Topic ID 5516
OK, so who's had enough of the vandalism and petty crime in the Hornsmill Rd area ? ME !!!! Anyone else? Over the last year I've had my garden gate destroyed 3 times, garden furniture demolished, my windows smashed twice, my shed robbed, rotten vegetables thrown at the house, a bike stolen, and my car repeatedly vandalised. It seems to be never ending and the culprits seem to get away with it time and time again. Would be interested to hear other residents thoughts.
Reply ID 76884
sorry to hear of all your bad fortune Lois. It just makes me glad that we didn't buy the house near the pub on Hornsmill Road now. As I currently live in an ex-local authority house, I didn't fancy the idea of seeing a sea of them out of the front windows. The final nail in the coffin was seeing what can only be described as a chav couple walking a pair of ferrets on dog leads down Hornsmill Road as we were leaving the house! Classy.
Reply ID 76900
Have any or all of these things been reported to the police?
Reply ID 76904
quote:I had the displeasure of about six months there a few years back as we rented a house on Purkiss Road while ours had structural work. Let's see........cars, ours plus visiting friends, repeatedly vandalised, boys playing football on the green in front of the house and when the ball came in the garden they'd just walk on in and give me the finger, my wife being verbally abused by young lads as she walked to the house ater parking her car ("Do you want to suck my ****?" - I'm not kidding, it was that bad and worse).......... .....the woman who'd sit on the front wall drinking super strength lager and throw cans in our garden.........the same woman who egged on her lads who were having a fight in our garden and then spilling over into the neighbours garden........the fact that the council had to leave a super-sized skip in the road every month for the residents to dump their waste free of charge otherwise they'd only have to come down and clear it out of the brook where it would have been dumped........ Oh yes.....the crowning glory.....the next door neighbours boy bunking off school and torching the car parked behind me (while I was in my car!!!!! I kid you not!) and while a man from the council watched on about 30 feet away........and when we told his dad he simply asked his lad who shook his head and said it wasn't him.......and the father just said "It's your word against his". Despicable. Six months of hell. Sorry to hear that it hasn't improved. I know there are plenty of very decent, morally sound people living there but the minority ruined it for us and sound like they are continuing.
Originally posted by Lois_Lane
OK, so who's had enough of the vandalism and petty crime in the Hornsmill Rd area ? ME !!!! Anyone else? Over the last year I've had my garden gate destroyed 3 times, garden furniture demolished, my windows smashed twice, my shed robbed, rotten vegetables thrown at the house, a bike stolen, and my car repeatedly vandalised. It seems to be never ending and the culprits seem to get away with it time and time again. Would be interested to hear other residents thoughts.
Reply ID 76912
Thanks for your replies. Yes indeed Eyeone, all these incidents have been reported to the police and I have followed all their advice. I've installed security measures, spoken to the Crime Prevention Officer, collected evidence, given umpteen statements, looked through mug shots, and spoken to Victim Support etc etc. But the trouble continues.....the latest incident was only 14 days ago. I'm on tenterhooks waiting for the next.... Ewoowar - sounds like you had a lucky escape! Fortunately my house isn't actually in the estate but is near enough to feel the effects. I know the culprits who are causing me most of this grief and they definitely live near Purkiss Road.
Reply ID 76914
Lois have you tried telling the estate managers that they have a responsibility to control anti-social behaviour on their estate? In addition you can report ASB to East Herts via an online form on the link below. We hear in the press that this sort of behaviour goes unpunished because nobody is prepared to do anything about it - well Lois is obviously prepared but the authorities aren't listening. Once again it seems to be one or two families who are causing the problems; I know there are powers to deal with this sort of behaviour so why aren't they being used. Are the Police frightened of them or have they just given up - please don't tell me they are too busy around here to commit resources. Please see Steve's message below for link.
