Juvenile crime in rural Maine

[ALToons]

Originally Posted by mollysmiles

I certainly agree with Coaster--and to paraphrase him, it really does seem that each town takes its turn as far as juvie crime. It's too bad, but as a community the best we can do is report to the authorities and not be afraid to make calls to the parents and other neighbors.

ALToons, I feel bad for you. You're in an icky situation and I don't envy you one bit. All I can say is we don't have anything like that here in Calais, and even when it was rough a few years ago, it wasn't as bad as what you're experiencing. The towns that I've lived in here in Maine have never been what you describe, so I can only hope that it runs its course and you will be done with it. Good luck

Thanks for that reply, don't feel bad for me though... what a downer! LOL!
A few other posters grabbed my curiosity. Mainly the one where they said, paraphrasing; "If gangs are met with enough resistance, they will go elsewhere." Would you happen to know any examples as to what caused this to happen? I agree about the police not being enough of a deterrent for them.

The comment about gangs are a joke in the sense that there are no drive by shootings, and other gang "signature" behaviors, yes thats true. But "terrorism" through a community doesn't have to be just gang signs with kids wearing their pants to their ankles either. LOL

The only thing that I didn't mentioned on my long winded statement is that I really do love the neighborhood and the neighbors. Some are "rough" on the edges but all have a good heart and a sense of community.

The comment that also caught my attention and made me think that for some, it is just plain old paranoia. I am not going to question whether or not water tables are poisoned in tribal communities or not. I am not familiar with them so I have no right to speculate. However, it did make me think of how for some, it could take just an incident or two to turn a simple living household into a very jumpy over-protective household. If it wasn't for me knowing my neighbors so well, I'm sure reaching conclusions that are absolutely false can be made.

Not sure if its making sense, need more coffee this morning, LOL. Just jotting thoughts out.

[Mark S.]

Originally Posted by ALToons

A few other posters grabbed my curiosity. Mainly the one where they said, paraphrasing; "If gangs are met with enough resistance, they will go elsewhere." Would you happen to know any examples as to what caused this to happen? I agree about the police not being enough of a deterrent for them.

The one specific instance I remember reading about was in Brattleboro, VT. A few gangbangers moved in and started trying to set up a crew. But the community got involved, arrests were made, and the bangers moved on.

But it really does require the involvment of the entire community. If it's just one or two neighbors complaining and calling the cops while the rest of the neighborhood locks their doors and bury their heads in the sand, the gangs will win. You certainly do have to involve the police, but the police need to cooperation and involvement of the citizenry.

I live in Washington State -- at least for another week or two. One of the towns up here is having a MAJOR problem with gangs: Yakima. They recently passed a law making it illegal to be in a gang. I'm very curious to see how it works out. If it works, I suspect you'll see a lot more communities adopting similar laws. Definitely worth keeping an eye on anyway.