We took our neighbors (husband and wife) to court and got a restraining order against them for assault, battery (the man pushed his way into our house and hit me because I called the animal control on his dog for biting me) and harassment (the wife screamed at waved a stick with threats every time she saw me). We agreed not to pursue criminal charges if they agreed to the judges terms for stay-away, etc.
Well, guess what? They have violated nearly all the terms of the order: They stand just inside the "forbidden zone" area, they taunt, gesture, and even lurk around the house at night (as seen by the security cameras we had to install). The man who assaulted me followed me to a store and stood by the exit until I called the manager and asked him to witness it and call the police.
What do the police do? Nothing. Just fill out paperwork.
I've called the police several times and filled out reports. The police take the complaints to the detective at the end of the shift. The detective gets to them within a few days, then decides whether or not to send it on to the city attorney. The city attorney decides whether a man lurking in the dark and looking into a window is as "important" as another case (especially one that makes money for the city such as fines), and then they take it on from there. The time lapse for the city attorney to do something is over 4 months in my city!
The horror of seeing a violent man standing in your yard looking in your window does not seem TOO scary to a city attorney sitting in his nice bright office in the middle of the day, when he is contemplating many cases of rape, murder and other really violent crimes. But that shouldn't diminish the reality that a judge looked at the facts and determined that certain people should be restrained.
Note to readers: Continue to report crimes such as assault and vandalism to the police, but remember that once you do, the really crazy people who live near you as neighbors will be alerted and often aggress even more against you. The ones that resist and protest the most ("what's the matter, don't you like dogs/cats/me in your house?") are often the most guilty of being budding criminals. Some people are too arrogant to believe that the law applies to them.
A restraining order won't always protect you.
Be careful.
Well, guess what? They have violated nearly all the terms of the order: They stand just inside the "forbidden zone" area, they taunt, gesture, and even lurk around the house at night (as seen by the security cameras we had to install). The man who assaulted me followed me to a store and stood by the exit until I called the manager and asked him to witness it and call the police.
What do the police do? Nothing. Just fill out paperwork.
I've called the police several times and filled out reports. The police take the complaints to the detective at the end of the shift. The detective gets to them within a few days, then decides whether or not to send it on to the city attorney. The city attorney decides whether a man lurking in the dark and looking into a window is as "important" as another case (especially one that makes money for the city such as fines), and then they take it on from there. The time lapse for the city attorney to do something is over 4 months in my city!
The horror of seeing a violent man standing in your yard looking in your window does not seem TOO scary to a city attorney sitting in his nice bright office in the middle of the day, when he is contemplating many cases of rape, murder and other really violent crimes. But that shouldn't diminish the reality that a judge looked at the facts and determined that certain people should be restrained.
Note to readers: Continue to report crimes such as assault and vandalism to the police, but remember that once you do, the really crazy people who live near you as neighbors will be alerted and often aggress even more against you. The ones that resist and protest the most ("what's the matter, don't you like dogs/cats/me in your house?") are often the most guilty of being budding criminals. Some people are too arrogant to believe that the law applies to them.
A restraining order won't always protect you.
Be careful.
