Stopping Malicious Mischief, suggestions?

[lemansnsx]

We're having a rash of mailbox bashings in the neighborhood - and one incident of a car window being smashed. The perpetrators are visitors to a house in the neighborhood with a son who is a troublemaker.
Any useful suggestions for putting a stop to this nonsense before it escalates?

BTW, the car that had the smashed driver's window was a convenient target - parked on the street overnight on the way out of the neighborhood. Theft was not the motive - not a "nice" car by any means - just your basic economy car, no fancy electronics or anything - just in the right spot for these mutants to hit it as they left.

PS: this is a nice suburban neighborhood! Just the one "trouble spot" in the whole neighborhood unfortunately diagonally across the street from me!

 

[MiamieNeSeX]

We had that "kid" problem around here a few years back. A few of us bought new mailboxes and filled them with concrete then remounted them.

Armando

 

[loNfastNSX]

Hide in a tree with a pellet gun and pop the little bastards in the ass!!!

Or better yet use a high power paintball gun!!!

 

[nkb]

Hide in a tree with a pellet gun and pop the little bastards in the ass!!!

Or better yet use a high power paintball gun!!!

I think that would qualify as "escalating", which lemansnsx doesn't seem to want.

I would suggest the obvious: contact the police department, and let them know what is happening. If this is anything like my suburban neighborhood, the cops take keeping the peace pretty seriously. Let them suggest the next steps.

If you want to take matters into your own hands, maybe get together with your fellow neighbors, and set up surveillance cameras around the neighborhood. Even identifying one of the punks committing a crime, and reporting him to the police might put an end to it.

Or call Vincent and Jules to straighten them out

 

[lemansnsx]

I think that would qualify as "escalating", which lemansnsx doesn't seem to want.

I would suggest the obvious: contact the police department, and let them know what is happening. If this is anything like my suburban neighborhood, the cops take keeping the peace pretty seriously. Let them suggest the next steps.

If you want to take matters into your own hands, maybe get together with your fellow neighbors, and set up surveillance cameras around the neighborhood. Even identifying one of the punks committing a crime, and reporting him to the police might put an end to it.

Or call Vincent and Jules to straighten them out

The police have been contacted and are well aware that this is happening a lot - I'd say about 10-12 incidents recently. This is a nice quiet neighborhood but it's also a town that has seen a lot of growth so I'm not sure that the police are giving it top priority.
I did confront two of the mutants a while back when I just happened to be up and near the front of the house and heard the trash can (in the street for next a.m. pickup) get knocked over. Set a new world record for getting out of the house - they didn't even make it 6 feet from the can and stopped dead in shock at the sight of a VERY angry man confronting them from the sidewalk. They tried to play it off like it wasn't them (!) but quickly agreed that their best chance of survival involved picking up the can and collecting all of the spillage ASAP.
I'm considering the camera - but I'm not sure how to place it or get power to it so that it would have any chance at getting a license plate if a car was involved. How good are the low-light or nightvision cameras anyway?

I'll refrain from commenting on any personal vengeance involving pellet guns - don't want it used against me!

 

[lemansnsx]

We had that "kid" problem around here a few years back. A few of us bought new mailboxes and filled them with concrete then remounted them.

Armando

Yes - I had actually thought of that! Another trick that I was told about involved somehow mounting the mailbox on a swivel or something? Not sure how that one works... is the idea that it swings back or what?

 

[lemansnsx]

Forgot to mention that the "problem house" in the neighborhood appears to be a gathering place for this group of mutants as there does not seem to be an adult at home most of the time. I've never met the parents but I think that there is no father there and that the mother works and goes out a lot. She certainly doesn't seem to have any control at all as there have been many police visits to that house.

 

[lemansnsx]

Yes - I had actually thought of that! Another trick that I was told about involved somehow mounting the mailbox on a swivel or something? Not sure how that one works... is the idea that it swings back or what?

Just read on another website (yeh, I actually googled "mailbox bashing" ) and found what seems to be a good suggestion: small box inside a larger steel box. Fill gap between boxes with concrete. Await sound of cracked/broken bat and shout of pain from (hopefully) broken wrist.

 

[dynatac]

Are you part of a Homeowners Association?
If not maybe just get a group together to do a neighborhood watch type of patrol. If you can get any evidence of these punks in the act (i.e. videotape) I think that can make a good case into threatening the parents for some legal action from not just you, but the whole neighborhood.

