Nuisance Children

Irelandscall01

Hi All,

Im looking for advice on what to do with a gang of teens that live on my road. We have recently moved into a new housing estate and we are having problems with the children on our road. They are using our wall and our garden as their own little meeting spot, I know we all did it as teenagers,it just so happens to be my house..

Every evening they just come and sit on our wall for hours on end, but now its getting to be a joke. It started off with the kids looking in our window, so we have to keep our blinds closed, then the nick knacks started and this is a regular thing.Then they would come and just sit on our door step and lean against the car in the driveway - I've asked them not to sit on the doorstep. They have started to play pranks on us by saying their ball has gone into our back garden but when we check there is nothing there. On some evenings they throw muck at our windows.

There is a big tree outside our house and as our driveway is only big enough to fit 1 car a second car has to be parked outside, so they stand on the car to climb into the tree - I let a roar at the kids for that. On Saturday night there was 15 (I counted) teenagers sitting on our wall and climbing into the tree. They broke the branches on the tree and left them scattered outside our house. And then again with the nick knacks last night.

I've had a few suggestions as to getting the Community Guard up to the house or painting the wall but we are new to the estate so we dont know anyone, we dont know where these kids live or who their parents are and I dont want to do anything that might make mean enemy as we have to live there so I would appreciate any advise please.

Doom

Get some ****ty dirty grease from your local garage...put it on the top of your wall.

Everlong1

You can now get a device that emits a high frequency signal which will irritate their hearing and make them move on (similar to that used for dogs). I thought it was a joke when I heard it first (from a former landlord of mine who had the same problem) but they do exist. Might be worth checking out? As I undertand it it's quite subtle so they might not even realise it's coming from your house.

Hercule

Short of "speaking with the parents" - which I can't imagine would prove too effective it's not an easy one to solve - but I would say your best bet is a guard dog.

Gardaí can't stakeout your house for loitering and you honestly can't reason with a gang of teenagers - May sound like a bit of a neanderthal solution but fear would be the best motivator to get them to shove off and would certainly be accomplished with a big f off alsatian or bullmastiff - heck even the barking would make them think twice of skulking around outside.

Obviously there are other concerns with regards the long term care of a dog :rolleyes: but it would work to solve your problem.

maggiepip

You cant just get a dog to lock outside and hope it barks - dogs need care and to be looked after properly. Anyway the problem seems to be at the front of the house and you cant have a loose dog round the front unless the garden is secure. Dog might not even be a barker. Do they leave when you ask them to OP or do they defy and stay put? If they go away (but come back again) I would just keep going out and tell them to get lost again and again- keep annoying them. Short of calling the guards or going to their parents Im not sure what other options there are.

DoozerT6

OP, definitely call the local Garda station and find out who your local Community Guard is. You are being harassed in your own home by teenagers who are certainly old enough to know better. Contact the Guard and make them aware of the situation, maybe they could call to the house (do they use unmarked cars??) to discuss the situation with you and find out exactly where you live. The next time these kids start messing, call the Community Guard and ask him to come around straight away. If he parks around the corner or something, the kids will have no warning that he is coming. If he's any good, he will get some names and addresses, tell them to get lost and warn them that if ANYTHING untoward happens to you or your property that their parents will be contacted BY THE GARDAI.

As an aside, do you live in a corner house?? Groups tend to gather at these sites because the front garden walls tend to be longer and lower, just right for sitting on and watching what's happening on the roads in the estate. I've lived in a couple of corner houses when I was renting, and this was definitely a factor in the amount of noisy kids around. If this is the case, would you go to the expense of building up your wall so it's not so accessible/attractive for them?

spockety

Mature thorny bushes that overhang your wall cap stones...

Or replace your wall cap stones with ones that have a short railing out the top of them.

As you've just moved in this could be considered standard upgrade work so well not set off any alarm bells.

Ask the council to consider cutting down the tree. Tell them straight it is a magnet for anti social behaviour. Get video evidence to support this.

moxin

Don't get a dog, the poor thing will be tormented. Grease the top of that wall, it worked for one of my neighbours years ago. Hearing they are actually on your doorstep, that's crazy as its your private property. Dunno how you've restrained yourself so far!

Queen-Mise

Come up with an excuse/reason that will have the teenagers voluntarily moving on.

