More crime

[fourknots]

This isn't really Barre Circle news, but I need to let everyone know what happened last night - Halloween.

My 17 year old son and his 16 year old friend visiting from NYC wanted to go for a walk last night after the trick or treaters stopped. So at 9:15 they walked north on Scott St. As they passed a group of three black teenagers two blocks from our house, they were jumped and beaten.

My son tried to help his friend and was thrown to the street and hit some more. His friend ran and was lost for a few minutes. We immediatley called the police when my son ran back to tell us and then tried to locate his friend. He showed up at our door a few minutes later.

Both kids were beaten about the head and suffered cuts, bruises and scrapes as well as split lips and bloody noses.

The kids that jumped them never said a word, just jumped them from behid and started beating them. Real cowards.

I went looking for them (I won't say on a public forum what I would have done to them if I'd have caught them) but they were gone.

The police said they were likely not from the area and left right after. They said our area was much improved and seemed to genuinely feel bad for our experience.

My son's friend is looking forward to being home in safe NYC today.

I can deal with the potential for a burglery or someone stealing my hubcaps, but I WON'T tolerate my family being hurt.

I'm really pissed.

I am looking everywhere around here for trouble. The police said to make sure and call if we have any concerns. I intend to. Crap like this is intolerable. My wife walks by that corner every day on her way to UMB. This has to stop.

[Carol Ott]

I'm so sorry this happened to your family and to your son's friend. I'm almost to the point where I get angry about having to keep apologising for my neighbourhood, and for my city (to out-of-towners).

I think we need to have a community meeting with the police -- more in my post in the crime thread below.

[rob231]

Hey everyone. Another "crime" incident to be had on Scott Street 9am Sunday morning. I was riding my bike down Scott Street, just north of Washington Boulevard when I was struck by a bb gun pellet which hit my back as I was riding. I am fairly aware of my surroundings and did not see anything suspiciuos, with the exception of a window which was fully open in the 33 degree weather at the 421/423 Scott Street house (the location of the former snowball stand). Having seen the youth which loiter outside the steps in the past, I had no question where the shot came from. I yelled out to "grow up" and proceeded to call 311. I then decided to turn around and knocked very loudly on the door of the house, to which there was no answer and the window was now shut. I yelled out that they can be expecting a visit from the police, when shortly thereafter a teenager stuck his head out of the window (the one which was open prior) and asked what was going on. I explained the situation and accused it from coming from the house and that very window and he said that there are kids in the alley that have bb guns (the alley that is directly next to their house). I told him the he could be expecting a visit from the police, since he seemed to know more information. Amazing for a 311 call, the police came to my house within 15 minutes. They went to 421/423 Scott Street and actually searched the house. Apparently, they first had to get animal control to take care of the pit bull while the officers searched the house - very odd how the pitbull was silent when I knocked earlier - they must have let it out. In the quick search, no weapon was apparently found (although I have confidence that even us non-dilequents could figure out where to stash something if we knew we were in deep shit). The mother/grandmother came home during the search and appearently started to have an asthma attack, so along came the ambulance and fire truck. Obviously, since no weapon was produced, the police couldn't do anything more than they have already done.

Anyways, sorry for the rambling, but I am wondering if anyone else has had a problem with the residents of that house - I have been harassed before walking by, nothing of which I couldn't shrug off. This took it a step too far. I was hoping when I confronted them, the kid would have said, yes I shot you, or I was trying to shoot a bird; somehow that would make it seem better. Here we have an obvious problem of a bad element in the neighborhood. These are either severely bad children or have absoultely no common sense. Now I question/fear that I will experience property damage or worse since I decided to step up and call the police. Is there anything we as a community can do to control the bad element that actually resides here as our "neighbors". I have no idea about the dynamics of the that particular family, but can only hope that the elders of the house will make the kids realize the consequences of their actions.

[Carol Ott]

Here's the deal with that house.

I've had more problems with them, and the police/truant officers don't seem to take much action, so Monday morning when I'm done with the health department, I'm going to take another approach and see if I can get some resolution to the problem.