Reply ID 76916
Link doesn't work. Try this... https://e-services.eastherts.gov.uk/eforms/ufsmain?formid=COMM_P0497A_ANTISOCIAL_BEHAVIOUR
Reply ID 76920
Golden - you are SO right ! It does feel like the authorities are getting nowhere with these issues even though I've gone to great lengths to make them aware. And it is one certain family who are causing the grief and everyone knows it (including the police) - but I never have quite enough evidence to prove it. I have recently written to various Councillors listing all the incidents and asking for help - no reply as yet. I didn't know about the online way of reporting ASB so I will take advantage of that too - thanks for that. I'd write to the Mercury and name & shame the culprits if I had the guts. But I fear for the safety of my child and I as we live alone and can't rely on anyone for protection. Where's Superman when I need him?
Reply ID 76923
It sounds as if this really is a circumstance where either the police or the district council (either body can make an application for an ASBO at Hertford Magistrates’ Court) should be applying for an ASBO. If you (and your neighbours?) would be prepared to support this with a witness statement etc, then it seems, from what you've been saying, you have a significant chance of success. Have you discussed this with the police officers dealing with your complaints? Sometimes individual officers might be inexperienced in making applications for ASBOs, but, if you can encourage them to do so, they should be able to seek advice and support from the Constabulary’s legal department.
Reply ID 76933
Thanks MDT. I'm not sure if the culprits are on an ASBO or not, but I believe they have a curfew and hence have to be home by a certain time (but judging by the amount of times they pass my house late at night I guess they just ignore the curfew). I will try again to find out more.
Reply ID 76939
It's unlikely they have an ASBO - if they did you'd probably know about it (reports in the press, or being told by the officers you have reported incidents to). If that's the case, I'd suggest pushing for one. PM me if you'd like further details of how they work.
Reply ID 76965
The problems on the Hornsmill Estate is going to get even worse unfortunatly, did you know that Riversmead Housing Association don't have any choice whom they let the properties too and no checks are carried out on the tennants from Riversmead before letting them out this is done by East Herts. Council. The Hornsmill Estate especially Cecil Road has became worse in the last 3 years with class A drug users and drug dealers moving into Cecil Road. The local authorties are trying to improve the image and clean up Sele Farm Estate and Cecil Road has became a dumping ground for troubled families and individuals. Several drug raids in Cecil Road during the last 2 years has made no differnce 1 drug raid in particular resulted in concerned decent residents having a meeting at the local Community Hall with Riversmead Housing Officers, The Police and a representative from East Herts. Council. They were several questions asked to the officials and 2 of the questions were: 'Why did you re-house this family (the family who had been arrested for alledged drug dealings) when it was a well known fact to every 1 else that this Family had already been issued with a A.S.B.O. and were also very well known drug dealers to the Police from where they had moved from' The reply from a Riversmead Housing Officer was. 'We were not aware of this and its not our decision to house people in our properties' I hear this all the time 'Riversmead are working together in the Community with the Police' the reply is simply just not good enough it's a absolute joke and bull**** and its not worth the paper its wrote on. Riversmead send out all the Glossy leaflets on how they are tackling anti social behaviour but when it comes to it they just dont care. Another question asked was. 'This family have broken the tenancy agreement and if proven guilty will you be acting on your ruling not to allow drug dealing from a property and begin action to evict this family from your property' Reply from a Riversmead official: 'We have to apply to the courts if they are proven guilty and this is a long process' Well guess what that family were found guilty and 2 years later they are still living at the same property, the system stinks and not until the courts and the system hits these sort of people harder nothing will change, oh yes when found they attend a drug rehabilitation course but they go low for a little while and then go straight back into dealing and using the only life they have became accustomed to. Riversmead, The Police, The Law Courts need to re think the process and just recently the Goverment are thinking about handing more powers over to Local housing Authorities in tackling anti social behaviour, I think Riversmead just could not care a monkey about it as long as they are getting the rent from the Local Authorities to house these sort of people, a non profit organisation come on pull the other 1 Riversmead. I have just read in todays Mercury about a married couple being asked to take down hanging baskets and pots from outside there front door in Cecil Road because they are breaking Riversmead rules, so when decent folk try to improve the surroundings of the area Riversmead come down hard on these people but dont do sweet FA in tackling the drugs problem, oh and recently they have been syringes left lying around the streets and the local park of Cecil Road. This was reported to Riversmead and guess what the answer was, 'it's not our problem its East Herts Councils' So Im afraid the situation is only going to get worse unless changes are made soon imho.