When coming in - stop and have a chat with them, and tell them to make sure to wash their hands well as they are lots of rats around and they carry poison on their urine and faeces. Be explicit - back it up, describe what the disease does (I am sure there is one, as I saw it on House one night:). That you are going to have to get an exterminator out for the ones around the house.

Go out some night and come in about 7.30 with rat bait - proceed to get one of the lads to help you put some on the tree and around the wall.
Tell them there is a serious rat problem with the tree and the front of your house.

Or with mice... If there is any girls - they will run screaming if they hear the words mice or rats.


Or else start playing Daniel O'Donnell music out the front window - that would do it either. Or in the season that is in it, the vilest/cheesiest Christmas music you can find.

Although that sound/vibration thing might be your best option.

the_syco

The grease is a bad idea; it'll work short term, and then it shall start to appear on your car.

Get the tree chopped down, and have uneven uncomfortable cap stones pu on the wall.

Consider trying to convert the children to X religion :pac:

beauf

Everlong1 wrote: »

You can now get a device that emits a high frequency signal which will irritate their hearing and make them move on (similar to that used for dogs). I thought it was a joke when I heard it first (from a former landlord of mine who had the same problem) but they do exist. Might be worth checking out? As I undertand it it's quite subtle so they might not even realise it's coming from your house.

Under Ireland's Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997, anyone who "directly or indirectly applies force to or causes an impact on the body of another... without the consent of the other" (force including "application of [any] form of energy"), is guilty of committing assault. This issue has been raised in relation to the Mosquito device by Ireland's Ombudsman for Children following legal advice provided by Youth Work Ireland,[28] but has yet to be tested in the Irish courts......


....Some teenagers turned the sound into a mobile phone ringtone, which could not be heard by teachers if the phone rang during a class.[38] Mobile phone speakers are capable of producing frequencies above 20 kHz.[39] This ringtone became informally known as "Teen Buzz"[40] or "the Mosquito ringtone" and has since been sold commercially.

If you had a high pitched tone on a cheap mobile left at the bottom of the garden. You could keep ringing it when the teenagers started hanging around. Be interesting to see if it worked. Of course consider smaller kids of your neighbors.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2343706/Couple-installed-high-pitch-mosquito-alarm-ward-racist-teen-vandals-investigation-noise-nuisance.html

Otherwise I would just keep hounding the community Garda.

Whats attracting them to the wall.

murphaph

The wall is the key (if you want to spend money). It must be made uncomfortable/impossible to sit on. No comfy seat and they'll move on to somewhere else. I agree that grease is too obvious and they may actually retaliate with God knows what (eggs etc.) so as you're a new arrival a change to the wall would be ideal. I'd suggest a small decorative but impossible to sit on railing atop the wall.

If you can't/won't spend money (and hey, you shouldn't have to but anyway) then you need to first approach the parents. You don't have to get through to all the parents. Just a couple need to side with you and ban their kids from hanging around on your wall and then the others will have to drift off with them (especially if they're the popular kids) if they don't want to split the group.

If the parents don't respond the the Gardai talking to them about damage to your car may help focus their minds a bit.

What a sad state of affairs that the parents can't see how annoying this could be without having to be spoken too :-(

nelly17

If you can trigger your car alarm remotely that should do the trick after 4 or 5 times

Pawwed Rig

Under Ireland's Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997, anyone who "directly or indirectly applies force to or causes an impact on the body of another... without the consent of the other" (force including "application of [any] form of energy"), is guilty of committing assault. This issue has been raised in relation to the Mosquito device by Ireland's Ombudsman for Children following legal advice provided by Youth Work Ireland,[28] but has yet to be tested in the Irish courts.

I can't see on what basis that would ever be considered assault. If someone won a case on this I am taking Tescos to court for playing that terrible Mariah carey Christmas song. My ears are violated every time it comes on when I am doing shopping.

The_Morrigan

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

I can't see on what basis that would ever be considered assault. If someone won a case on this I am taking Tescos to court for playing that terrible Mariah carey Christmas song. My ears are violated every time it comes on when I am doing shopping.

It comes under the intent. Tesco aren't trying to harm you or make you leave by playing Christmas songs, but someone emitting a high pitched noise to force the teens to move on have the intention to use this force.

beauf

Theres the solution, play the Mariah Carey Christmas song.

mikemac1

Make a gardening project out of it, put a bush along the wall and that it overhangs where they sit.

