Young Victims of Salthill Gang urged to come forward

dilallio

One of my friends told me yesterday, that last summer her 14 yr old son along with 4 of his friends were approached by a 17 yr old and a 15 yr old in Leisureland. The 17 yr old asked the youngest lad for his name & address, and did the same for the other 4. The lads were afraid not to tell the truth, as the 17 yr old is well known for causing trouble and had stabbed another boy previously.
He then produced a knife, and took phones & sim pin numbers off all the lads, and threatened them that he would stab them if they went to the authorities. Her son was afraid to tell her, and told her a few days later that he 'lost' the phone. She only discovered the truth weeks later when she overheard her son speaking to his friend about it.

The really sad thing is that our justice system does not deal well with young offenders without any parental controls who do not co-operate with the probation services, and in cases like this both the victims and aggressor know that they will get away with it for a very long time.

Storm 10

Three places in Salthill that I find a lot of teenagers gathering and drinking in are the green area at Devon Park, the park in Salthill and the park opposite the Salthill Hotel, it has got very bad recently with the warm weather so with a few drinks on board them its a recipe for thuggish carry on.

I passed by the park at Salthill one evening and they were roaring and shouting at people going by including myself, I was not afraid but if a few of them were to come towards me I would not like it then, best thing is to totally ignore them and keep walking.

Red Pepper

John_Rambo wrote: »

However, for every one gob****e in Galway, you're going to come across eight hundred of the nicest people you can meet.

I think the current ratio is 1:750 actually.

Chivalry

Storm 10 wrote: »

I was not afraid but if a few of them were to come towards me I would not like it then, best thing is to totally ignore them and keep walking.

Yeah, I had this before too. Funny thing is, it was very near a Guards station. A group of them were coming towards me yelling and shouting at me(about 5 in the group). I had to get back into my car and skip doing my own business in that area at that time.

beardybrewer

Whenever I see drunks or idiots roaring at people in Salthill I ring the station and let them know. I'd encourage everyone to do the same.

Does anyone know if the cameras mounted along the prom near the station actually work? Ever see em move?

jkforde

Chivalry wrote: »

I had to get back into my car and skip doing my own business in that area at that time.

this is just a plain daft state of affairs (not specifically at you OP)... a gang of teenage bullies passively bullying an adult out of an area, the next generation of prison inmates getting a clear run at their cell doors. and all the while we all whine and complain of Garda inaction while it's our own inaction that's contributing to the general tolerance of this kind of attitude. what are we like?

Iwannahurl

jkforde wrote: »

we all whine and complain of Garda inaction while it's our own inaction that's contributing to the general tolerance of this kind of attitude. what are we like?

With respect, I disagree.

Though not in the present context, my experience over a number of years is that reporting things to AGS does not necessarily result in effective action, or indeed any action.

I would agree, though, that many people are not persistent enough in following up on incidents, whether of assault or anything else. Perhaps it should be regarded as a civic duty, given that it draws official attention to what may be a recurring social or public order problem which affects all of us to one degree or another?

old hippy

theUbiq wrote: »

Beaten kids should form their own gang and bash these clowns...

I'm sure that's precisely what Salthill needs right now, gangs and vendettas.

People need to put pressure on their local TDs and council.

Red Pepper

What was the name of the gangs that stalked Salthill in the 1980s wield flick knives etc? Were they the "Snakebites"? Wasn't there another gang they used to have fights with?

_Whimsical_

Iwannahurl wrote: »

With respect, I disagree.

Though not in the present context, my experience over a number of years is that reporting things to AGS does not necessarily result in effective action, or indeed any action.

I would agree, though, that many people are not persistent enough in following up on incidents, whether of assault or anything else. Perhaps it should be regarded as a civic duty, given that it draws official attention to what may be a recurring social or public order problem which affects all of us to one degree or another?

I agree. That said today's Advertiser mentions a women in Salthill who reported anti social behaviour and later had her car walked on in retaliation. I can understand people being frightened to get involved.

I guess we probably all need to start being a bit more aware and watch out for others as well as ourselves. Where you see something dodgy looking going on take a pic and send it to the guards. Maybe if we create an atmosphere where every bodies watching there might be less thugs who think they can do whatever they want.

inisboffin

jkforde wrote: »

this is just a plain daft state of affairs (not specifically at you OP)... a gang of teenage bullies passively bullying an adult out of an area, the next generation of prison inmates getting a clear run at their cell doors. and all the while we all whine and complain of Garda inaction while it's our own inaction that's contributing to the general tolerance of this kind of attitude. what are we like?

