Rocks being thrown at cars Cleveragh Sligo (Mod note #36)

pauldry

I think that this matter has to be brought to everyones attention who is driving wither on the cemetry road or on cleveragh and racecourse. There are youths hiding in the pitch beside the cemetry or beside the racecourse and the are throwing stones and sometimes rocks at passing cars. I have so far heard of 3 people who have had their windows smashed. I was down this area at 6-30pm and saw some suspicious activity in the pitch with kids but did nothing then another person told me today that last thursday their car had a rock thrown through the passeger window. I have not contacted the Gardai myself but unless it is absolutely necessary I would not drive here on an evening from 5-30 to 7-30pm

Also it could easily result in something more serious if someone has kids in their car.

Kristopherus

Why dont you contact the cops?:(

Basq

Thanks for the heads up.

Live over past the racecourse myself.

Saw or heard nothing this evening, but I drove home at 5.30pm.. and ran the racecourse from 6 - 6.30pm.

Wouldn't be IT students on rag week by any chance?

pauldry

Basq wrote: »

Thanks for the heads up.

Live over past the racecourse myself.

Saw or heard nothing this evening, but I drove home at 5.30pm.. and ran the racecourse from 6 - 6.30pm.

Wouldn't be IT students on rag week by any chance?

Nah, its been happening since the start of the year as far as people are telling me. Think its kids from Cranmore. One of me mates told the cops and they said theres not a lot they can do as its an ongoing thing but surely theres going to be somebody getting hurt if someone doesnt act. Its around the evening time thats worst from what Ive heard. Anyone hear anything else?

Also itd be a shame if ya couldnt go for your run at racecourse for fear of these hoodlums.

Basq

pauldry wrote: »

Also itd be a shame if ya couldnt go for your run at racecourse for fear of these hoodlums.

Ah, you can be sure they'd only be throwing rocks at cars if they were well out of sight.

If you were actually face to face with them, odds are it'd be a different story.

Conor Bourke

Basq wrote: »

Ah, you can be sure they'd only be throwing rocks at cars if they were well out of sight.

If you were actually face to face with them, odds are it'd be a different story.

You'd think that would be the case, but I was passing Collery Drive one eve and there was a gang of little feckers out on the road, throwing stuff out at cars and stepping out in front of them then jumping back onto the path when you'd hit the brakes. I hopped out out and read the riot act at them, all I got back was a barrage of abuse, and these kids couldn't have been more than 8. There were adults out on the street milling around, not one of them made any move to stop the kids doing what they were at.

TequilaMockingBird

pauldry wrote: »

One of me mates told the cops and they said theres not a lot they can do as its an ongoing thing ..

Lol. Well I'm no Poirot, but if it's an ongoing thing then wouldn't it be EASY to find them and warn the parents?

They'll wait till one of the little darlings gets a squashed foot, then prosecute the driver no doubt.

Ev84

pauldry wrote: »

There are youths hiding in the pitch beside the cemetry or beside the racecourse and the are throwing stones and sometimes rocks at passing cars.

In my day we used eggs... AND we ran like f**k if someone stopped. Where's the fun in splitting a random drivers head with a rock and then giving abuse to the poor confused soul with a head-gash?

ge_ch

Same at Maugheraboy.I was walking the dog a few weeks ago and got stuff thrown at me from youths across the road. I was lucky that I just turned around and seen it flying or it would have hit me.
About 2 years ago they had some barbed wire laid out on the road. The driver of the car infront of me spotted it and we were able to warn all the other cars and remove it, could have ended badly!

thebuzz

ge_ch wrote: »

Same at Maugheraboy.I was walking the dog a few weeks ago and got stuff thrown at me from youths across the road. I was lucky that I just turned around and seen it flying or it would have hit me.
About 2 years ago they had some barbed wire laid out on the road. The driver of the car infront of me spotted it and we were able to warn all the other cars and remove it, could have ended badly!

What part of Maugheraboy was this?

Mint Sauce

thebuzz wrote: »

What part of Maugheraboy was this?

Never had any problems round there, only the snowballs in the winter.

ge_ch

past oakfield on the left side(is there a school or a GAA club there?)
the barbed wire was where the new traffic lights are now

Mint Sauce

ge_ch wrote: »

past oakfield on the left side(is there a school or a GAA club there?)
the barbed wire was where the new traffic lights are now

Is this at the Pedestian lights? St Marys GAA is there. Town park is a little further up from there, at the junction of the new outer relief road and the town park.

