A London council has defended putting up an “inappropriate” anti-littering poster featuring a black man holding a placard featuring the hashtag #CrimeNotToCare.
The posters, which have appeared on Kilburn High Road, are part of the Keep Britain Tidy campaign.
But they sparked concern from one Labour councillor who wrote to his local authority to demand that the signs be taken down, the Kilburn Times reports.
Councillor John Duffy said: “I believe the signs are inappropriate and could be seen as an attempt to stereotype persons of colour as the culprits of crime and it is also conceivable that using a mug shot of a young black man against a background commonly used by LAPD (Los Angels Police Department)... as offensive to many people.
“I am asking you to remove these signs forthwith from Kilburn, other councillors can make their own mind up.”
Duffy said that he thought the posters gave the wrong impression about how to care for the environment and who was responsible for environmental crime.
A Brent Council spokesperson dismissed Duffy’s concerns, saying in a statement: “The imagery on this poster is part of a national campaign run by Keep Britain Tidy which is being used by Brent along with at least 30 other councils.
“We want everyone to enjoy an environment free of illegally dumped rubbish and attempts to undermine the campaign by twisting things to create division are dishonest and unhelpful.
“We are proud of the fact that we have a strong track record of using a diverse range of people in our communications and to try to create a row over a single poster is ridiculous.”
Keep Britain Tidy is yet to respond to a request for comment.