Harassment or just kids being kids?

spaceHopper

Can you put a gate on the driveway so that they have to open in to go in, it would slow them down a good bit. Especially if it only opened wide enough for one person to go through at a time. Second camera covering more of the driveway. Can she see who's calling on the ring camera or is it only you. That way she knows to ignore it and maybe they'll stop getting fun out of it and do something else.

If it keeps happening go back to the gardai and say it's an older vulnerable lady living alone and they are terrifying her. Can they speak to the parents and ask for a pulse number.

meeeeeeh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121077480#Comment_121077480

Driveway does have a gate but would be large enough for the car to get through so don't think she'd be keen on replacing it with something smaller. Will look into wiring up a camera on the upper levels of the house. I know she does her best to ignore them, she's only engaged with them once after it really got to her and obviously that got her more attention because kids would think it's great craic.

If it keeps happening, I'll need to try bring her to the station, think they'd be more likely to take it seriously if it came from her personally. The guard I spoke to was friendly enough but he did kind of allude to the report having to come from her and not a relative.

MSVforever

Which part of Dublin is this? Sometimes it helps to have a word with a local Sinn Fein politician....(from my own experience).

spaceHopper

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121077502#Comment_121077502

Can she keep the gate closes at all times. Anything to slow them down.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121077757#Comment_121077757

I was just coming here to post something similar.

What she needs is someone in the community who the kids parents will take notice of. Maybe that's a politician (and yes, some parties are known for garnering more, err, respect) than others. For some families it might be a priest, local shopkeeper (the one who sells them cigs / beers), sports coach (the one who won't select the kids onto a team if they play up) etc.

A strong message from them in the right direction may well have the desired effect.

eggy81

Would it be possible to put in electric security gates in the entrance. With camera and all. Failing that some absolutely strong words of discouragement from yourself or a suitably aggressive sounding relative. Without actually threatening them obviously. Selling the house seems a huge move unless she wants to move.

1874

Not that she's gaining an advantage, Id dispute that opinion,because if its accurate, its entirely one sided, her relatives must be loaded or soft in the head. after that yarn I'm getting a bit suspect of these threads myself, like an ITV soap opera.

mrslancaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121077473#Comment_121077473

The house was left to a number of siblings and because local kids are causing a nuisance, they have agreed to sell the house and one sister buy a new property and leave it to the others in her will? Very generous siblings.

They have no idea how long the sister will live, she could meet someone and that could change who inherits her new property. Seems like a lot of legal hassle down the road for the extended family because of kids playing knick-knack.

DownByTheGarden

A relative of mine had 2 kids of a neighbor come into the garden and put some liquid all over her car that melted the paint off it. Then went around as as they leant up to each window, the window exploded. Did thousands of euro worth of damage.

She had a camera. The sh!ts had hoodies, but the gardai were able to tell her the names of the kids even though you couldnt clearly see their faces. Gardai called to the parents of one of the kids and the parent told them to fcuk off. They didnt bother calling to the parents of the other kid.

The next night they came back and pulled all the plants out of her garden. This time one of them wasnt wearing a hoody and was easily identified. Nothing has ever been done to any of those involved by the authorities.

One of the other neighbors called around and beat the crap out of the father who told the gards to fcuk off and told him for every time their young lad does something to people in the area he would give him another beating, and it all stopped them.

miamee

I've had some experience living alone and dealing with anti social behaviour by kids. They were a bit older than the kids mentioned here, early to mid teens an this was going back about 10 years ago. Where I lived was an odd set up and the teens liked to hang around outside where I lived as it was hidden from the main road and in a cosy little corner where they felt they had a private space. They used that private space to drink, smoke (everything) and hang out. I'd sometimes go out and just ask them what they were doing - "nothing" - well could you do nothing outside your own house? It never worked straight away but if I stood there looking at them they'd get fed up and move on elsewhere. The odd time they'd hurl a bit of abuse first and then shuffle off. Younger kids took to sitting on my doorstep, literally leaning against the front door so a few times I'd very quietly unlock the door and open it so fast that the leaner fell into my hall. They didn't like that and it stopped that after a couple of times.

OP although your aunt is nervous and anxious, she is an adult and these are little kids. She needs to come up with something that will make her house less attractive to them, the guards can't do anything with kids doing kid stuff. Go out to ask them about school and homework, blast a bit of classical music out the front window when they are near, spend time in the front garden in the evenings so it's not open season to go in to it. She could also ask a neighbour who is there during the day to maybe take in her bin on bin day until she gets home.