From what I understand, the elderly couple (who owned the snowball stand) live in 421. They then rented or sold 423 to their daughter who has all of the kids. She's....let's say...not a very active parent (and I'm being kind here...). So basically every weekday, the kids are locked out of the house, but they don't go to school. They sit on the steps or in that little side area within their fence, and wreak havoc over the neighbourhood. They've been doing this for as long as they've lived there. Over the summer they broke two of the windows at the rear of the coffeehouse building, and have caused some other problems.

I've been told that the kids rule the roost and the adults live in fear of them. For a while over the summer, I was somewhat sympathetic. My sympathy, however, ran out after the broken window incident, and after the police were called several times...yet the kids remain, nothing happens to the parent/grandparents, and the cycle begins anew.

And the fact that if the situation was reversed, MY sorry butt would be in jail -- that just fries me ten ways to Sunday. On the other hand, if Myles was wreaking havoc around the neighbourhood, I'd DESERVE to be in jail. Or at least pay a stiff fine.

I've been holding off making a few phone calls about that house, hoping things would improve, but apparently they're getting worse.

[streetchie]

Man, this is out of control. So sorry about all of this. I had a bad neighbor like this once in Boston and took care of the problem by notifying the landlord by letter about who they were renting to. Criminal activity is enough to break any lease. A quick search on the city tax website will tell you where to send such a letter. sdatcert3.resiusa.org/rp_rewrite/

[fourknots]

I think I've walked by this house with my dog. Their pitbull almost came through the gate trying to get to my dog (he almost got maced). When we told the kids that the gate needed to be fixed, we were met with blank stares.

If several different people complained to various agencies for various reasons, I would imagine there could be enough pressure brought to the owners to take control.

We can use this forum to post who complained about what and when. If nothing gets done, we can approach the police with this record of trouble and escalate it higher up.

So, my suggestion is to post on this thread if anyone calls about that house(s) again. We are stronger than they are.

[ed]

I live in Camden Crossing and have been suspicious of the kids that hang out in front of the two homes. I've walked my dog by there a few times but have not come across the pitbull. After reading this I will keep an eye on that group and report anything I encounter or hear.

At times we get kids (maybe the same group) walking through the alleys in Camden Crossing. They're most likely looking for opened garages for quick thefts as we have had these incidents occur.

[miranda]

The kids with the pellet/bb gun are a HUGE problem. 3 weeks ago my friend was walking near the B&O railroad museum and was hit by 9 or so bbs and he identified a group of teenagers as the shooters. He spent several hours at the ER getting the bbs taken out from his back/arms where he was hit. Additionally, I have seen a group of teens on 2 nights running up my street shooting people with their bb gun. I called the police both times, but I haven't been certain whether the police find the kids after I call.

I didn't get a great look at these kids, and I couldn't say whether they are the same as the ones who reside at the 400 block of Scott. My guess is there are several groups of unruly teens in the neighborhood. I will say, however, that I have noticed that the Scott St. kids have been a problem when I walk my dog by their house (on the other side of the street). They tend to yell things, bark at my dog, and engage in other annoying/antagonistic behaviors.

If someone wants to work on a strategy to figure these things out, he WPNPC village center is a great public safety resource, and runs the monthly public safety meeting. If we go to the public safety folks with a list of specific complaints, they can help us work on a strategy to dissolve this situation. This venue has worked well for several other ongoing problems in the neighborhood.

[rob231]

Thanks everyone for their replies regarding this house and the kids that reside there. We as a community could approach the "adults" of the house with a list of complaints. Even sit down as a community and talk with them and say their behavior is unwanted and unwelcome. Another area - right nearby is on Scott St, immediately south of the Boulevard - nobody has been shot at there yet (which seems to be the impetius for putting up city cameras) but it might be nice to have a camera established there. If it might have a mental impact on the behavoirs of the kids there - in the past I have had things thrown at my car when I drive by. An additional concern is this behavior is part of some organized or unorganized gang.......

[tomhave]

I apologize for jumping into this conversation so late. I have never used a message board before and did not realize this conversation was underway. So, let me introduce myself.

My name is Brandy and I have lived in Barre Circle since 1999. I recently volunteered to be the Barre Circle Home Owner Association's Public Safety Liaison. It is just a volunteer position that I sort of made up in order to try to contribute what I can to my community, based upon my own professional experience helping other communities start Weed and Seed sites.

