Middletown Delinquents

[HEDDY]

On the street I live on there are constantly hooligans doing some sort of mischief.

In the past our cars have been egged, about six times to be exact, but just our cars, no one else on the street. Then that stopped, things have been very quiet except for last night.

I go out this morning to get in my car and see that there are cones blocking the road that connects to the street I live on. Of course I started blaming this on the construction going on next door, then I drive to the end of the street and see that someone's potted tree is laying in the road and the pot is no where to be seen. I called the husband to let him know of the goings on.

He calls when he gets home to report that the cones were a prank and that someone put a cone on the roof of an older couples home (they are in there seventies). Also the construction site next door was vandalized, pipes busted etc. The poor guy with the tree laying in the road was assessing his damage. Total chaos.

I heard the little hoodlums outside last night, but I was tired and didn't feel like getting out of bed. Figuered they were just walking down the street. Thank God they didn't do anything to our house.

I can't help but wonder where the hell are the cops at? The police station is literally one street over. I am amazed that this type of behavior is allowed to go on and no one reports it. (I do, I think we are the only ones that call the police.)

[Ace]

here's a lil...well...advice. get yourself one of those bb rifles and when you hear noise aim and fire. That'll learn em a lesson. Only thing is you may set yourself up for more damage.

[Chase]

i think a highend paintball gun would be more effective. just sit across from your house. (i have thought about this for my own hood issues) it would be fun to pick off a atv rider in the street at 40 MPH........

[Ace]

Chase that does sound like a lot more fun!!

[HEDDY]

I think I need to let Bo (my mother's chow chow) live at my house for awhile and then when I see mischief I can put him on a leash and go investigate. That way I will have something to attack just in case and he looks really scary.

Exhibit A)

(He is the big black dog)

[Bada Bing]

I think I need to let Bo (my mother's chow chow) live at my house for awhile and then when I see mischief I can put him on a leash and go investigate. That way I will have something to attack just in case and he looks really scary.

Heddy, All I can see in the picture is "fangs". Let him loose...

Ah, kids these days. Where have the days gone when a prank was just ringing the doorbell and running, or putting dog poop inside paper, setting it on fire, placing it on someone's doorstep, ringing the doorbell and then watching from the bushes as the owner put out the "fire" with a big stomp, and *smooosh*. Those were the days. (Y'all DID do that too didn't you??)

It's like my uncle says all the time, "sometimes punks just need a good ass-kicking." Boy, ain't that the truth.

[HEDDY]

It is either a big dog or I am buying a gun.

I don't like feeling helpless or that someone can just vandalize my things and get away with it.

Unless you hand the police the hooligans on a silver platter there is nothing they can/will do. They don't even increase patrol. The whole situation pisses me off.

Lately I have been getting scared just letting my dogs out at night. I hear mystery sounds and am starting to think it really is people out there.

[frogman68]

Heddy

Maybe they are really going after your Brother lol

Seriously crime is easier near the police station who thinks some one is going to be that stupid? One of my friends years ago went to the police station and stole the sirens off the top of a cop car the reason he got caught that night is he was trying to install them on his truck in the Police Stations parking lot lol.

Ali I remember doing those thing hey Btw whats your address again ?

[Blacksteel]

Greetings Heddy,

I just wanted to offer you a few suggestions that won't land you in Jail for assault. I would contact New Castle County police, with the Neighborhood Crime Watch program.

Develop a Crime Watch program, and start to focus on these kids. Our development recently had the same sort of problems, with Kids up at all hours of the night. As there is no curfew for kids in the State of Delaware.

Thus, you will get a faster police response time, if your development is under a Neighborhood watch Program, and when you call for police assistance, you will get priority for police response when you are appart of the Watch program.

Our situation (in my development) has caused a 180 degree approach to a kid problem has turned into 6 of the kids who were creating a problem have been arrested, and those who did not live in our development were placed with a No trespassing order for 6 months. The fines were given to their parents, in the order of $350.00 if they were ever caught in our development.

Things REALLY changed with the block watch program.

Hope this helps
Blacksteel

[M.Opaliski]

Heddy -

This is probably going to sound remedial, so forgive me. I would agree with and actually recommend having a firearm for self/home pretection, Delaware's Constitution gives you that right in the 20th Amendment to Article I, the Bill of Rights. I also recommend that you make it a point to get some training if you make that choice to arm yourself - that doesn't mean you train to be a SWAT member, it just means that you get some time on the range familiarizing yourself with the gun, you put a few hundred rounds downrange and if you have questions, concerns or hesitations you get them addressed. Also, as per Delaware Code the use of force, and the use of deadly is justified in some circumstances but you need to make sure that you are familiar with what those circunstances are. If need be I can refer you to specific statutes and give an explanation.

Your personal safety and protection, and that of your family are your responsibility, no one elses. The police cannot be there to protect you at all times, and nor are they required to as per the 2005 SCOTUS ruling in the case of Castle Rock v. Gonzales, see a summary here.

In addition to or in substitute of the above, a lot of people have been successful with video taping the criminal activity around their home (stop thinking RF). Once the evidence is presented to law enforcement it's hard to deny that a problem exists and if the video is of good quality/clarity arrests could be made based on the video alone.

Lastly, you meet force with force, and deadly force should always be the last resort.

[HEDDY]

Greetings Heddy,

I just wanted to offer you a few suggestions that won't land you in Jail for assault. I would contact New Castle County police, with the Neighborhood Crime Watch program.

Develop a Crime Watch program, and start to focus on these kids. Our development recently had the same sort of problems, with Kids up at all hours of the night. As there is no curfew for kids in the State of Delaware.

