Ideas for next step.........

FranknFurter

Came home today to find a whopping big hole in bedroom window!!
I had only been out about 2 hours.
There were about 12 of the local scumbags lurking nearby, aged 12-16, pointing and laughing.:mad:
Called the police of course, 45 mins later they arrived. (in fairness they were nice guys, despite the whole time thing).
They of course can do nothing apparently, no one saw or heard.:rolleyes:

The entire neighbourhood knows I use an electric wheelchair and no matter what hope an able-bodied person has of boarding up a window I have none. (Had to call on a relation for help).

If I had my way I'd track the bas'tard down and gut him like a fish.
This was a full-on rock to the window thing, couldnt have been an accident, would have had to be standing a few feet away for this kind of force. They didnt even bother trying to get in, just smashed for ****s'n'giggles apparently. :mad:

Anyone any ideas about how I can stop this from happening again without making a new apartment look like a friggin prison?? (and on a very very limited budget).

b

stepbar

Webcamera(s) placed fairly close to the window(s) in the apt or AFAIK Aldi / Lidl used to sell home security kits that connected cameras up to ur telly....

Ruu_Old

That might be a good idea. Another one would be security lights (flick on when something moves), though I'm not sure how much they would cost. Perhaps the loverly people in the Garden/DIY forum could help. I'll leave it up here for a while anyway. Do you own the apartment?

FranknFurter

Nope, its a council one adapted for my wheelchair.
Apparently the council will do nothing about this aside from "maybe" fix the window if I push hard enough at them.
As far as the cams go, I do have one (I bought here on boards last year) on the *front* door but it only catches a small area clearly. Other thing is the ones I've looked at (online) aint anywhere near what I can afford.

Putting other cameras is'nt really an option as far as stopping them if im out though, there's no place for them to go in that area.
There are big yellow *signs* up saying that the area is protected by cams but it means nothing to these ppl.
Nearby small buildings (local shops) have cameras and they are just used as target practice, as are satellite dishes.

Im shagged really, I cant get hold of the council till monday of course, even then Ill be lucky if I can convince them to fix it tuesday. Meanwhile im here with a peice of soggy board covering the bedroom window.

argh! I swear, if I knew who they were Id hang them from a lampost, now *that* might make their friends think twice! I swear, these kids must be dragged up by cavemen rather than brought up by responsible parents.

b

18AD

That sucks.

Would plastic windows be stronger than glass?

Ruu_Old

Some sort of plexiglass or something might be better for the windows. You might have to do some pestering to the council for them to provide some better security for you, its not acceptable. Whats the rest of the building like? Have you got a viewing hole that you can see through the door at the proper height and proper locks on the doors?

boneless

I had problems like this a few years ago. I found that after many calls to TD's and other elected reps in the area Garda patrols were stepped up for a period. The little darlings responsible for the trouble soon moved on. I know that they just moved to other areas but our community soon organised a campaign to lobby TD's etc. and set up meetings with local Garda Supt. and Inspectors.

Also, if the little darlings are from council houses the council has a duty of care to protect you from this type of harrasment... call the local housing office and get aforementioned public figures on the case.

It will take a while but it can be effective. Good Luck.

Black Swan

Be a "squeeky hinge" with the Gardai. Call them every time you see mischief occurring with these delinquents.

Wishbone Ash

Your local Councillor and/or TD may be able to put a bit of pressure on the Council to help rectify your situation. I'm sure you would be treated as a priority.

FranknFurter

My familly are going to get in touch with the council this week as am I first thing monday.
They are about to start building another development on the other side of my area (MUCH less crime area), and Im going to apply for a transfere. Even still, will be 1.5 years + before that development's finished apparently.
(Not just because of this incident, its just the strawthat broke the camels back, there are many other reasons).

As for the windows, Ill just have to get the council to fix them one way or the other (glazier price is insane).

