Woman Prosecuted For Illegally Tattooing People
Vanessa Filipa Vitorino was using equipment that hadn't been properly steralised
Vanessa Filipa Vitorino of Dundonald Street, Preston has been ordered to pay a total of £814 after she was found guilty of operating as an illegal tattooist from her home.
Ms Vitorino failed to attend Preston Magistrates’ Court on 16 March 2016 and the case proceeded in her absence. She was found guilty of two offences under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 for falling to register herself as a tattooist with the council and for failing to register the premises where her tattooing business was operating. Ms Vitorino was fined £440 and was ordered to pay £44 victims surcharge and £330 towards the prosecution costs.
Preston Magistrates’ heard that on 2 October 2015 Preston City Council’s environmental health officers, working in partnership with Lancashire Police, gained entry to Ms Vitorino’s home address, using a Part 2A Order under Health Protection Regulations, to seize any articles used for the operation of tattooing.
It was discovered that she had been carrying out tattooing in unhygienic conditions in her kitchen. Investigating officers removed and destroyed all tattooing equipment, including 11 tattoo guns, a box of tattooing needles, 40 bottles of tattooing inks and three sharps boxes filled with used needles. They also found that some of the tattooing equipment Ms Vitorino used was not being effectively sterilized. So anyone having a tattoo was at risk of being infected or contaminated with a significant risk to their health.
The council’s Environmental Health Department are actively involved in clamping down on the growing trend of illegal tattooists, also known as ‘scratchers’, who often buy cheap tattooing kits online and advertise on social media. Unregistered tattooists pose a greater risk of failing to adhere to the strict safe working practices and infection control procedures which must be implemented when tattooing. These illegal tattooing businesses can also often provide an avenue for under 18’s to get a reasonably cheap tattoo, as they cannot access regulated premises.
Chief Environmental Health Officer, Craig Sharp, said:
“Illegal scratchers pose a real danger to the public’s health, often using toxic inks and unsterilized equipment that can have a serious risk of spreading diseases such as hepatitis or HIV, as well as the potential to cause permanent ugly scarring.
“If that wasn’t bad enough, people often tell us that the quality of the tattoo they had done was so poor that they had to spend time and money getting it corrected by a registered tattoo artist.
“These unregistered tattooists are often willing to illegally tattoo children and can cause damage that lasts a lifetime, knowing that children will be unlikely to report them to us or the Police. If people know of any illegal tattooists in their community then we would urge them to contact us.”