If it's prickly then better still

Far less obvious then the grease and anyway working on your front garden could be something to do even if there were no kids around

A house nearby did this, owner was probably sick of us commuters sitting on their wall waiting on Dublin Bus. It is one of those routes who do a tour of the world around suburban streets and estates and the bus stop is right outside their house. Never any trouble from us but they probably didn't like it and the bush means we can't get on their wall anymore

murphaph

mikemac1 wrote: »

Make a gardening project out of it, put a bush along the wall and that it overhangs where they sit.

If it's prickly then better still

Far less obvious then the grease and anyway working on your front garden could be something to do even if there were no kids around

A house nearby did this, owner was probably sick of us commuters sitting on their wall waiting on Dublin Bus. It was one of those routes who do a tour of the world around subarbarn streets and estates. Never any trouble but they probably didn't like it and the bus means we can't get on their wall

Not a bad idea and in fact just being out in the garden will discourage them. But it's not really that gardening time of year.

Pawwed Rig

The_Morrigan wrote: »

It comes under the intent. Tesco aren't trying to harm you or make you leave by playing Christmas songs, but someone emitting a high pitched noise to force the teens to move on have the intention to use this force.

Surely then any attempt to get them to leave is assault then? For example many shops play classical music to discourage kids from hanging around. Or as another poster mentioned playing Daniel loudly.
I accept the difference is that it could be argued that you are listening to music whereas you could not make that argument with the mosquito but I would be sceptical as to whether there could be a successful prosecution in a case like this as noone is actually physically harmed.
AFAIK there was one installed in one of the shops in Heuston Station until relatively recently. It is also used extensively in England and Wales (including the Police Forces and councils) so it would be interesting to see if there was a common law case that could be relied upon.

BTW it costs well over $1,000 to buy one of these things so probably out of reach of most people anyway.

djmcr

How about a sprinkler system

The_Morrigan

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Surely then any attempt to get them to leave is assault then? For example many shops play classical music to discourage kids from hanging around. Or as another poster mentioned playing Daniel loudly.
I accept the difference is that it could be argued that you are listening to music whereas you could not make that argument with the mosquito but I would be sceptical as to whether there could be a successful prosecution in a case like this as noone is actually physically harmed.
AFAIK there was one installed in one of the shops in Heuston Station until relatively recently. It is also used extensively in England and Wales (including the Police Forces and councils) so it would be interesting to see if there was a common law case that could be relied upon.

BTW it costs well over $1,000 to buy one of these things so probably out of reach of most people anyway.

I never came across any cases of it when studying the topic, but I do vaguely remember one case where silent phone calls were considered assault. It's a legal minefield and not really one for discussion here.

Back on topic, OP there have been a few suggestions of upgrading the garden and/or wall and to be honest I do think this is your best bet. You need to make your garden unwelcoming to loitering. Otherwise you will have to try get the parents on side and keep in touch with your community Garda. If at any point the teenagers start playing pranks or damaging your property make sure to report it immediately to the garda so there is a record of such events.
This record would also be helpful if there is ever an accident on your property and you can prove that you had repeatedly asked the teenagers to leave.

bajer101

Start off by have a quiet chat with them along the lines of, "Listen lads, it's great that you are hanging around outside our house. It is driving the wife crazy and I'm getting a great laugh out of her losing the plot. Here's a tenner. If you can hang around outside our house every evening from about 6pm to 10pm, I'll give you a tenner each evening".

Do this for a few evenings, but then tell them that you are sorry, but you can't afford to give them any more money. They'll probably tell you to fúck off, that they are not going to do it for nothing, and move on to someone else's house.

beauf

bajer101 wrote: »

Start off by have a quiet chat with them along the lines of, "Listen lads, it's great that you are hanging around outside our house. It is driving the wife crazy and I'm getting a great laugh out of her losing the plot. Here's a tenner. If you can hang around outside our house every evening from about 6pm to 10pm, I'll give you a tenner each evening".

Do this for a few evenings, but then tell them that you are sorry, but you can't afford to give them any more money. They'll probably tell you to fúck off, that they are not going to do it for nothing, and move on to someone else's house.

I think the kids have found your thread.