from day one.”
As part of his ongoing monitoring of Scott-Howarth, Det Sgt Greenham created a border alert that would inform him if and when he decided to return to Australia.
Det Sgt Greenham renewed this border alert every three months for 17 years, until early 2023 when he finally received the news he’d been waiting for.
“Scott-Howarth’s solicitor contacted me that March, stating that he wanted to come home and negotiate his terms of surrender,” Det Sgt Greenham said.
The next month, Scott-Howarth returned to Melbourne and, as agreed, presented at Sunshine Police Station.
After 17 years, Det Sgt Greenham finally met the offender he’d been chasing for almost all of his career.
“It was a long time coming and a very satisfying moment,” he said.
Scott-Howarth was issued a range of charges including criminal damage and theft. After surrendering his passport, he was bailed to appear in court at a later date.
While Scott-Howarth’s long overdue homecoming was a key milestone in the investigation, Det Sgt Greenham knew it was just the beginning of the justice process. It wasn’t until more than a year later in May 2024 that Scott-Howarth finally faced the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court to learn his fate. He was convicted of 14 rolled-up charges encompassing more than 80 incidents of offending and sentenced to a two-year community corrections order and 300 hours of community service.
For Det Sgt Greenham, seeing the case closed after nearly two decades of investment brought a huge sense of satisfaction.
“It’s been a real passion project for me and my colleagues, and I’m glad to have seen it through after all these years.”
