Won't you be my nieghbor? Not!

-
This was the sweetest neighborhood for a while. I know every area has its cycles depending on who moves in or out, but my neighborhood is just getting ridiculous. AND with the economy the way it is now and the housing market, I don't see how we're going to be able to move out any time soon.

Over the last three years, the kids that moved in down the street have slowly begun tagging or vandalizing all the houses on this street. Now I can't blame every bad word chalked on our driveways on them, as we live near some apartment complexes as well. The kids from those apartments filter through our streets daily. So who really knows how many kids are involved now.

BUT

when mailboxes are uprooted...
when Christmas lights are uprooted and unplugged...
when cars are egged...
when cars are broken into...
when police on patrol tell me their concerned at the crimes that have spiked in our housing area...
and when I drive down my street to go to work today and see a stop sign spray-painted with some very inflammatory words...

IM VERY CONCERNED!

I have called the police to do more patrol.
I have called the city's action line to document vandalism or neighbor break-ins.
I have alerted my neighbors to be on watch.

Other than locking my kid in my house, and putting up security cameras -- I'm at a loss of what to do. This is not a bad area I live in, but somehow crime is filtering its way in.

Any suggestions people??

Comments

wfbdoglover said…
I am sorry that you are going through this. I have spent 2 years advocating to get a drug dealer off our street. Calling etc... and documenting is a good thing. I also took photos of this kid and his "friends". Their cars, plate numbers etc. I emailed the dectective their dates and times of their visits and called when it was appropriate.

My suggestion is to take photos if you can and maybe start a block watch. A block watch needs a captain, which sounds like you are pretty much doing what they do already. The police come to your house, have a meeting and meet with your neighbors. They would then email you and crime/patterns and you would pass out to the neighbors.

Our neighborhood is nothing to sneeze at either, but the parents were in denial that their little 27 year old kid was doing something bad. Even after stolen property was found in their house, they made excuses "he was holding it for someone else". Well now little Timmy is in jail on a $25,000 bond for selling 4 x's to under cover officers. I am anxiously awaiting 1/20/09 for his next appearance, as more charges are pending.

At least I can rest now at night. :)

I wish you theh best and stick to your guns. You'll run it out!! Patience is the hardest part.
5:10 PM
Heidi said…
I agree with doglover--I have heard that neighborhood watch programs can really turn a neighborhood around. We used to live on a street that had some mild egging and mail boxes exploding, etc. However, the neighbors across the street from us were retired and loved to watch out the window with binoculars and were light sleepers to boot--the police knew them personally, they called so often. Anyway, the point is, we never had anything happen to our house because everyone knew the neighbors across the street would see it. My husband teaches at a school in a rough neighborhood. Every classroom in the school has been broken into but his. Why? He put a sign in the window that says "you're on cadid camera!" (though they're not). The point is, if word gets out that someone, hopefully more than one someone, is watching, things should get better.
6:07 PM
WeaselMomma said…
I've got nothing. With the exception of stalking the neighborhood to chase the culprits down yourself. That' a little too hard to do alone.
6:10 PM
Linda S said…
I know it's frustrating. We can usually pinpoint a few kids or groups and I always call them out. I wish I had something to offer you. Neighborhood watch is great, but is not full proof. We do have block captain and an email system and send email alerts when stuff happens.
7:23 PM
terri said…
I think the simplest thing we've found in our neighborhood is to keep it well lit. I try to keep my outdoor lights on overnight and a lot of the neighbors have motion sensor lights. Kids are a lot less likely to cause trouble when they're not hidden under the cover of darkness.
9:41 PM
Ted said…
Ugh...sorry that you're going through this!

Keep doing what you're doing...and pestering the law enforcement. That's why you pay taxes... and be proactive...as I know you can be. ;)

Love to you all!
T.
10:00 PM
I am Harriet said…
It's amazing what goes on in other families sometimes. It just goes to show you, you don't know what's going on behind closed doors.
Vandals today- jail tomorrow.
1:59 PM
Anonymous said…
I don't understand what goes through kids' heads. Tearing up other people's things brings you absolutely no benefit. Unfortunately, I live in a very good neighborhood, and we never really have any problems like that. My response would be "keep a good shotgun loaded at all times," but then again, I grew up in the country and that was always my dad's motto. I don't recommend trying it where you live. ;)
10:46 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's called a S-T-O-P sign for a reason people!

-
Image
You guessed it. That's my poor little Passat up there smashed in. At 3:30 CST a 20-year-old kid, driving an O'rielly's Auto Parts truck, wasn't smart enough to read those red octagonal signs that instruct you to stop. Wait let me say that louder, STOP! Today I was hit by a kid who couldn't read or follow basic traffic law. I'm drained and I want to go to sleep. I'm sure it's all the adrenaline that's now left my system, which is leaving me feeling so tired. The thing that amazed me was how cavalier this kid was. He could have cared less than he hit me. He made it seem like it was my fault that he pulled out from a stop sign and ran into the side of my car. How stupid does he think the police officer was? There was no damage to the front of my car, so when he said, "She came out of nowhere!" it wasn't a likely story. Especially when it was clear he had run into my passenger door and scraped up the side of my car. My hu
Read more

Facing Redemption

-
The sequel to Finding Kylie is called Facing Redemption. I'm twelve chapters in and am so ready to finish. When writing Finding Kylie, I would dream of different scenes or character traits and wake up, knowing what direction I needed to head with my next chapter. So far with this book, I've not dreamt as much at night but can't stop daydreaming. I need to pull my head out of the clouds and focus on my own life a little more. Lately, it seems all I eat, drink, and sometimes sleep is this sequel. I think mostly because every time I turn around I've been getting emails, phone calls, and questions from readers of 'Finding Kylie' wanting to know 'when the next book will be out.' It's exciting to know they've fallen in love with my characters so much that they're chomping at the bit to have closure on some of the things I've left open-ended with the first book. It means I'm making a difference with my writing. I've impacted
Read more

Mother's Day Surprise

-
Image
I got this for Mother's Day along with a big three-ring binder of photos and artwork that my son has compiled all through PRE-K. It was the most touching gift he's given to date, in his five years. Even though his PRE-K teacher orchestrated taking all the pics through the school year and organizing all his artwork, it was still all my son's favorite pieces and shots. I loved it. I love that he thinks I'm fourteen feet tall, which he says it's all leg by the way. He even drew me that way. I love that he remembers my age and my favorite color. I love that he still loves my kisses. I hope he never outgrows that, but I know he will. After giving it to me, he told me he loved my hair put up but thought it would be prettier with more ponytails. He ran and grabbed more colorful rubber bands and asked me to put them on in the places he pointed to. "I want a pink one ... there. I want the blue one ... there." He looked at me when I'd finished a
Read more