The new municipal system, which allows penalties to be exchanged for graffiti removal tasks, has been adopted by seventy individuals who have chosen this path instead of paying the corresponding fines. This measure has facilitated the cleaning of a significant area in various parts of Madrid.

The commuted fines amount to a total of 143,850 euros, equivalent to 2,724 hours of work dedicated to cleaning. The results of this first year of protocol implementation were presented on Tuesday, highlighting the positive impact of the initiative.

Among the participants was a minor, which underscores the pedagogical approach of the initiative. The City Council directly links this measure to a 26% reduction in the graffitied surface in the city during 2025.

The seventy participants have cleaned an area roughly equivalent to one of the facades of the Torre Picasso. The work has been distributed across fifteen zones in eleven districts, including parks, tunnels, and streets in Moncloa - Aravaca, Carabanchel, Latina, Usera, and Fuencarral-El Pardo, areas particularly affected by graffiti.

The protocol establishes an equivalence between the fine amount and the hours of work the offender must perform. The longest duration case involved a penalty commuted for 80 hours of cleaning, equivalent to about 3,000 euros. Fines for graffiti range from 300 to 6,000 euros, depending on the size of the graffiti and reoffending, following the ordinance modification approved in 2022. Since 2024, commutation can only be done through cleaning work.

The Consistory states that this model is having positive effects both on offender awareness and on the overall evolution of the problem. In addition to the 26% decrease in graffitied surface, the City Council highlights an 8.3% drop in the number of sanctioning files, which stood at 331, and a reduction of almost 26% in the average fine amount, which decreased from 2,571 euros to 1,906 euros.