Thus, you will get a faster police response time, if your development is under a Neighborhood watch Program, and when you call for police assistance, you will get priority for police response when you are appart of the Watch program.

Our situation (in my development) has caused a 180 degree approach to a kid problem has turned into 6 of the kids who were creating a problem have been arrested, and those who did not live in our development were placed with a No trespassing order for 6 months. The fines were given to their parents, in the order of $350.00 if they were ever caught in our development.

Things REALLY changed with the block watch program.

Hope this helps
Blacksteel

Thank you blacksteel, I am glad to hear you are having success with your neighborhood watch.

I will give this a lot of thought.

[HEDDY]

Heddy -

This is probably going to sound remedial, so forgive me. I would agree with and actually recommend having a firearm for self/home pretection, Delaware's Constitution gives you that right in the 20th Amendment to Article I, the Bill of Rights. I also recommend that you make it a point to get some training if you make that choice to arm yourself - that doesn't mean you train to be a SWAT member, it just means that you get some time on the range familiarizing yourself with the gun, you put a few hundred rounds downrange and if you have questions, concerns or hesitations you get them addressed. Also, as per Delaware Code the use of force, and the use of deadly is justified in some circumstances but you need to make sure that you are familiar with what those circunstances are. If need be I can refer you to specific statutes and give an explanation.

Your personal safety and protection, and that of your family are your responsibility, no one elses. The police cannot be there to protect you at all times, and nor are they required to as per the 2005 SCOTUS ruling in case of Castle Rock v. Gonzales, see a summary here.

In addition to or in substitute of the above, a lot of people have been successful with video taping the criminal activity around their home (stop thinking RF). Once the evidence is presented to law enforcement it's hard to deny that a problem exists and if the video is of good quality/clarity arrests could be made based on the video alone.

Lastly, you meet force with force, and deadly force should always be the last resort.

Thank you seven letter's I knew you would be helpful with the law portion. Mostly I am angry and venting but part of me would like to go out and kick some punks ass. I would never of course hurt someone unless they were hurting/attacking me.

I think being pregnant makes me more scared lately, I am afraid someone is going to harm me and hurt my baby. Plus I am home alone at night so I get even more scared. Hence why I need a gun, Naomi has a number for me to call to take shooting lessons so I would def. do that before I tried to fire a gun.

Thank you for your help.

[M.Opaliski]

Hey Heddy ... again. I was discussing the same thing with Chaser in Shout, the Neighborhood Watch, and he was telling me that most of the area is older or elderly residents so I didn't bother to go on about that aspect so much and posted the above. However the poster above is correct in that the NCCo Police or the DSP would be willing to help you get a Watch Program set up.

Darn you Chaser ...

[HEDDY]

Hey Heddy ... again. I was discussing the same thing with Chaser in Shout, the Neighborhood Watch, and he was telling me that most of the area is older or elderly residents so I didn't bother to go on about that aspect so much and posted the above. However the poster above is correct in that the NCCo Police or the DSP would be willing to help you get a Watch Program set up.

Darn you Chaser ...

I have never seen an elderly person on Chase's street, is he lying?

I on the other hand practically live in a nursing home, all the homes at my end of the street are elderly couples.

[Chase]

i was saying around YOUR house they are old. only old people near me are my left side neighbors and across the street, everyone else is, well, younger...

[HEDDY]

i was saying around YOUR house they are old. only old people near me are my left side neighbors and across the street, everyone else is, well, younger...

Gotcha

[M.Opaliski]

My apologies for not making that a little bit more clear. I worked with a neighbor, the local PD and the former Sussex County Sheirff to establish a Neighborhood Watch here in town and found that most if not all of the elderly folks were not interested in participating.

That is why I opted not to suggest that route, you could never make it work on your own even if you didn't have a child on the way.

But hey, good luck with whatever you chose to do ...

[LozerBoozer]

call the New castle county police non emergency # 573-2800.
and call again, and again, and again, and again and again!! you do NOT have to give your name.
the squeaky wheel gets the grease, pretty soon the cops are going to get tired of hearing all the complaints about the same area, and they will flood the area with patrol cars.
get on their website www.nccpd.org and email the community services officers. make noise. complain. you will win in the end.
i had similiar situation a few years back. i would not back down. i endured threats, hang-up calls in the middle of the night, rocks thrown at my house, etc, but i still would not back down. eventually the punks backed down and after a few of them got arrested, things settled down. most of the punks are moved out of the neighborhood now but a few remain. but they know ol' LozerBoozer is not one to tangle with. and our community is clean, quiet, and we all get along.

we ALL deserve to live in a community that is free of noise, nuisance, crime and harassment.

"FAR BETTER IT IS TO DARE MIGHTY THINGS THAN TO TAKE RANK WITH THOSE POOR TIMID SPIRITS WHO KNOW NEITHER VICTORY NOR DEFEAT" -Theodore Roosevelt


FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT. NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER.

[Andie]

You want me to come down there, Heddy? I got your back!

(I intended to use slang grammar - don't correct it MO)

[max1]

MO, And Black steel are right. But sometimes you have to take the law into your own hands, we had a BIG boy here in town who broke into my truck and took some tools. We prosecuted and had him go to jail as he had a long record at that point. When he got out he was walking by the local school and seen my 12 year old son. He told him he was gonna whip my ass, a few minutes later he ran into my 20 year old son and told him the same thing, and he said he had a gun. My 20 year old told me, so we called the police, who had some kind of armed robbery in the area so they could not get to us right away. While we were waiting for the police he showed up at our door ranting and raving, my son and I went outside and we beat his ass, after it was over the police arrived guns drawn and took him into custody. We have not had a problem since.