Ben wrote in message
...
Spider wrote:
Maybe it's worth talking to your neighbours and finding out how
wide-spread
this problem is. I am the Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator for our road
and,
when we had these problems - and worse - we all stood together. I
arranged
a police meeting in my home and the result was an Anti-Social Behaviour
Order (ASBO) on the hooligans involved. We still have occasional
problems,
but we continue to have police support - and the two-legged rats know
it.
If they forget, we remind them )) !

If you do approach the Police, you will need to make contact with your
local
Beat Officer.

Thanks for the advice. Part of the problem is actually indifference from
the neighbours, so I can't exactly see us standing together. One of my
neighbours is the Parish Council and trying to get them to fix their
fence after its been vandalised I have to wait for the next monthly
meeting then go and put my case to a panel of 10 councillors, then wait
another month and go back to see if they've decided to do anything, etc
- not the best of neighbours. Another neighbour is the church. The
people who rent the house from them seem to have no intention of getting
their fence fixed, or even stopping it being vandalised further, and
they wouldn't even tell me who the owner was. In the end I found out who
the owner was from HM Land Registry and wrote them a letter telling them
their fence had been vandalised and asking them to fix it, I'm still
waiting for a reply. The local council aren't much better, when I
reported graffiti to them they turned up and removed some of it but left
the rest. Given that the police seem to think its our problem, not
theirs, I don't see any hope of an antisocial behaviour order, although
I will definitely take up your suggestion of contacting our local beat
officer. Even though we've called the police quite a lot lately, we
still haven't seen the guy in our area yet. Reporting incidents to a
single point of contact will at least mean that someone in the police
gets a feel for the scale of the problem, which they don't seem to have
at the moment.

Hi Ben,
You really have my sympathy - what a soul-destroying situation.
It is certainly true, as you say, that having one dedicated contact will
build a much clearer picture of the problem. Keeping a diary (with photo
proof, if possible), will also help your case and show just how seriously
you take it. It's a pity that your two council bodies don't have a bit more
civic pride between them. Do you have no other immediate private residents
whom you could stir out of their apathy? You make me feel so lucky to have
such a good bunch of neighbours!
(Life is not entirely a bed of roses, however - our next door neighbour
(No.13!) is a drummer .. I'm working hard to keep open channels of
friendly communication, but there is some underlying tension!)
Here in London (we're in L.B. Southwark), the Met Police and the council are
in close association. This may not be the case where you live, but if it
is, your local Beat Officer may be able to put some pressure on the council.
So may you, of course, by chasing your complaint daily. This * really*
helps. Councils give priority to people who are prepared to prioritise
their own case. I discovered this with my own council after waiting for
adequate street lighting. I finally asked the council contact what their
official policy was when dealing with such complaints. The chap admitted
that their policy amounted to "those who moan most, get most" ..
unofficially speaking! I had done just that; I showed them no mercy ..
took no prisoners. Show them you mean business - don't wait for their next
meeting, but badger them to glory. Tell them you're working with your Beat
Officer and keeping that all-important diary.

Yes, I know, it sounds like a lot of grief and hard work. Eventually,
though, you should get somewhere. In the meantime, you will feel more in
control, more positive. Actions speak louder than words - the two together
make powerful stuff!
I shall keep my fingers crossed for you.
Regards,
Spider