Reply ID 76966
A few years ago,Riversmead were trying to evict a family in my neighbourhood,I was a witness for Riversmead( nobody else wanted to come forward,even though there were a lot of complaints about this family )After a lot of investigations and a lot of reports and interviews,it went to court. The court agreed that the family were trouble,but,because of the ages of the children,yhey did not want to move the family away,because it could disrupt their schooling and have a detrimental effect on the family as a whole. Now,after a lot of time and effort,from Riversmead,and police and other authorities,the family were allowed to stay.This was a great disappointment for Riversmead and everyone involved.I couldn't fault Riversmead,they did every thing in their power to move this family on,but there is too much red tape and too much pressure on them to do it "the right way". It does take time,and you need a lot of people,who will come forward,who will write a statement,and who will stand up in court,if more people had come forward in this case,they might have got moved on.
Reply ID 76967
Objectively, how does moving these people on help? They'll only end up as troublemakers elsewhere. Riversmead surely have some responsibility in fixing the cause of the trouble.
Reply ID 76968
Riversmead have it written in the Tenancy if any 1 is found guilty via the courts either using the home for using or dealing in illegal drugs then you are breaking your tenancy agreement and may be evicted from your home. To get some 1 or persons a A.S.B.O. a substanial number of complaint diaries need to be kept by neighbours so Riversmead can then take those responsible to the courts. In the case of drug use and dealing no witnesses or neighbourhood involvement is needed and like I said it's those citizens such as the married couple in the Mercury today that have the heavy hand brought down on them because they are law abiding folk. That is just unfair and it seems there is 1 rule for 1 enforced and not others but that's exactly why the drug users just laugh all the way out of the courts. A.S.B.O are soon to be abolished and other measures of power are to be implemented through local housing authorities and orginisations, just lets wait and see how Riversmead deal with the new powers.
Reply ID 76970
quote:Social Workers are working with the individuals and troublesome families, Riversmead have no responsibility in fixing the Social problem but have a obligation in evicting them through the courts so a total system breakdown is the root cause. Unemployment? no I don't think that's the root cause because these people simply wont make enough money to feed the drugs habit it's the way the law courts deal with them with too much of a soft approach, the problems will not go away by simply putting them back into the same enviroment they are used to. The individuals that use class A drugs should have the children put into care and they need a very long term in rehab and even when they are re housed somewhere else a close monitoring system by Social Workers should be enforced upon them. The Chief Constable of Hertfordshire Constabulary has said 'Hertfordshire has a very small number of drug dealers and we are doing everything we can to deal with it' he is walking with his nose in the air smelling roses imo and needs to get real. The Police like to show us they are doing something about it with raids etc. but they know it's the Law Courts who make the decisions so its a losing battle and a very expensive vicious cycle and the taxpayer foots the bill. More money needs to be put into Drug rehabilitation centres not Prisons because they are drugs readily available for inmates thats a fact. Getting back on the topic Riversmead need to realise that local residents on the Hornsmill Estate are getting very disillusioned in the system they have in place at the moment and they need to carry out the threat of action in a lot more cases maybe then residents will congratulate them in doing things instead of wasting ink and paper.
Originally posted by codek2
Objectively, how does moving these people on help? They'll only end up as troublemakers elsewhere. Riversmead surely have some responsibility in fixing the cause of the trouble.
Reply ID 76971
I still think Riversmead are doing all they can,they can only take it to court to get people evicted,and it is the courts that make the decision,not Riversmead.The people that I dealt with at Rivermead are just as fed up,annoyed,and dismayed at the decisions that the courts make sometimes,they also took it just as personally,as if they were living in the same areas
Reply ID 76972
I think I explained that in my last post although if some of the Judges and Magistrates from the Law Courts did live in the area I do wonder if the decisions would somewhat be different.
