Harassment - What Can I Do

[emjay]

My question involves restraining orders in the State of: Michigan

The neighbor children have been harassing us since day one. Some of the issues include: taking our mail, jumping on our car and hitting it with plastic bats, antagonizing our dog to the point where he broke off his chain and chased them down the street, coming on our property even though we've told them many times not to and even put up "No Trespassing" signs, throwing things like bricks and pieces of wood at our house, trying to come inside our house when we go outside, etc.

There are a lot more issues, but we're at a loss for what we can do here. We've talked the kids many, many times about things and we've even brought it up with the parents that their children have been doing these things and we'd wish it to stop but nothing has worked.
Is this something we can take to the police? Can they do anything about it or are we at a loss?

It's gotten to the point where I can't even go outside and get the mail without being bombarded with these children trying to push their way inside my house.
What can I do?

[DonnyC]

1.You can call the police and have them speak with the parents.

2.Put up a fence.

3. Move

[aardvarc]

taking our mail

Notify both police, and the post office. However, while it's TECHNICALLY a FEDERAL crime to do so, don't expect the US Postmaster General's office to jump to make an arrest.

jumping on our car and hitting it with plastic bats

Take GOOD photos of your car immediately. If this continues and damage occurs, take photos of the damage and sue the parents.

antagonizing our dog to the point where he broke off his chain and chased them down the street

Be aware that regardless of what they do to antagonize the dog, YOU will be held legally responsible if the dog gets out of your control (ie off the chain) and bites or otherwise causes an injury (if the dog chases them down the street and they fall or get hit by a car, YOU will be the one getting sued for failing to control the dog). Get a BIGGER/STRONGER chain to ensure this won't be an issue - or put the dog in the back yard if that's an option.

coming on our property even though we've told them many times not to and even put up "No Trespassing" signs

Next time they're around, don't even say anything to them. Call police. When they arrive, ask police to issue a trespass warning. If they are found on the property after the warning, they get to see what the back of a police car looks like. And, ask police to step up patrols in your area in light of all of these issues.

throwing things like bricks and pieces of wood at our house

If they cause any damage, you first notify police and file a complaint for criminal mischief/vandalism, then you take a copy of that police report to civil court and sue for damages.

trying to come inside our house when we go outside, etc.

In Florida, we'd get to start shooting - however I'm not recommending this approach. If they're trying to enter your home without permission, you dial 911 and report a burglary in progress (the unlawful entering makes it a burglary, even if they don't TAKE anything).

There are a lot more issues, but we're at a loss for what we can do here. We've talked the kids many, many times about things and we've even brought it up with the parents that their children have been doing these things and we'd wish it to stop but nothing has worked.

Take these issues BACK to the parents, and now that you know what you can DO about it, let the parents know that you are prepared to involve the police and the courts if they can't/won't keep their kids under control. Or, you could simply involve police and the courts without giving them the benefit of any warning, since past efforts to reason haven't produced results.

Is this something we can take to the police?

Yep.

Can they do anything about it?

Yep - at the least, they can take a report on any incidents they didn't witness. That report goes to the DA who decides whether or not to charge them with a crime. It'll also likely trigger the involvement of juvenile delinquency services in your area. If police actually WITNESS any of this activity, they may be able to arrest on the spot. This is why you want to specifically request that police step up patrols in the area.

It's gotten to the point where I can't even go outside and get the mail without being bombarded with these children trying to push their way inside my house. What can I do?

When the kids are out and about, call police and ask them to send an officer to discuss recurring problems with juveniles in the area. When the officer arrives, explain the situation, and ask the officer to speak to both the parents and the children involved. Neither will want to hear about how much trouble they could get in from you - so let the folks with the badge and gun explain it to them. They'd rather flex a little muscle NOW, than have to start taking multiple police reports later.

[emjay]

Thank you all. This definitely helps. We've been at a loss for a while. A few times we have had to call the police for vandalism the kids have done to vacant houses next to us and across the street so I think if we called them about the issues that we're having specifically they already have a "rap-sheet" for vandalism.

Again, I thank you all.

[HawaiiMom]

Let me add to the already good advice that's been offerred. I personally would not bother speaking to the parents anymore, and let the police come knocking on their door, as it seems your previous efforts were to no avail. No sense wasting anymore time with that.

If you can afford it, install security cameras on your property. If this is not an option, always keep a handheld camcorder nearby and use it to catch them in the act. When you walk outside, take the camcorder with you to document these delinquents trying to enter your property/home illegally. This might be all it takes to get them to stop, knowing that you have solid evidence that they've been breaking the law.

Whether or not you have video evidence of what has occurred, immediately call the police the next time this happens and file harrassment/trespassing charges and stick to your guns about it. The time for talking has passed, now it's time for action. Good luck!

[divemedic]

How old are these children? Aardvarc joked (?) about being able to shoot them, but that is not far off as a solution to someone forcing their way into your home. If we are talking 15-18 year olds, pepper spray used on a person forcing their way into your house is a viable response, but not so much if we are talking about 6 year old children. Michigan is a castle doctrine state, I would familiarize myself with the self defense laws and apply them accordingly. Someone forcing their way into an occupied dwelling is a felonious assault in the making. This is a safety issue, as these sorts of crimes tend to escalate.

As far as the rest (property crimes), I think the camera/police route will help.

[emjay]

How old are these children?

There are 7 of them and the youngest is 5, the oldest is 11. If they were big teenagers I think we would have called the police sooner, but because they're just little kids we didn't want to do anything drastic and wanted to see if we could work it out civilly first. Obviously that's not the case.
It feels horrible to be harassed by children this young. I feel helpless.

The other day, I saw one of them getting into our mailbox and I took pictures with the time stamp on them. Then I went out and told him (AGAIN) I would like him to stop getting in our mail. He responded with "You're our neighbor..." like that's an excuse. But the upside is the older sister (who is like 13 and has been a sweetheart) immediately yelled at him for doing so. At least there's one of them that knows what's right and wrong.

[aardvarc]

Before you know it, they'll BE big teenagers. The time to get a handle on this is NOW - while their parents are still big enough to discipline them, they are still young enough to learn that actions have consequences, and there is TIME to provide meaningful intervention from any number of sources.

[divemedic]

Have you tried calling CPS?

[emjay]

We haven't called CPS but we're talking with an officer in the area now. We got set up with the main officer that patrols our area.

And you're right, soon they will be teenagers and it'll get worse. It's time to nip it in the bud.