FREEPER ADVICE NEEDED - HOME GROWN THUGS TERRORIZING NEIGHBORHOOD!

26 May 2006 | 54-46 Was My Number

[54-46 Was My Number]

Pinging the collective wisdom of Free Republic here . . .

The Issue

Punks are setting off "Bootleg Cracker" fireworks outside my home -slash- my neighbor's homes, beneath city-owned trees that line the sidewalk. These are the evil devices:

Now, they may not look like much in this picture, but they're about the size of a can of Pringles potato chips, and inside, they're stuffed with 200-250 firecrackers fused to go off within 2 to 3 seconds. So what you get is one big, elongated explosion, and since the city-owned trees are no more than 10 yards from our homes, what you get is one big, elongated explosion that sounds like it's coming from your living room.

And the little bastards are smart, too. Using cigarettes as delay devices, they place these things beneath the trees and are long gone when they go off. We've yet to catch someone in the act of leaving one behind . . . and since we can only rouse the cops to come to our neighborhood after one of these things goes off, there's nothing they can do to stop it from happening again.

It seems to happen between 1930-2100, intermittently, throughout the late spring, summer, and early fall. I would love to camo-up, hide out, and ambush these guys, but short of that,

I ask you, Freepers:

• Anyone out there ever have a similar problem? If so, what did you do?
• I'm thinking about setting up a security cam. Any recommendations?

[Bikers4Bush]

They were caught, went to court and paid us and the rest of the homeowners in the are restitution.

Took a nice chunk out of their college funds.

[r9etb]

Shotgun. Rock salt. Ahhhhh, the good old days.

[Wolfie]

I could hook you up with something that'll be loud enough to wake the dead and bright enough to turn all the nearby streetlights off.

Now that you mention it, the 4th of July is right around the corner! ;)

[Old Sarge]

Tell them someone is leaving time delay improvised explosive devises in your neighborhood.

THAT PHRASE ALONE will attract the attention of any police officer who has deployed to Iraq.

These kids could just as easily pack them with BB's, and hang them from the branches.

I recommend paintball loaded with ammonia. The target will wish he'd never been spawned.

[Sender]

That sprinkler is cool! I can think of all sorts of useful projects for one of those.

[savedbygrace]

Gaffer tape (or Duct tape, but that leaves a messy residue behind) over the red light will solve that problem. You might need several layers to mask the light. Note that some camcorders have two record lights you need to mask.

[Alberta's Child]

Perps may be more afraid of dogs than guns, but I can tell you from experience that the things that scare perps the most are: 1) fire (taking advantage of this primordial human fear is the most effective way of curtailing this kind of activity); and 2) human excrement (easily the most cost-effective way of deterring mischief, if applied properly).

[cbkaty]

It may be a phase thing that will pass . . . but it's been going on for four summers in a row now . . .

I live close to a "Public High Schrool".....

Some years we get a bad case of mailbox beaters... Somehow these future democrats get a kick out of driving down the street and bashing mailboxes with a baseball bat.

Rubbermaid produces a rubber mailbox....I have one. It works....

[Robert A Cook PE]

Nasty: Explosives that size are well ABOVE the "firecracker" (non-lethal, just-a-joke) limit of teenager pranks. Even a normal stick of dynamite (for example) is 1/2 diameter and 10 some-odd inches long. Something this size becomes a "bomb" in all its lethal (maiming, limb-destroying) implications

I'd contact the BATF (Homeland Security) and tell them you have bombs being set off. Let them earn their tax money instead of going after law-abiding citizens who collect firearms.

[keats5]

"I do have a day job".

I thought of getting one of those, but it interfered with Freeping.

Seriously though, I had a vandalism problem a while back. Security cameras were expensive and I'm too lazy to do an all night stakeout. I got one of those driveway alarms and pointed it toward the vandalism site. They're quite noticeable and that alone is a deterrent. They set off a loud inside alarm if someone enters the field. You can be ready with a camera or whatever. If nothing else, you might be able to get a description of the car and call 911.

[AmericanRepublican]

Heh...

Or go all Michael Douglas in 'Falling Down' on them...

[Bommer]

Do not go for a fake camera. If these punks are setting off a IED, they run afoul of the ATF. Get a secruity cmaera with night vision if possible. Cheapest way to do it is t get a sony camcorder with night site and set it up in a window. Hook it up to a picture in a picture on your TV (if you have it. And sit back and watch TV while monitoring whats going on outside and catch these little SOBs in the act. Then storm out with a double barrel shotgun, and watch them crap themselves.

[OneWingedShark]

I could hook you up with something that'll be loud enough to wake the dead and bright enough to turn all the nearby streetlights off.

A 155mm high-explosive round for the Paladin?

[patton]

Calling the cops is the last resort, not the first. Neighborhood watch can solve this. And spank some kids.

[vin-one]

Well about 2 years ago, I had a similar problem, mainly because my daughter broke up with a boy, and his friends decided to egg my house, and then throw smoke bombs and other things.
We set up motion detectors lights, and then would wait, I almost caught them in the act, and did identify the little turds. Good thing I didn't catch them or I would probably be in Jail.

Best of luck, Get a big dog and tie it up in the front yard that might at least give you some warning.....

[zeugma]

Detonate an explosive device in the neighborhood far more devastating than theirs, and tell them that you'll give them instructions on how to make it as long as they agree to take their act somewhere else.

Love it. 

[stuartcr]

Set up a perimeter with some claymores, and foot patrols 24/7. Drone aircraft may help too.

[alpha-8-25-02]

YOU CAN TRAIN THE DOG TO TAKE A DUMP ON THEM AFTER THE MAULING!

SERIOUSLY FIDO WILL BE A EFFECTIVE SENTRY AND ALLOW THE OWNER TIME TO REACT IF THE DOG SENSES THE PERIMETER IS BEING BREACHED.

[jboot]

human excrement (easily the most cost-effective way of deterring mischief, if applied properly).

Any excrement works nicely. I used to have an electrical transformer box mounted in my front yard, and the local cretins repeadedly jimmied it open and shorted out our power (whatever pleasure they got out of this was more than offset by the danger they were exposing themselves to). I stopped it by depositing some of our dog's droppings around it instead of in the yard waste can for a few weeks.

[OXENinFLA]

Nuke the site from orbit.................It's the only way to be sure.