Responsibility to your neighborhood!

I live in Bellevue, KY/Cincinnati. Our community is pretty nice but with the closing of major subsidized housing in a neighboring town we have seen some of the bad element come our way. Heroin has become a big problem almost overnight. Break ins and theft has been rising due to the increase in drug problems. We just recently got a new police chief who seems to be doing a good job.

Several months ago some new neighbors moved in across the street me. It wasn't long before shady characters, local high school kids, and neighborhood druggies started frequenting the new drug house. Multiple visit at all hours of the day from Ohio and Kentucky license plates staying only minutes. They do the handshake swap drugs for money. The neighbors all know whats going and have been writing down plate numbers, times and duration. All the neighbors talk a good game but when it's time to step up and take back our community they cower in fear behind their doors.

Two weeks ago the fun started. I was having breakfast when a friend text me that the police were across the street from my house. turned on the scanner app on my phone. Sure enough, it was the dealers house. MWAG call! when I got home there was a suspicious guy on the dealers porch. When he saw me he got up and left. Every time I went to check he would walk away. Police were called and the kid told police he was there to buy dope. That was call #2 for the day. Later that night there was another altercation at the house and I called the police again. The following day my Neighbor asked what was going on, I said "I called the police on the drug dealer. The drug dealer heard this and came out to confront me and call me all kinds of racist names and invited me to the street making threats of violence and and retaliation. I went inside to call the police. When the police arrived ALL my neighbors developed amnesia and couldn't recall any threats retreating back into their houses. The police could not do anything but talk to him. Wednesday night the drug dealer was arrested, I don't know what for. While I was in Chicago neighbors say he was seen moving stuff out of the rental house. I have since been told by a neighbor that I should watch my back because the dealer said he was gonna get me.

I believe you always have to do the right thing no matter what the cost! I am not the guy who says "I just mind my own business and protect me and my own". We have a responsibility to the community.

I'm glad my neighbors can sleep safe because I put my butt on the line! If the roles were reversed, I would be out there supporting them and letting the police know what I saw and heard.

Just thought I would share my story.

It's not a good feeling when 'they' know where you live.

I know what it's like to have a credible threat from someone who knows where to find you. Just keep your guard up. I've seen more than one self-destruct (go to jail, get zapped by one of their buddies, etc..) before they could get around to me.

Good on you for making the calls.
As for your neighbors, it's not their fault, they were born and raised that way. You can't hate a sheep for eating your lawn and then pooping in it. That's what sheep do.

I took my son to visit his mother in Chicago til this dies down. The worst is I can't get comfortable in my own home.

My SA is at an all time high, kind of stressful.

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Originally Posted by ericb327

I took my son to visit his mother in Chicago til this dies down. The worst is I can't get comfortable in my own home.

My SA is at an all time high, kind of stressful.

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I'm assuming that you've spoken to your local PD about this, and they've stepped up patrols by your house? You should get used to the stress. I still have credible threats wandering around the town I live in. However, the lifestyle that these dirtbags live isn't conducive to a good memory. I saw one a few months ago, that I could tell didn't recognize me. I strongly recommend establishing a rapport with your local LEO's. This will also aid your legal defense, should you need to defend yourself.

I went through this with my in-laws. They live in the hood and my father-in-law would not take any crap from the thugs. This put a big target on their back and they a had been broken into a few times while they were not home. They had been threatened multiple times by the druggies but nothing came of it. Odds are they are so high they dont even remember it the next day. My mother-on-law kept maintaining that they owe it to the neighborhood to try to turn things around because they have lived there for 30+ years. But when the low lives out number you 10-1 its time to go.

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Originally Posted by WHEC724

I'm assuming that you've spoken to your local PD about this, and they've stepped up patrols by your house? You should get used to the stress. I still have credible threats wandering around the town I live in. However, the lifestyle that these dirtbags live isn't conducive to a good memory. I saw one a few months ago, that I could tell didn't recognize me. I strongly recommend establishing a rapport with your local LEO's. This will also aid your legal defense, should you need to defend yourself.

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Yes I have, which is why he is leaving. LE has made him nervous. At any rate, he has to leave because he became a chronic nuisance after the third call within a 90 day period. The city will force the owner to evict him.

Will your neighbors be helping to watch your back now that you took a stand for them?.

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Originally Posted by RayBar

Will your neighbors be helping to watch your back now that you took a stand for them?.

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That would be a no. I already knew they would not help out! It's been like this for the last 6 years. I would do it the same way next time. It would just be nice if they would step up just once.

Will your neighbors be helping to watch your back now that you took a stand for them?.

32 years on the same block of 85 homes and that question gets answered by time frames

1st decade; 1980's everyone knew 2 out of 3 , who lived where and drove & walked (dogs) what; though perhaps not by name
but knew that we knew 'who was who'

2nd decade; 1990s had lots of moving outs & ins and while cars & pets may have become familiar, names and who belonged to which home
fell to 1 in 3. nod politely to each other on the street or passing in the cars but no more front porch neighborly chats. too busy to say 'hi'

3rd decade---2000 & now people are invisible to each other--less than half even wave to each other in passing, walking or driving.

went from sharing house keys for pet sitting and watering plants while someone was out of town to....well, ah...there are 3 i trust and
the rest are split between strangers who share the same zip code and those im actively keeping an eye on ( their children are animals
and the parents not only don't seem to care but have unsocial skills also)

our infrastructure, bridges and water, is crumbling
our social infrastructure is crumbling also.

