Hi all, hope someone can help with this...
At the end of our terrace (3 doors away) there's an old, disused electricity substation. Recently (last 2 - 3 weeks) a group of local chavs have been climbing over the fence on a daily basis and hurling rocks around, mostly at each other (sadly they haven't killed themselves yet).
However, on several occasions the rocks have overshot and are landing in the road outside - nobody's been hit yet, and no cars damaged, but it's only a matter of time. On another occasion I happened to look out of our back bedroom window (my daughters bedroom) and they saw me and started throwing stones at my house. And another time one of them climbed on to a neighbour's shed roof and nearly fell through it, basically wrecking the roof but unfortunately escaping injury. It's becoming increasing difficult to comfortably spend any time in the garden in the evening without the threat of verbal abuse and flying rocks.
The police have now been called out at least 4 times in the last week to disperse these ar*eholes, but each time they're back - usually the next day, but last night within two hours of the original callout. The police seem to be bloody useless though - first callout last night seemed to involve the copper asking them nicely if they'd please go somewhere else, and the second callout didn't even get a response. Well, it did - a call two hours later to apologise for not responding as they had no one available (ie. couldn't be arsed).
I've looked into this and I'm not sure what the local resident's position is. As far as i know, trespass in itself isn't a criminal offence, only a civil one - therefore the only person who can bring a prosecution is the land owner. But I'm guessing the land owner doesn't really care, as there's no working electrical gear in the substation any more - once in a while somedoby turns up to do another completely ineffective repair job on the fence, but nothing has been done at all to actually try and stop these toerags gaining entry.
So I'd really appreciate any advice anyone might have on this. I'm thinking of trying to find out who owns the land and having a major moan at them, but after that I guess it's time to buy a rifle and pick them off...
Sorry for such a long rant - I feel better just for getting ti off my chest!
Cheers,
Rob ;)
Spread dog shite along the top of the fence...
Sorry to hear you've got this problem. The kind of anti-social behaviour/petty vandalism that makes decent folk's lives a misery seems to be a complete blindspot as far as the authorities are concerned. Can only offer a few suggestions:
Keep phoning the police. If the yobs come back after the police have cleared them away, phone again. You need a record of the nuisance.
If you or a neighbour can film the nuisance - particularly rocks being thrown into the road, damage to people's property etc. - it will help your case. But don't put yourself at risk.
Contact the owner and ask if they will make the station secure. Explian the nuisance and how many times the police have been callled. Ask for razor/barbed wire on the top of the fence, anti-climb paint, a taller fence - whatever it needs. Tell them their puny efforts at repair aren't working and that you intend takling further action if they don't respond within x days.
Can you get together with the neighbours and clean up the inside of the station so there aren't any missiles for them to use? They probably won't bother bringing their own rocks. If you happen to find any evidence of drug use, so much the better.
If none of the above has any effect, get your local councillor/MP involved and ask for a reporter from your local newspaper to visit and write it up.
Keef - nice idea, but I'd like to spread the dog shite on them first.
Ceres - thanks for the suggestions, several there dedinitely woth pursuing. As for cleaning up the station - believe it or not, we'd have to commit trespass ourselves to get into the place. And you can guarantee the police would have a go at us, as we're not likely to chuck rocks at them!
Cheers,
Rob ;)
If you can contact the owner of the site remind them that they will be held liable when these kids injure or kill themselves which is going to cost them a fortune in compensation. It may give them an incentive to secure the site properly.
Thanks Baccy Man, that's a good point. And a good sign of how screwed up things are these days.
Cheers,
Rob ;)
Have you tried calling the police and telling them that.....
a) If they dont sort it out you and the neighbours WILL, or better still get the OH to phone in a panic and tell them you are outside confronting them now? i find that gets a rapid response everytime(i know because its one of the tactics we use.
b) Big up the story, your daughter was in her room, they saw and started shouting allsorts of obscene stuff? and now your daughter is afraid to go into her bedroom when they are around, that should also work.
The thing with the Police is they have had a lot of powers taken away from them, so you have to make the call a lot more than it is, sad but true, its he only way to get a good response.
Just a thought do you have a neighbourhood beat officer? they might be worth dragging into the problem.
Mick
Yekim, some interesting points, but yesterday's paper had a story about a bloke who got thoroughly pi**ed off with yobs chucking stuff at his house, then got so fed up waiting for the police to come that he grabbed one of them in a citizens arrest. The police then arrived and arrested him!
And as for a neighbourhood bobby on the beat - you must be joking! The only times we see the police around here is... well, never.
Cheers,
Rob ;)
when I had trouble with peoplebehind myt house a friendly bobby told me to do something similar to Yekim's first point:
he said phone the police and say that if they don't send someone immediatly then you are going to sort it out yourself. Don't say how you are going to sort it out, and _don't_ actually do anything. The fact that you have infered that you are going to escalate the trouble means that the police are more likely to respond because if they don't and you did go out and give or get a good beating then the police could find themselves in a whole heap of trouble as they knew this could happen but did nothing. It is important that you don't tell the police how you are going to sought it your self so that they can't suggest that you said that you were going to escalate the trouble - if asked you can say that you merely meant that you were going to write to your MP or some such.
buy a BB gun, a plastic one that looks very real.
Place said BB gun in the substation
Wait till yobs turn up and then phone the police saying you have seen one of them waving a gun about...
Have to agree with Ant... thats an excellent idea, ARV's turning up should put the fear of god into them..
Must remeber that one
Mick
Call the police next time and tell them there is a untaxed car parked on a double yellow line outside the substation.
That will get a response
Can't you phone your local authority as they owe you a duty of care.
Sinbad
Keep lots of records (time & date) of the nuisance, the calls to the police and the action the police took.
If your not happy with the action taken, go see your local councilor . YOU are paying for the police in your taxes, you have the right to expect service.
You also have the right to vote out your local councilor if he doesnt sort it out.
Well, thanks folks for the ideas. Touch wood, they seem to have got bored over the last week and have no doubt gone somewhere else to smash things up. But I'm keeping your suggestions for if/when they come back.
Cheers,
Rob ;)
Perhaps they went to Galstonbury - they will find their back home soon..... :-\