Reply ID 76988
There are many different ways of dealing (or indeed, failing to deal!) with ASB. An ASBO is just one way. Nine times out of ten they are effective. The police need to apply for the ASBO. Riversmead don’t have the statutory jurisdiction to do so, although if they supported an application it would help. It is impossible to “ASBO a family”; the orders can only effect one individual. There must be clear evidence (CCTV, witness evidence, ASB diaries, police intelligence) that the Respondent has caused anti-social behaviour. It sounds, from what you have said in your posts, there would be plenty of such evidence if all of the effected neighbours come together to assist an application. I’d suggest that you simply have to put pressure on the neighbourhood police team to make an application. As I noted before, sometimes those officers might be inexperienced in making such an application and, as a result, hesitant to pursue one. Work with the officers to try and come to a conclusion. Finally, how on earth do you know that "the Judges and Magistrates" wont grant an ASBO if an application hasn't already been made? The judiciary can only apply the law as it stands - but they need a case brought before them before they do that!
Reply ID 76989
I don't work for Riversmead but have experience of this kind of work. I can assure you that the staff will be working very hard to try and deal with the problems but will have their hands tied to a certain extent -
Reply ID 77012
I’d suggest that you simply have to put pressure on the neighbourhood police team to make an application You'd be wasting your time. As a former Police officer I can assure you they're not interested. The only thing that matters these days is getting arrests and "ticking the box"
Reply ID 77014
quote:Generally I find police quite helpful, but they are tied by an increasingly rigid set of legal devices these days. Asbos are frequently issued to the victims of ASB, rather than the perpetrators, because the disturbance happens at the victims address. Drugs culture uses intimidation as a tool at the supply level and the bully will look calm, respectable and affluent, whereas the victim will seem manic, out of control and troublesome. Only one of them is under stress and only one of them is likely to be caught with the goods. With such a rigid legal structure, less responsibility for making a judgemnet is placed on the individual police officer and thus, at the grass roots level, there is less effort put into determining what is really going on, before selecting one of the legal "tools" provided. That action when it comes is more likely to be formal, generic and less accurately targeted, often to appease the complainant, rather than address the true problem. There is a backlash though. The old fashioned practise of "Having a word" is returning to policing and "Community Policing", by it's very title shows a recognition that we have gone too far down the road towards simply issuing paper orders and filling arrest quotas. There is hope, but the key problem is that the economic experiment of the eighties broke British society into two distinct classes:- Those who have mortgages and those who don't. Without some bold social engineering, a break from finance disorted politics and media, a change to the "them and us" attitude, it's unlikely that the underlying causes will be addressed with any speed. This is not a problem in Hormsmill, it's everywhere and will be until we stop combining the violent, aggressive and lazy with vulnerable and needy in ghettos which encourage the spread of ASB and drug dealing.
Originally posted by buzz
I’d suggest that you simply have to put pressure on the neighbourhood police team to make an application You'd be wasting your time. As a former Police officer I can assure you they're not interested. The only thing that matters these days is getting arrests and "ticking the box"
Reply ID 77021
quote:This the best post I have ever read on Hertford.net. Complete sense.
Originally posted by shuntquote:Generally I find police quite helpful, but they are tied by an increasingly rigid set of legal devices these days. Asbos are frequently issued to the victims of ASB, rather than the perpetrators, because the disturbance happens at the victims address. Drugs culture uses intimidation as a tool at the supply level and the bully will look calm, respectable and affluent, whereas the victim will seem manic, out of control and troublesome. Only one of them is under stress and only one of them is likely to be caught with the goods. With such a rigid legal structure, less responsibility for making a judgemnet is placed on the individual police officer and thus, at the grass roots level, there is less effort put into determining what is really going on, before selecting one of the legal "tools" provided. That action when it comes is more likely to be formal, generic and less accurately targeted, often to appease the complainant, rather than address the true problem. There is a backlash though. The old fashioned practise of "Having a word" is returning to policing and "Community Policing", by it's very title shows a recognition that we have gone too far down the road towards simply issuing paper orders and filling arrest quotas. There is hope, but the key problem is that the economic experiment of the eighties broke British society into two distinct classes:- Those who have mortgages and those who don't. Without some bold social engineering, a break from finance disorted politics and media, a change to the "them and us" attitude, it's unlikely that the underlying causes will be addressed with any speed. This is not a problem in Hormsmill, it's everywhere and will be until we stop combining the violent, aggressive and lazy with vulnerable and needy in ghettos which encourage the spread of ASB and drug dealing.