Ruu, that viewing hole is almost 5.5 foot in the air, no use at all. Wouldnt be so bad only they knew I was in a wheelchair, they put grabrails in the bathroom that are useless (unless for some reason I wanted to pull myself out of my wheelchair and pee in the sink), and the fold down grabrail beside the toilet fell off the wall recently nearly causing me to break my neck!
This apartment is less than a year old!
And bear in mind, all of the apartments in this complex were built specifically for elderly & disabled. There was actually an artical in a local paper a few months back iirc, as they had a 70 year old man living on the third floor and hadnt put a single lift in any of the apts, just stairs. :rolleyes:

Its absolutely insane, I think the architect was a badly trained chimp and the OT even worse, apparently she came out once at the beginning of construction and was never seen again!

b

Terry

jesus ****ing christ.
what a bunch of complete ****.
cowardly bastards is all they are.

i just can't understand this mentality.
it's not that long ago that my friends and i used to play football in front of old peoples apartments and we were more protection for them than anything. they liked when we played football there as they felt safe.

a friend of mine is in a wheelchair and aside from the normal ignorant remarks from kids, he has never had this kind of trouble.

these people really ****ing sicken me.

they win if you move away, but so do you. so i say get the hell out as soon as possible.

FranknFurter

I CANNOT bloody believe this!!!

This morning, Im sitting here at my computer, not having slept yet,....
ANOTHER ****ing huge rock lands through the window!!

Yet another day of waiting in for a phantom glazier to appear, and yet another conversation with some guarda who cannot do a thing "unless you see them or catch them at it"..........yeah, like a fella in a huge electric wheelchair mobile only by pushing a freakin joystick, is suddenly going to leap up out of his chair, run through the house, out the door and scale a 7 foot wall!

And yep, council, local TD's etc etc are aware of all this, its like trying to explain molecular science to an chimp though trying to explain it to the majority of the council. Bunch of feckin badly programmed robots!

*sigh*

no, not *sigh*...........feckin AARGH!!!:mad:

b

Sam Vimes

i think its time to splash out on some bars, or failing that a sniper rifle

Cianos

Holy sh!t:mad:

I have a camcorder that I rarely use, your welcome to borrow it

Dave!

jesus christ....!!!

bring back the vigis

Cianos

A few ideas;

Ring Joe Duffy or other saying you are a disabled person who has to put up with this kind of abuse and no one is doing anything about it.

Send a mail to every surveillance supplies company you can, explaining your situation and asking can you be given a free loan of equipment until the issue has been dealt with. You will pay them a deposit to ensure you are not just creatively trying to fleece them. Say that you have already generated some awareness of the issue on a popular message board and it would be good publicity for anyone who could help you out.

Trinity

Theres a very cheap security cam i saw recently in that new market in artane. was only about 40 euro.

originally from Ballymun i know where you are coming from. Bloody scumbags. Its a disgrace. where are the parents is what i would like to know.

How about getting together with some of your neighbours.

this behaviour is anti social and their parents can be evicted if they dont put a stop to their offsprings carry on.

is there a local neighbourhood council etc.

Go to your local TD or citizens information if you can.

community guards are also an option not that they can do much though.

biko

The cam ideas are good but they wont prevent rocks.
How about a sheet of plexiglass in front of the window? If it won't break the kids will stop.

Failing that pay some bigger bullies to smack the smaller ones

The Hill Billy

Try contacting the Neighbourhood Watch in your area - they may be able to offer you come advice & bring your case to the attention of the Garda community liaison officer.
Get your local TD's phone number/email addy & pester the fceker.
Here's a good spot to start.
Click on your constituency & drill down to the TDs details from there.

FranknFurter

Thanks for all the support, tis appreciated.
Im still fuming but Im trying very hard not to go out and interrogate every kid in a 5 mile radius.

The ideas above are great, problem is, Im relying on the council or TD's as every other option would require large sums of money (to me, I live on my disability allowance).
Im gonna go take a valium and sleep a while before I lose my mind.

b

joe_chicken

Kick up a stink with the gardai...

It's a lame excuse to say they can do nothing about it.