Some kids had also lined up traffic cones up there as well during the snow and ice across the width of the road.

Lornen

Jesus, I live just up from that pitch and have been going for a few runs here and there around the pitch, have seen nothing though.

And as a kid who grew up in Cranmore, I have absolutely no problem in jumping the gun and assuming the culprits are from that area.

Cycling up the road one day and some little arse threw a FULL bottle of coke at me.
On another occasion, minding my own business, walking past Londis again when a lit fire work was flung at me from a car by a few young lads.

At the entrance to cleveragh drive I think the estate is called, I had stones thrown at me from across the road.

They were all about 8-10 so I could do s.f.a about it.


What a shame they're at it again though.. Horrible stuff.

ge_ch

irish-stew wrote: »

Is this at the Pedestian lights? St Marys GAA is there. Town park is a little further up from there, at the junction of the new outer relief road and the town park.

Some kids had also lined up traffic cones up there as well during the snow and ice across the width of the road.

They were throwing stones from the drive of that GAA place. it was the 30th january this year.After I kept walking I heard someone screaming and shouting"dont hurt me, leave me alone". They must have been going after other kids. There were other people walking up that way and the screaming stopped, i assume they were interrupted.
And yes the barbed wire was further up where the new junction is.
Got some snowballs and bags of flour thrown at the car too.

I live in the area too and use that road a lot, esp. the new park. Never had any problems before but since that experience in january I avoid that area in the evenings

Buford T Justice

Was going over ash lane last friday and I had a stone thrown at the van..

bastards....

AllGunsBlazing

There has been a lot (and I mean a lot) of stone throwing going on around the Barracks Street and Fort Hill area over the past two years or so.

At houses, passing cars, and sadly people walking by. Though it seems to have quietened down a bit of late.

I think it goes in cycles - a group of kids in an area reach a certain age where it's deemed the fun thing to do but then they grow out of it.

There's not an awful lot of parental control going on in this town though, I say this as someone who goes in and out of various housing estates on a daily basis. In a lot of cases these kids are raised by the street.

TequilaMockingBird

Why does everyone put up with it? Just ring the Gardaí each and every time it happens. The parents couldn't care less because it doesn't come back on them. If the Gardaí are getting several reports of Criminal Damage/Assault/ whatever, EVERY evening from the same areas then they have to stop it, and if they don't we can demand an enquiry as to why not.

Sick of this sh*t.

ge_ch

this is off topic now but talking about parenting:
a friend was telling me how he found a little girl(about 5 years old?) playing on the trampoline in his back garden one day. she just climbed over the fence.
another day the same girl showed up outside his house while he was out with his kids. she asked if she could join them. when he asked her if her parents knew, she said they didnt know but they wouldnt mind anyway. he pointed out that she was only wearing a tshirt and no shoes and she told him that she climbed out of the window. she was telling the truth because you could see a closed door and an open bedroom window.
he brought her back, the dad opened the door, rushed her in and didnt say a word.he didnt seem to care at all.
she was obviously looking for company and somebody that cares.
sad isnt it?

Lornen

I seriously can't see the police doing FA about it..

This town is a total joke.
I live right beside Marckievitz Park, so decent enough neighbourhoods.
This crowd moved in next door, early 20's and would have parties on a Friday/Saturday night that would start from 9p.m and go on til 8a.m the following morning.

We would phone the guards over and over and over again. Some nights they would never show up, the times they did show up they girls would seriously bat their eye lashes and probably flash them their t*ts and PROMISE to turn down the music, only to JACK it up as soon as the police left..


One night my little brother took a severe allergic reaction to the coating on some playing cards (odd one I know!) and it looked like Meningitis, my mother was severly distraught and he was up in the hospital until about 4a.m, We came home and there was this party going on next door.
My sister went over and asked them to turn down the music, a girl came to the door and screamed DO YOU KNOW WHAT NIGHT IT IS?! SATURDAY NIGHT IS PARTY NIGHT NOW **** OFF"
My mother went over after that and you could hear them force some lad to answer the door, when mum said "could you please turn the music down" he just replied "I don't live here" and someone kicked the door closed in her face.

