residents
We, as a neighbourhood, have failed. We have allowed things to degenerate to the
situation where if we want to pick up a bottle of milk we have to run the gauntlet
of jeering, spitting youths. You may think you are helping by staying
in your house and phoning the police, but you know how quickly they disperse
into the back alleys and pedestrian paths when a patrol car arrives. The police
simply do not have the resources or the legal powers to tackle
this problem as it stands.
The whole of the Isle of Dogs is turning into a bad investment. If you were lucky
enough to buy your house you can now look forward to the property dropping
in value as more and more people get fed up and move out of what is becoming
an undesirable area. Tolerating the behaviour of these kids is costing you thousands
and thousand of pounds. Property prices are rising 75% slower on the Isle of Dogs
than the rest of London. You have already lost the £7,000
rise that the rest of London enjoyed.
We as a community need to be proactive, make our presence felt and be a force to be reckoned with on the street. It isn't fair that a group of 10 kids can keep a neighbourhood of a thousand residents and businesses in their thrall.
Children of a certain age are programmed to try it on. It is
simply what they do. You see it in anay society or in any group of chimpanzees
or pride of lions. Whenever that happens it is up to the adults in the society
to give them a slap and set the boundaries. This no longer happens. Kids have
become very adept at the string of abuse they will launch into
if you berate them for smashing a bus shelter. Adults are now intimidated by children
when they hear them spout :
"Mind your own business. Are you some kind of paedophile? I'll do you for assault! Does it belong to you, why should you care?"
We need let it be known that we are unafraid to stand up for what is right
and must take a stand against wrong-doing until the message gets through that
bad-behaviour is unacceptable in our community. There are thousands of us, only
a few of them, and it is about time we took back our streets.
We are particularly interested in compiling a list of names of people who would
be prepared to take part in community patrols or be on an emergency
call out phone list for when trouble is taking place on the street. We need to
have our own gang that is bigger, faster and heavier than theirs. We will take
photos and addresses of anyone who seeks to ruin our neighbourhood, and both the
police and parents will be brought into the equation.
If you are ready to say "enough is enough" then get in touch.