To be honest, cameras and other such devices are going to attract these little scumbags:

Scumbag1: "Betcha-can't ge a rock through tha windo wihhhouh the camera seein yewww!"
Scumbag2 :"Look Ma I'm on TV!"

david

What you have to do is get a big old disfunctional security camera somewhere like this.
http://www.armageddononline.org/news/data/upimages/security-camera.jpg

Place it at one side of a window blatantly pointing at it, then get a little wireless webcam and hide it under the soffit board at the other side of the window to record everything, they're sure to attack with a big massive camera there. And you have evidence for the cops.

freewing

I truely think its an absolute disgrace that none of the authorities that you would expect to handle this have any interest in your situation. I have to admit my first reaction on reading your post was get a van then get some lads with an apptitude for HURLING and head over there, however you still have to live there .As was said before make as much niose as you can to the local TDs and the Gards , an icreased Garda presence will make these little f**kers move on .Best of luck with your quest :mad: (fuming)

missmatty

What about contacting the Evening Herald? I've seen articles in it before drawing attention to this sort of mindless carry-on. The only thing is, would it make the kids worse as they might be thrilled with the attention?Maybe Joe Duffy would be a more anonymous option.

Pocari Sweat

Surprised no local posters are offering to go round and patch up, I would if I was in Dublin, sorry to hear your plight there Frank.

I'll post on DIY/Gardening forum and see if roofer pete or his mates are willing to help.

FranknFurter

Thanks all for the posts and suggestions. Helps to know others would be as pissed off as Ive been about this.

Been on to council etc all day, guess what I was told?

"Im sorry Mr ********, we are very limited in what we can do. If we put barbed wire along the top of the (7 foot high!) wall, we ourselves could be sued if somone got injured from it."
They said the same about that sticky black tar-like stuff you can paint on.

There were more worried about some scumbag getting tar on his tracksuit that my windows being broken??

Im beginning to wonder if Im awake or asleep dreaming, I havent slept in nearly 36 hours (useless valium!)...... Normally would have been tucked up going to sleep at 7am *sigh

Anyways, im off to knock myself out, again, thanks muchly for all the advice and support, as soon as I'm semi-coherent again I'll re-read it all and try it.

b

Trinity

Ok without sounding patronising how many valium do you take a day?

Ok go to your doctor - i assume you have a medical card being on disabilty.

tell him you are depressed and stressed regarding this and ask him to write you a letter saying same. Tell him to make it DRAMATIC - your life is hell (which is true by the sounds of it)

take it (the letter) to the council and tell them you are going to the papers if they dont do something for you. they hate bad publicity.

ask to speak to their head social worker who can decide who gets transferred in an emergency.

I have seen people moved in a matter of days.

you just have to play dirty to get it sometimes.

TerrorFirmer

Sorry to hear about the whole mess franknfurter, while I can't offer any real constructive advice, best of luck with it...disgraceful how some people carry on, and not that its much consolation now, but these people will no doubt get whats coming to them at some stage in life.

FranknFurter

Trinity1 wrote:

Ok without sounding patronising how many valium do you take a day?

As many as I need, valium is my frieeend!
(Nah, I have various disabilities one of which is epilepsy, I take valium usually only when my epilepsy pills arent doing the job or if some other ache is keeping me awake, and yes, I know all about valium and its various issues).

Trinity1 wrote:

Ok go to your doctor - i assume you have a medical card being on disabilty.
Tell him you are depressed and stressed regarding this and ask him to write you a letter saying same. Tell him to make it DRAMATIC - your life is hell (which is true by the sounds of it)
Take it (the letter) to the council and tell them you are going to the papers if they dont do something for you. they hate bad publicity.
Ask to speak to their head social worker who can decide who gets transferred in an emergency.
I have seen people moved in a matter of days.
you just have to play dirty to get it sometimes.

Oh believe me, I have a plan all worked out in that regard. I've made a lot of contacts over the years and intent calling in some big favours. Whatever it takes I'll do at this stage.

HavoK, thanks, I believe they will, Im a big believer in Karma and they will get theirs in spades.

b