Good luck with your situation. I wish you the best. I tell my kids that sometimes doing the right thing is not the easiest thing to do. You are doing the right thing. Maybe if your neighbors would do the right thing, they would realize that their neighborhood would be a happier and safer place to live. This is how neighborhoods go to pot, nobody wants to step up and do the right thing. I am proud, honored and impressed that you are making a stand when the sheep around you are not.

We need more shepards and less sheep.

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Originally Posted by txron

Good luck with your situation. I wish you the best. I tell my kids that sometimes doing the right thing is not the easiest thing to do. You are doing the right thing. Maybe if your neighbors would do the right thing, they would realize that their neighborhood would be a happier and safer place to live. This is how neighborhoods go to pot, nobody wants to step up and do the right thing. I am proud, honored and impressed that you are making a stand when the sheep around you are not.

We need more shepards and less sheep.

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Thank you!

I don't remember who said it to me first, or the exact words, but something to the effect of: Morality defines what everyone knows you should do. Your integrity is defined by what you do when no one is watching.


I guess in some cases your own integrity is also defined by what you do when certain people are watching who you wish weren't, and everyone else is watching you do the right thing while they cower in fear.

Good for you for doing the right thing and trying to make a difference. And if some people try to tell you that you need to just mind your own business and watch out for you and yours, I would kindly point out that at least in this case, a drug dealer right accross the street is a direct threat to your family and your actions were to remove this threat.

Sorry to hear you're the target of a scumbag who knows where you live. That's never comfortable.

It's a hard balancing act, between getting noticed by the scumbags and coming together as a group to gain from a group defense. Every individual needs to determine whether he/she is going to take that step. Neighborhood discussions can help, in terms of airing concerns. Now and then, such reticence can be broken down, but it takes the goodwill and desire of all involved. Perhaps a representative from the police or sheriff's departments can assist with such discussions.

Still, there isn't any denying that getting noticed by the scumbag element can result in harm. Nothing but being prepared to resist it can reduce the risk, short of not being targeted at all (hence such non-involvement attitudes). Can't blame people, really, as there aren't easy answers when it comes to standing up to crime.

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The following day my Neighbor asked what was going on, I said "I called the police on the drug dealer. The drug dealer heard this and came out to confront me

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Something more non-commital might have been judicious, if within hearing range of the scumbag's residence. If the spot is patently obvious to everyone, I'd think that all neighbors would be keeping distance, particularly if discussing what's going on over there.

Good luck with everything. Keep your eyes/ears open for the next couple of months, above and beyond whatever you normally do. Might be worth passing the word about the overt threats to the neighbors.

Glad to hear that they're at least aware, monitoring and writing things down. Of course, it doesn't amount to much if it's only a paper exercise, if none of them will cough it up when needed.

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Responsibility to your neighborhood!

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What is that? Like a doctor's responsibility to save lives? As far as the original post........I feel I could write a book at this point. Let me tell you a bit about calling the police.......why is it that when you call they want more information about you than the complaint you're making? When the cops go knocking on doors or to investigate they freely give up their source of information (you). Personally, I see a lot of things and I am fully aware of what goes on in my neighborhood. If I see someone thrown out of a car or shot in the street, I'll call 911. I also like to have all four tires on my vehicle when I get ready to go to work, I don't want to wake up in a burning house, or come home to find my cat gutted and hung above the doorway. Years ago I voluntarily took on the responsibility for the integrity of this whole country with a small team. Your average neighborhood is incapable of working as a team believe me. As I've said in other posts, seems there are more enemies here at home now than anywhere in rest of the world. If someone obviously needs help and is unable to ask, then I'm there. I will simply not take responsibility for those who wouldn't take it upon themselves, and if someone needs to be saved, then they should pray to the Good Lord. If I ever get to the point of feeling that I have a responsibility to my neighborhood that puts my life at risk...........................I will move. Think about the day you tried to save your neighborhood while you're lying face down in your own front yard bleeding to death from a drive-by shooting and praying yourself (in those last few precious moments) that your neighbors are dialing 911 for you. Reality pretty much sucks, and if you weren't so young, you're eyes might see more than what they do now. Most heros are dead, those awarded for heroism would rather not talk about it, and those who want to be heros either need to join the armed forces and be willing to die, or check themselves into a clinic for evaluation. Talk to me about responsibility................you a registered voter? Do you vote on your local level? How about the last presidential election? Ever get involved with your community instead of feeling responsible for it? How often do you actually talk to your neighbors in the hood? At this point I think I've said enough.....if I go further it would just become redundant. I will however leave a few tips for the neighborhood heros out there and it all comes from experience.
A......dialing 911 is simple but only use for emergencies
B......if you want to phone in a complaint to the local PD.....use a cell phone and disable your caller ID
C......when asked by the dispatcher (contract company in my area) for your personal information...reply with "I'm just a concerned citizen reporting a problem or a crime taking place" and then immediately hang up.
Why disable caller ID when you simply call in to report? I think I already told you why.....because the folks you are calling in about will ask who complained and the responding officers will tell them freely without any formal FOI request being made. Public is public. If you're going on a mission you've got to at least CYA first.
Seriously? I'm usually pretty serious when I give out advice to my family. I'd rather not read your post one day then read your obituary the next. If you know someone in law enforcement personally, I suggest you run this by them and see what they have to say. It's true to the best of my knowledge,and it's how things go down here locally. I've been there. I have plenty more........................but I know that maybe only a fraction of a percentage are going to read and heed my advice.
My best advice to the community hero is.......................find an attorney and file your living will today.
You'll always have my best wishes just because you're here.