I agree with you in sentiment but in reality, confronting 5 teenagers who may be off their heads is not the wisest move, and the poster probably did the sane thing getting back into their car. It's a personality thing too, and everyone deals with stuff like this differently. Some friends of mine stood their ground in NY when a gang of teens did something really similar, now one of them is dead.

brutes1

@redpepper , the rattlesnakes.... !
Hopefully this can be nipped in the bud by AGS pretty quick, was always the way back in the day in Salthill, gangs of lads you just didnt want to bump into, no fun being on the receiving end no matter how minor it might seem to others, and the sunshine sees more about than usual....

Red Pepper

brutes1 wrote: »

@redpepper , the rattlesnakes.... !
Hopefully this can be nipped in the bud by AGS pretty quick, was always the way back in the day in Salthill, gangs of lads you just didnt want to bump into, no fun being on the receiving end no matter how minor it might seem to others, and the sunshine sees more about than usual....

Yes indeed, the Rattlesnakes. Salthill was a dangerous place in the 1980s. I am sure there were a few other rival gangs from other areas of the town but the Rattlesnakes appeared especially lethal.
I suppose Salthill was a different place back then with all the busy nightclubs and pubs.

crusher000

Guess where most of Galways Gardai are ? Out in a bog in Monivea protecting it so that our younger generation can enjoy it's beauty in future years. That's if they survive a beaten in Salthill.

Chivalry

jkforde wrote: »

and all the while we all whine and complain of Garda inaction while it's our own inaction that's contributing to the general tolerance of this kind of attitude. what are we like?

Well I never whine about the Guards, if anything I whine about the Guards not getting enough respect,pay,equipment and power.

cbd18

I'd be very careful in the area - we parked the car and went for a walk on the prom last weekend (TONS of people out as it was warm and sunny weekend day) and we came back to the car to find the window smashed in and our valuables stolen from the boot (which were not visible). We were parked on the main stretch along the prom, it's incredible no one seemed to see or hear it happen. Almost unbelievable. I won't be going back to Salthill for a while.

stampydmonkey

cbd18 wrote: »

I'd be very careful in the area - we parked the car and went for a walk on the prom last weekend (TONS of people out as it was warm and sunny weekend day) and we came back to the car to find the window smashed in and our valuables stolen from the boot (which were not visible). We were parked on the main stretch along the prom, it's incredible no one seemed to see or hear it happen. Almost unbelievable. I won't be going back to Salthill for a while.

Not just happening in Salthill. My mothers car was broken into about 2weeks ago outside the entrance to Kilcolgan Swimming Pool. Smashed a window and robbed what they could. The guards were at her car when she got back and they said she was the 5th car to be robbed that day. A week later, she was walking in Renville out in Oranmore and when she got back to her car, the guards were at another car that had been broken into, so it is going on everywhere. Its an opportunistic crime and don't know how the guards are going to catch them unless they are there when it happens. All these locations are very busy public locations but it doesn't deter these scumbags

antoobrien

cbd18 wrote: »

I'd be very careful in the area - we parked the car and went for a walk on the prom last weekend (TONS of people out as it was warm and sunny weekend day) and we came back to the car to find the window smashed in and our valuables stolen from the boot (which were not visible). We were parked on the main stretch along the prom, it's incredible no one seemed to see or hear it happen. Almost unbelievable. I won't be going back to Salthill for a while.

I've heard of it happening at churches during weddings and funerals (and not just in galway).

Ms.Sunshine

cbd18 wrote: »

I'd be very careful in the area - we parked the car and went for a walk on the prom last weekend (TONS of people out as it was warm and sunny weekend day) and we came back to the car to find the window smashed in and our valuables stolen from the boot (which were not visible). We were parked on the main stretch along the prom, it's incredible no one seemed to see or hear it happen. Almost unbelievable. I won't be going back to Salthill for a while.

That is awful, What did the Guards do?

cbd18

The Guards took a statement from us - description of everything stolen. At first they hardly believed our window was smashed with so many people around (and I still have a hard time believing no one saw or heard it ! The prom was packed and we were parked on the busiest part) Was frustrating, I only just moved to Ireland from Chicago (where my car was never broken into, go figure). It also got reported to the embassy bc I think they keep statistics on crimes against Americans abroad. Just a pity there's scum bags no matter where you go.