To begin with, the more information we gather about what is going on in our neighborhood the better. That data will not only tell us what kind of problems we have, it will also help suggest what kind of solutions we need to be thinking about. I am going to be working on an '07 crime map of our neighborhood starting in January so that we can see the trends and argue to law enforcement for necessary resources.

In the meantime, there are a variety of strategies we should be considering as residents to try to combat the problems that have been described on this message board. I am hoping that you would all be interested in coming together asap for an ad hoc public safety meeting of concerned residents . Unfortunately, with my schedule, and probably yours, "asap" means sometime during the first week or so in December.

Please let me know what you think, when you are available, and what ideas you want this neighborhood to consider to help protect you and your family. I am currently talking with the Village Center and the University Police. I am sure there are other partners out there that we need to consider...

I look forward to meeting all of you and hope you will forward all crime info. to me so that we can create an accurate profile of actual incidence, for which the police may or may not file a report. I will be at the Barre Circle Home Owners Association meeting this Thursday. I would think it would be okay for you to come, even if you technically do not live on this side of Scott Street.

[Carol Ott]

I have to say -- I find it a little amusing that not one time have any of the kids directly threatened me, or done anything to me.

I think I give off this "she's-crazy-who-knows-what-she'll-do" vibe.

As for all the discussions and meetings, frankly, I'm a little past the point where I feel like coming up with creative solutions. I think that would be best left to people more rational than I am. I'm of the "baseball bat and yelling" school. And a lot of angry phone calls to the city.

Remember -- we PAY a lot of money in taxes to live here. I think it's entirely reasonable that we expect something in return for our money. Like safety. I understand that this is the city, and it's a different ballgame than living in the 'burbs. (And thank God for that...) but I think the city ignoring a problem they've known about for over a year -- that's completely unacceptable. We need to hold the city accountable. The police, social services, the school board -- ALL of them need to be involved. There has been many a weekday morning when I've walked by that house, and I saw children not much older than my son sitting out there with nowhere to go. If it was my kid who was constantly truant from school, I guarantee my butt would be sitting in Central Booking, or I'd have to pay a huge fine. Why isn't the law being applied in this case?

Get your money's worth, folks!!

[tomhave]

I think that is the point of getting together at a meeting: to figure out an effective strategy to will hopefully resolve our individual and collective problems. Frankly, if you come off as the crazy woman with a baseball bat, you will be dismissed by those in the City who otherwise would be accountable to you. Furthermore, individual calls and complaints from each of us will probably not yield much result, other than escalating our own levels of frustration. I really encourage everyone to move beyond just getting pissed off and focus on what we can strategically do together (and there is a lot) to get the action we want and deserve.

[Carol Ott]

How I speak to 'those in the city' and how I speak to a group of teenage delinquents are different. I do have the wherewithall to make the distinction, thanks. Please don't be condescending.

I've been dealing with the effectss of crime in this neighbourhood for six years -- there have been meetings, committees, etc -- nothing's been particularly effective over the long term. What do you suggest that would work differently? Instead of chastising us, give us something to work with beyond 'there is a lot'.

[streetchie]

Hello all. Just wanted to fill you in on my own encounter with the hoodlums in the area. While preparing for a night of CNN watching yesterday, I realized that I needed to make a stop by the liquor store. I walked over to the place in the 900 block of Washington Blvd. and bought a 6 pack. On my way back up to Hollins St. I walked up Poppelton and then across McHenry behind the B&O museum. When I was right at the corner of Parkin and McHenry, two teenagers got in my face and told me to give up my money ...........and beer. That wasn't going to happen!!! I backed up quickly and maced both of them. They backed off and I ran up to the corner of Pratt and Parkin and called the cops. They were both arrested with 15 minutes. One of them had only made it to the corner of Poppelton and Washington, the other was somewhere in Pigtown. What made the difference in this situation was my brand new can of yellow tinted foam mace that I bought online. GREAT STUFF. The best 10 bucks I have ever spent!! It sucks that we have to go through this stuff in our little corner of
Baltimore city, but I am going to be prepared and fight back with full force......and mace!!!

[rob231]

Not only were they maced; they were arrested! This makes my day.