I know exactly how the retaliation works though as I have a similar problem with some subsidized housing and govt assistance apts near my area.
The kids damage your property, you do anything to them including calling the police and next thing you know you get even worse damage inflicted to your home.

What's worse is when the cops roll in 30 minutes later, if they don't see anything on site or within a minute, they're gone. It's a waste of everyone's time.

I think the worst I ever got on to any of these kids was letting my rottweiler go for a walk without a leash
that actually worked better than the time I hosed two of them for tresspassing while I was watering the lawn.

Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

 

[nkb]

Direct confrontation is always a risky proposition, since you have a lot more to lose than the young kids. You have a family and property to protect, while they think they're invincible.

That was why I made the suggestion of letting the cops handle it, or setting up surveillance, then getting the cops involved.

 

[lemansnsx]

That was why I made the suggestion of letting the cops handle it, or setting up surveillance, then getting the cops involved.

Well that's kind of the rub, isn't it? I've got a lot to lose - but the cops aren't going to "handle" anything unless it falls in their laps. Not putting them down as the cops in this town are a pretty good bunch (well, there's one exception but he makes a lot of money for the town... ) and have lots of better things to be doing than staking out my neighborhood to protect a ~ $50 item.
I'm not looking to confront them - just want to put a stop to their antics.

 

[xsn]

Get a neighborhood group together, take shifts with a video camera with a good night mode, tape them in the act, and the police will have to do something.

 

[steveny]

Find a bee keeper and have him fill the mailbox with bees. Notify the post man before doing this.

 

[lemansnsx]

Find a bee keeper and have him fill the mailbox with bees. Notify the post man before doing this.

ROTFLMAO!
I saw a suggestion on another website to somehow attach paint balls to the mailbox such as that the mutants would be splattered - not sure how that helps me...

 

[steveny]

ROTFLMAO!
I saw a suggestion on another website to somehow attach paint balls to the mailbox such as that the mutants would be splattered - not sure how that helps me...

Paintball grenades would not be too much of a deterrent. It would probably just escalate the non-sense. Bees would deter most people and bees have a mind of their own. Not to easy to explain how a paintball grenade ended up in your mailbox. On the other hand bees can get their all by themselves, no liability on your part. I can not even imagine the instant fear of smashing a mailbox and then being covered in bees.

 

[blknsxnoc]

sounds like you need the services of "The Wolf"........

 

[lemansnsx]

sounds like you need the services of "The Wolf"........

That's MISTER Wolf to you!
Audio - not work or kid safe...

 

[blknsxnoc]

That's MISTER Wolf to you!
Audio - not work or kid safe...

My apologies........ Mister Wolf...

 

[W]

Get a surveillance setup and press charges to their max.

 

[Meeyatch1]

My friends are pretty nuts....we had one incident of vandalism where the perp was caught by my friends and taught some....ummm...'respect' in a rather decisive manner.

 

[loNfastNSX]

My friends are pretty nuts....we had one incident of vandalism where the perp was caught by my friends and taught some....ummm...'respect' in a rather decisive manner.

I was kinda thinking the same thing. Get a few bigger guys to hang out dressed thugged out and when the little punks start trouble, then the bigger thugs can put the fear of god in them. Ive done that before and it works.

 

[MiamieNeSeX]

Hmmm is it worth going to jail, or even worse seriously hurting a kid or yourself over a 10 dollar mailbox?


Armando

 

[Mr.Wolf]

My apologies........ Mister Wolf...

Apology accepted.

I like the photograph of me. Damn, I look good in a tuxedo.

 

[lemansnsx]

I was kinda thinking the same thing. Get a few bigger guys to hang out dressed thugged out and when the little punks start trouble, then the bigger thugs can put the fear of god in them. Ive done that before and it works.

My next-door neighbor is a former semi pro wrestler and still keeps in shape - he'll put the fear of God in them if he catches them - but he's a sound sleeper...

 

[loNfastNSX]

Armando, I dont mean beat up a little kid, just scare them a bit. If I was 13 to 17 yrs old and some big guy got on my ass for messing around in his neighborhood, Id think twice before I crossed the line again. Just let them know that they aren't the bad asses they think they are. Its all relitive to the acts of mischief. It is kids knocking down cans and kicking mail boxes, its one thing. When its kids in cars damaging property, its another thing all together. Kids will be kids and will from time to time step in it, but there is a line. If I caught some kid keying or breaking the windows out in my car, I dont care how old the kid is, hes getting a foot in the ass. I would bet that every other NSX owner here would as well.