Police were called, they said they could do NOTHING about it, they didn't even come to the house. They said we needed to contact the landlord.
The landlord didn't have the house on the books so it was increasingly difficult to get into contact with the owner.

Long story short and trying to stay on topic. The police are f*cking USELESS in this town.

I was in Tesco shortly before Christmas 09' buying everyone's chocolate and I walked out and up into the upstairs part when my phone set off the alarm momentarily. This happens ALL the time and people just walk on.
2 female guards were behind me and to not act suspicious, I walked through the gate again, shrugged as it failed to sound a second time and walked on..

The 2 female guards called me back, snatched my bag out of my hand when I told them NO they could not have it as they had NO warrant or reason to go through it as I had not purchased electronic goods or any goods that may have an alarm tag on it.
There is a sign that clearly states "if alarm sounds, please seek member of staff for assistance." I think they abused their rights as keepers of the law.
They made me walk through the alarm gates several times saying I wasn't doing it correctly. They shook my bag through the gates and then they made me go through my pockets. This all happened on a Thursday afternoon around Christmas and I was made a f*cking show of.
I have a fair few body modifications and several facial piercings and I do think they acted on their prejudice of people with tattoos and piercings..


Think that our police force is very inconsistent and I do not have any faith in the gardai in Sligo town.

starbelgrade

Lornen wrote: »

The police are f*cking USELESS in this town.

The Gardai are not responsible for noisy neighbours. If you are having trouble with noise, you need to contact the council. They will inform you how they can help - it normally involves noise monitoring over a period of time.

The Gardai were doing you a favour by showing up. They didn't have to & there is little they can do beyond asking your neighbours to turn the music down.

As for being stopped in Tesco - they don't need a warrant to stop & search you if they suspect you were shoplifting. You weren't, but as the alarm sounded, they would have had reason to believe that you were. It was unfortunate, but these things happen.

The Gardai in Sligo may well be useless - I don't really know as I've never had much dealings with them - but if they are, it's not for any of the reasons you pointed out.

Lornen

starbelgrade wrote: »

The Gardai are not responsible for noisy neighbours. If you are having trouble with noise, you need to contact the council. They will inform you how they can help - it normally involves noise monitoring over a period of time.

The Gardai were doing you a favour by showing up. They didn't have to & there is little they can do beyond asking your neighbours to turn the music down.

As for being stopped in Tesco - they don't need a warrant to stop & search you if they suspect you were shoplifting. You weren't, but as the alarm sounded, they would have had reason to believe that you were. It was unfortunate, but these things happen.

The Gardai in Sligo may well be useless - I don't really know as I've never had much dealings with them - but if they are, it's not for any of the reasons you pointed out.

Noise pollution is a violation somewhere surely?
Being called to a house up on several dozen times has to say something about the people living in it, also, the council had no record of who owned the house. The person who owned it didn't have it on the rented housing list, or whatever they were ment to. Don't know the ins and outs of it..

Also, they had absolutely NO proof or reason to suspect me of shop lifting.
They didn't see me in tesco acting suspiciously, they had no right to act on their assumption unless they were asked to by Tesco. Tesco did not ask for the police to act on their behalf and as I went further with my complaint, Tesco denied any association with the 2 gardai and their involvement with me.

They asked me if they could have my bag, so they took it off my against my will. They told me "maybe they forgot to take a tag off something" and I said "well it's just chocolate so I doubt that." Then they asked me to walk through the barriers. I did so. "your foot wasn't entirely behind that, do it again." Am I a f*cking monkey or something? It was an absolute piss take and maybe if it happened to you, you wouldn't have such a ridiculous opinion.

Those Tesco alarms go off the WHOLE time and I have yet to see any gardai hopping on everyone who happens to walk past when it happens. Tesco's security are the people I should have had to deal with. NOT the guards. The superintendent admitted their wrong doing on review of the security tapes. There defence was that they were "assisting me" as if I needed assistance. I'm a big girl, big enough to help myself and not need assistance in walking down 3 steps successfully.

They were total jokers, little to be doing on a Thursday afternoon.