Originally posted by buzz
I’d suggest that you simply have to put pressure on the neighbourhood police team to make an application You'd be wasting your time. As a former Police officer I can assure you they're not interested. The only thing that matters these days is getting arrests and "ticking the box"
Reply ID 77024
I'm afraid that I don't agree. The situation is essentially irreversible. My own experience - in my block (where the flats are worth around 300-500k) we have some social housing on the ground floor. These are not key worker types, they appear to be a classic old school council tenant. You can walk past them - the places are a complete tip and stink. Their kids are frequently outside playing football kicking the ball against the gates with their mates (when there is a park 2 mins away) and they and their parents are happy to shout and swear and play music at unacceptable levels on a school night whenever they wish. These are people that have been housed in a very nice block in zone 2 and their neighbours are doctors, solicitors, bankers etc - not drug dealers or chavs. Yet they still behave (albeit on a low level way) in an anti-social way, frequently. I feel sorry for the bloke on the front desk who is forever having to go out there and bollock them. The point is that these people are not living in a high rise council estate yet they still frequently behave in an unacceptable way. I am afriad that I conclude that sometimes, you can take the scumbag out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the scumbag - they are simply unpleasant people with no idea of how to behave and how to control their kids. I'm not sure that there is any kind of solution to this problem - and it is clear that there is a "them and us" situation. I'm not sure what use there is in blaming Thatcher for this (despite there being blame at her door) - people need to take responsibility for their own actions and that of their kids - sitting them down with a history book and patting them on the head saying "there there, it's maggie's fault that you couldn't be bothered to take your old sofa to the dump and decided it would be ok to leave it in the road" isn't going to help anyone. I feel very sorry for the OP here. Sounds like she/he is having a bad time of it. Hope things improve for you. If they don't - move out. In the long run, people get the environment that they deserve to live in. My parents lived in a nice road in Hertford for 25 odd years, but got fed up with the kids sodding about, kicking footballs against the parked cars, dog **** everywhere etc. It's low level stuff compared to that which the OP has to put up with but they got so fed up with it that they moved and haven't looked back for a second.
Reply ID 77034
quote:Though I do see some of your points, there is no such thing as a typical "old school council tenant". In any one housing association block, you may find a bereaved lone parent, a person with mental health issues, a family who's business has failed due to recession, an ex convict, the son or daughter of a alcoholic.... people are in HA accommodation for many reasons, not all of them compatible with each other. Of course some are compatible with nobody, but others become so with time, whereas they would otherwise have recovered their lives within a generation. As for drugs, my point was that we only see the effects at the lower end of the trade. A lot of Hertford's drugs come into town via the electric gated, five bed properties, occupied by what appear to be successful, "respectable" business people. Politically, the Thatcher era had one key effect. It changed the powerbase from domestic political to international financial and switched our economy to one which relies on the mortgage market. It's an effect which has driven the last Labour government as much as the Conservative one that went before. That has fundamentally changed the character and moral values of the British people. To sort it out will take considerably longer that it took to create and yes, there will be the odd square peg in a round hole along the way.
Originally posted by exiled_in_Reading
I'm afraid that I don't agree. The situation is essentially irreversible. My own experience - in my block (where the flats are worth around 300-500k) we have some social housing on the ground floor. These are not key worker types, they appear to be a classic old school council tenant. You can walk past them - the places are a complete tip and stink. Their kids are frequently outside playing football kicking the ball against the gates with their mates (when there is a park 2 mins away) and they and their parents are happy to shout and swear and play music at unacceptable levels on a school night whenever they wish. These are people that have been housed in a very nice block in zone 2 and their neighbours are doctors, solicitors, bankers etc - not drug dealers or chavs. Yet they still behave (albeit on a low level way) in an anti-social way, frequently. I feel sorry for the bloke on the front desk who is forever having to go out there and bollock them. The point is that these people are not living in a high rise council estate yet they still frequently behave in an unacceptable way. I am afriad that I conclude that sometimes, you can take the scumbag out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the scumbag - they are simply unpleasant people with no idea of how to behave and how to control their kids. I'm not sure that there is any kind of solution to this problem - and it is clear that there is a "them and us" situation. I'm not sure what use there is in blaming Thatcher for this (despite there being blame at her door) - people need to take responsibility for their own actions and that of their kids - sitting them down with a history book and patting them on the head saying "there there, it's maggie's fault that you couldn't be bothered to take your old sofa to the dump and decided it would be ok to leave it in the road" isn't going to help anyone. I feel very sorry for the OP here. Sounds like she/he is having a bad time of it. Hope things improve for you. If they don't - move out. In the long run, people get the environment that they deserve to live in. My parents lived in a nice road in Hertford for 25 odd years, but got fed up with the kids sodding about, kicking footballs against the parked cars, dog **** everywhere etc. It's low level stuff compared to that which the OP has to put up with but they got so fed up with it that they moved and haven't looked back for a second.
Reply ID 77035
quote:Is this the same Hackney you were telling us is so wonderful in the "Sele Farm Stabbing" thread ? [;)]
Originally posted by exiled_in_Reading
I'm afraid that I don't agree. The situation is essentially irreversible. My own experience - in my block (where the flats are worth around 300-500k) we have some social housing on the ground floor. These are not key worker types, they appear to be a classic old school council tenant. You can walk past them - the places are a complete tip and stink. Their kids are frequently outside playing football kicking the ball against the gates with their mates (when there is a park 2 mins away) and they and their parents are happy to shout and swear and play music at unacceptable levels on a school night whenever they wish.
Reply ID 77036
quote:Spot on , i would wager there are more 'middle class' mum's doing Coke in Hertford than there are 'working class' hooked on heroin .
A lot of Hertford's drugs come into town via the electric gated, five bed properties, occupied by what appear to be successful, "respectable" business people.
Reply ID 77037
But the middle class mothers don't generally go down the white hart coked up and get in a scrap and carted off by the old bill. If they want to do drugs in their own home - it's up to them, it doesn't particularly bother me. The point I was making is that in most cases of anti-social behaviour, it is a case of nature, rather than nurture. So, if this is the case (and I think in most cases it is), what is the answer? I certainly don't know.
Reply ID 77054
"Classic old school council tenant"? In my experience, the classic old school council tenant was a perfectly respectable working class family who just happened to live in a council house. In London in particular, there were lots of decent families who were housed through the slum clearance programmes. It didn't mean they were scumbags - although a small minority undoubtedly were. The problem has come about since the Homeless Persons Act in 1977 which gave rehousing priority to people with "priority need". In real terms this now translates as a "dependency issue" unfortunately. Particularly in relation to single people. I feel sorry for the "old school council tenant" who now has to put up with them as neighbours. Poor old Exiled In Reading - I believe that he once suggested that people who suffer with traffic problems living near London Road wouild have to put up with it if they can't afford anything better. Have I made my point......? [:D]
Reply ID 77055
quote:What point have you made? I used to live nr the London Road as it happens a few years ago.
Originally posted by newgirl
"Classic old school council tenant"? In my experience, the classic old school council tenant was a perfectly respectable working class family who just happened to live in a council house. In London in particular, there were lots of decent families who were housed through the slum clearance programmes. It didn't mean they were scumbags - although a small minority undoubtedly were. The problem has come about since the Homeless Persons Act in 1977 which gave rehousing priority to people with "priority need". In real terms this now translates as a "dependency issue" unfortunately. Particularly in relation to single people. I feel sorry for the "old school council tenant" who now has to put up with them as neighbours. Poor old Exiled In Reading - I believe that he once suggested that people who suffer with traffic problems living near London Road wouild have to put up with it if they can't afford anything better. Have I made my point......? [:D]
Reply ID 77057
Just thought you might be getting what you paid for - as you said London Road residents do. Seems a bit naive to me to take a risk on buying in a block where social housing tenants live and not anticipate problems - but then I suppose your property was cheaper than an exclusively private property would have been ?