EDIT:
By law you should be escorted to somewhere private before being searched and I wasn't. I was searched in the middle of the arcade in full view of many people.
Yeah these things do happen, but when you have never stolen a thing in your bloody life and get searched and made a holy show of in the middle of a busy arcade, usually the offending party get slapped with a lovely law suit. Defamation of character anyone?

TequilaMockingBird

The house next door to me is boarded up for at least a year (5 year old 3 bed house in perfect repair - corporation), kids have got into the back garden and are wrecking it, they have all the drain covers taken up, fences broken, full of rubbish etc.

I looked out my bedroom window yesterday into the garden and a boy of about 8/9 shouted up to me "Get in that f*cking window or I'll come up and beat the f*cking head off ya". Not one of the other kids even bothered looking at him, it is the norm for them. They are feral. Coked up parents just glad they're out of the house.

Conor Bourke

Re: Markievicz Heights

They have a very good residents association AFAIK, get in touch witht them to find out who owns the house. It's a small estate with lots of families who've lived there since day one, it can't be too hard.

Re: the gardai in Sligo- I've lived in Galway and Limerick, spend a lot of time in Dublin with friends and family. I hear similar stories all the time. I seriously doubt it's a problem limited exclusively to the force members in Sligo. I had awful troubles a few years ago when I lived behind the station. I went in to them in tears one evening after numerous visits, complaints and phonecalls to them. They assured me to ring if there was any further problems and they'd send a car over immediately. Only twice did that happen, it usually took 20 mins minimum.
There are a few ignorant muckers in that station but again, what station doesn't have them? The ones who finally got things done for me told me that they were eventually obliged to due to the volume of complaints from my neighbours and I. They sat in my sitting room and explained that between shortages (the government embargo impacted them too) and stupid regulations and loopholes (thank you PC brigade) it makes it a lot harder for them to act effectively
I'm not a guard, not related in any way to them, have my own gripes with them but I still think a bit of commom sense thinking is neede. If they hassle you in Tesco or wherever and violate your rights, get their sholuder numbers (they're clearly visible ffs) and report them to the Garda ombudsman, he's there to stamp out exactly that sorta carry-on.

starbelgrade

Lornen wrote: »

Noise pollution is a violation somewhere surely?
Don't know the ins and outs of it..

Noise pollution from neighbours is dealt with under the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (Noise) Regulations.

The Gardai can only get involved when it comes to enforcing decisions which have been made by the courts. Unless it has gone to court, it's not a violation of a court order & therefor the Gardai are powerless to do anything except ask them to turn down the music, which the neighbours can choose to do, or not.

If your neighbours are constantly causing you problems, you need to do something about it, but you also need to persue the matter in the right way.

You can read up on it here .... http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/environment-geography/environmental-information/noise/noise-regulations/domestic-noise/

Lornen wrote: »

EDIT:
By law you should be escorted to somewhere private before being searched and I wasn't. I was searched in the middle of the arcade in full view of many people.
Yeah these things do happen, but when you have never stolen a thing in your bloody life and get searched and made a holy show of in the middle of a busy arcade, usually the offending party get slapped with a lovely law suit. Defamation of character anyone?

A garda can search you, without your consent, if the garda has reasonable suspicion that you have committed an offence. This includes people under the age of 18. The Garda should tell you why you are being searched, but there is no law to say that this has to be carried out in private.

The alarm went off when you left the shop, so they had grounds for reasonable suspicion. You could try to sue for defamation of character, but it would get you nowhere.

It was an unfortunate incident & obviously not a pleasant one, but in all fairness, they were simply doing their job.

Son Of A Vidic

AllGunsBlazing wrote: »

There's not an awful lot of parental control going on in this town though

I can assure you Sligo is not unique in that respect.

saywhatyousee

I was blissfully unaware this was going on.This is the worst act of bad behaviour
i have seen since some droped their monocule in a champagne glass in the velvet rooms

AllGunsBlazing

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

Just ring the Gardaí each and every time it happens.

They have little to no fear of the local law enforcement. In fact they welcome the idea of evading them. Part of the fun.

And for the Gardaí themselves, it's usually just an exercise in humiliation.

I've seen this before down the years and as I posted earlier it tends to go in cycles. A group of kids from the same estate grow up together, form a loose gang and raise hell in the area. Then they get older and develop an interest in the local female talent, and it all settles down for a while until the next generation come of age and repeat the process.