Reply ID 77059
quote:I didn't buy it, it is rented. You will also find that most developments will have to include, as part of the planning conditions, areas within that development for affordable or social housing.
Originally posted by newgirl
Just thought you might be getting what you paid for - as you said London Road residents do. Seems a bit naive to me to take a risk on buying in a block where social housing tenants live and not anticipate problems - but then I suppose your property was cheaper than an exclusively private property would have been ?
Reply ID 77084
Obviously. Next time, look out for a small block that does not meet the social housing provision threshold, an older block built before this requirement or a development where the blocks are separate. Its actually quite rare to have mixed blocks because the service charges can't be so easily controlled by the social landlord and its just a management nightmare. You can't guarantee that owner occupiers will be quieter neighbours though
Reply ID 77086
Hi all - some interesting comments and obviously some big issues in my area that won't be fixed overnight. My letters to councillors and the police seem to have helped as I am now receiving quite alot of practical help in the form of various security measures being installed in my house. Fingers crossed they help a bit. Moving out is not an option for me - can't afford it, would end up in something smaller, and don't see why I should be chased out of my home by a couple of local thugs. I've worked full-time all my life, have a good career, own my house, have supported my child single-handedly, don't live off benefits and have always been a law abiding citizen. Personally, I feel that the fact that I've ended up living round the corner to a nightmare estate is more down to bad luck than my social standing (or anything else).
Reply ID 77102
quote:Indeed it is not due to your social standing, as it is not for many who live right on the estate and don't own their own homes. I know one such young person who does live there, does live on benefits, having an inherited mental handicap, and endures similar problems to yourself, but even more severe. That person doesn't deserve it either. Please gaurd against considering yourself to be better than those who are your neighbours, simply because you have a job, are able to pay a mortgage and do not rely on benefits. You are simply more fortunate than many who do not have those things. You have, perhaps given a good illustration of the "them and us" attitudes which lie at the heart of the problem. The attitudes to this country's poor has led to a second generation who does not wish to join a society which has hated them and labelled them in the foriegn owned press as a reviled sub-culture from birth, even if they were equipped by their experiences of childhood to do so. It is unfair that such things happen but an unfortunate fact of life that not all human beings are fair or reasonable. I'm pleased you have received some support and hope you are on the road to a permanent solution. From whatever walk of life, you are entitled to the protection of law and the sympathy of the community under such circumstances.
Originally posted by Lois_Lane
Hi all - some interesting comments and obviously some big issues in my area that won't be fixed overnight. My letters to councillors and the police seem to have helped as I am now receiving quite alot of practical help in the form of various security measures being installed in my house. Fingers crossed they help a bit. Moving out is not an option for me - can't afford it, would end up in something smaller, and don't see why I should be chased out of my home by a couple of local thugs. I've worked full-time all my life, have a good career, own my house, have supported my child single-handedly, don't live off benefits and have always been a law abiding citizen. Personally, I feel that the fact that I've ended up living round the corner to a nightmare estate is more down to bad luck than my social standing (or anything else).
Reply ID 77313
Here we go again - my car has been vandalised today for the millionth time.....GRRRRR !!!
Reply ID 77314
quote:Lois, can you think of any reason why you and your property are targets? Though there are other incidents in the area, there are also many cars on the estate, most of which remain unmolested. Is there an unresolved dispute of some kind? It sometimes helps to look for what is it which makes you, or perhaps your property, stand out or be particularly noticeable to these people? though these incidents are unforgivable and probably irrationally motivated, they are unlikely to be entirely random.
Originally posted by Lois_Lane
Here we go again - my car has been vandalised today for the millionth time.....GRRRRR !!!
Reply ID 77320
Tnx Shunt, you're possibly right, and the authorities and I have been looking for a pattern or some underlying reason. But there doesn't seem to be anything in particular. Sometimes I think it's certain individuals and other times I think its random vandals just passing by on their way home from a night out in town. And some of it might just be bad luck.