Though I will say the latest batch are quite malicious in comparison to what I've seen come and go before.

sligono1

the big problem we now have in our country nowadays is respect for one another as human beans it no longer exists.Kids right up to and beyond their 20's now no longer has any sort of respect for their peers,now not all people are like this but the percentage is getting bigger and bigger,its so so sad to see things going this way.
Its so easy to blame the Gardai as their the first people we turn to but if they were not there thing would be a whole lot worse so give them a break.
theres times when you would love to take the law into your own hands and sort out problems such as has been mentioned above,but is that the solution either.
So until people start to have a little more respect for one another these problems will keep happening.

tedshredsonfire

I am not a major fan of the guards at times but I do feel sorry for them after they make the effort and the scumbag waves goodbye to them from the courthouse steps for the ???teenth time. Doesn't get more demoralizing than that in the job end of things I would say. The courts are a bit of a laugh, you can get 5 days in castlerea for non payment of a fine but f all for beating people up or other anti-social behaviour.

The issue in most cases (imho) has to stem from lack of resources to get the kids interested in something other than causing aggro but see how much funding a youth club or similar in that area gets every year, I dont know but I'd guess very little if any.

Jimmy Garlic

There was a time when little scumbags regardless of their age would get a good clattering for doing that kind of stuff, after that they would think twice about doing it again. Now of course they can do whatever they like and they know it, the Guards usually do sweet F all about it and if anyone stopped to put manners on them the Guards would be out quicker than hot sh*t off a shovel, I guess that's "progress" for ya.

Kepti

Jimmy Garlic wrote: »

There was a time when little scumbags regardless of their age would get a good clattering for doing that kind of stuff, after that they would think twice about doing it again. Now of course they can do whatever they like and they know it, the Guards usually do sweet F all about it and if anyone stopped to put manners on them the Guards would be out quicker than hot sh*t off a shovel, I guess that's "progress" for ya.

I'm glad that we've for the most part progressed from vigilantes battering delinquent youths. I doubt it's quite as effective as you make it out to be.

Jimmy Garlic

Kepti wrote: »

I'm glad that we've for the most part progressed from vigilantes battering delinquent youths. I doubt it's quite as effective as you make it out to be.

Seeing as the Guards do little or nothing about it what suggestions do you have?. Should people pass a hat around, buy them an xbox and hope they stay at home?.

saywhatyousee

Jimmy Garlic wrote: »

Seeing as the Guards do little or nothing about it what suggestions do you have?. Should people pass a hat around, buy them an xbox and hope they stay at home?.

Give me a ps3 and a steady internet connection and ill never leave the house again i swear:D

Kepti

Jimmy Garlic wrote: »

Seeing as the Guards do little or nothing about it what suggestions do you have?. Should people pass a hat around, buy them an xbox and hope they stay at home?.

If the alternative (that being the hyperbolic interpretation of your particular suggestion) is to beat them into comas so they terrorize no more, then I think mine is the more moral position. Both ideas are ridiculous though.

I'm not unsympathetic to your outlook. I've had a stone thrown at my car, and I got out to look for the culprits. They weren't quite as brazen as others reported in this thread so they stayed hidden.

If beating kids induced good behavior, then ones from abusive homes would be among the quietest. Usually though, they're the ones creating the most trouble.

I don't think it's particularly fair to call out the guards for this when the source of the problem is ****ty negligent never-should-have-been-parents.

Mint Sauce

Guys and Gals, no promoting or encouragement of violent retailiation please. There has already been one person banned/post deleted.

Thanking you.

TequilaMockingBird

Kepti wrote: »

I don't think it's particularly fair to call out the guards for this when the source of the problem is ****ty negligent never-should-have-been-parents.

Well when their offspring commit a crime who should we call, if not the Guards? Or do we just leave them to it?

saywhatyousee

Back in my day we threw eggs(recession must be kicking in)best thing to do is drive around the corner and call the guards.Do not confront them alone thats all they are looking for is a reaction or a chase and it will only makes things worse because they will keep targeting you if they know they will get a reaction

Kepti

TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

Well when their offspring commit a crime who should we call, if not the Guards? Or do we just leave them to it?

Poor choice of phrase on my part. I meant 'call out' in the sense of assigning blame, rather than actually asking them to respond to an incident, which is perfectly reasonable.