Violated, AGAIN- lost count. Chainsaw missing.

Sorry to hear of the theft David.  If you’ve filed a police report and included the serial number, you have a much better chance of getting it back.  The pawn shops operate on one simple premise: people don’t record the serial number.  If it turns up in a pawn shop, you have to pay the shop whatever they paid for it (10% for expensive photography equipment in my experience) but that gives the pawn shop a strong incentive to cooperate with police.  The shop doesn’t lose money if an item comes up as stolen, so they have no reason not to cooperate.  All that being beside the point…
i find it hard to believe that all your break-ins, theft, and vandalism are random.  I live close by and although crime can vary a lot from block to block in this neighborhood, I don’t think anyone comes close to having the number of problems that you’ve had.  Theresa’s car window being broken twice, with nothing taken, etc.  Fishy stuff.  It looks to me that you are being targeted by somebody.  To me, the only question is whether that’s someone from inside or outside the neighborhood.

As Dayton continues to lose people & businesses at an alarming rate (as seen in today’s article: http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/111709/us-cities-running-out-of-people ) — blatant lawlessness, thievery and drug trafficking are the result. As funds are cut (or at the least mis-managed) for services such as police, fire & rescue, there are fewer representatives of the law to stand up against this. “Average citizens” are pretty much programmed from an early age (through public & private education, the police and city officials) to be reliant on public services for protection and safety. And what do you get for your reliance?
Worst case, you get what happened in New Orleans during Katrina – people with no idea how to take care of themselves, or take proper action when things go awry. Sitting at the only standing symbol of society they know waiting for someone to tell them what to do, dying from thirst, without the sense enough to take care of themselves. In our case – there’s known drug traffic running out of a nearby house, plus roving dealers – and the police tell us they can’t do anything about it (intimating that it is because the DA is incompetent). For you – your house is obviously being targeted, and your hunch about the thieves is probably right, but the ‘authority’ is unable (or more likely, unwilling) to do anything about it.
And then building owners keep their rents and fees so high it doesn’t make any sense to lease a place to open a business in this town – assuming Inspector Gotcha and the city don’t hinder you even more – furthering the blight. Yes, I say it is a blight. Six years ago, before I moved back West, Dayton looked, sounded and seemed MUCH better than it is now.
So how to take care of it? That’s the hard part, isn’t it? Be a shame if a neighbor’s house burned down. City of Dayton seems more concerned with Barber Students hanging out on the sidewalk than someone getting shot. Repeatedly. Just sayin…

More than the loss of property, I’m more concerned with the perceptions these things give people about our neighborhood (teresa lea)
 
…talk about your bad timing. Two miscreants kicked in the door of the Old Bandito’s Perrine St. home in broad daylight on a Sunday afternoon looking for cash and electronics. What they encountered was the home’s resident engaged in his Sunday ritual of cleaning his guns. What happened next was unpleasant and violent and definitely one-sided, but it was the best-case scenario for one who finds his property and privacy violated. Despite holding the winning hand in this encounter, the Old Bandito wondered what would have happened had only his wife and daughters been there during this brazen b and e, and decided there and then to leave South Park. This incident happened over 20 years ago, when the bulk of that neighborhood was old folks and young marrieds, but it was beginning to show the signs of a neighborhood and city in decline. Having already witnessied a similar phenomena in Detroit, dear the Old Bandito knew that there was nowhere for that neighborhood or the city to go but down. Your passion for your neighborhood, and the many good South Park residents is noted and commendable, dear Teresa Lea, but the perception of that area is already carved in stone by thousands of stories and anecdotes from former South Park residents who, exhausted by the petty crime and daily drama, fled to the burbs. And regular readers of Esrati.com can not help but notice the schizophrenia of a blog that half the time reads like a South Park Booster page and half the time reads like a South Park crime blog. But going all Leatherface and dismembering a miscreant with a chainsaw? Finally, David has come up with an idea we can almost all agree on……

Sorry for your break in but here is a solution. Lots of dogs need a home from the shelter.  They are the best home protection you can get. They can provide what you need.  More love, protection and extra exercise walking the dog. 

Sorry – I’m with Allison on this one.  But what do we (as residents in the City of Dayton) expect when we don’t open our mouths and say ENOUGH!  I know of a confidential report that was done for Wright Dunbar Biz Association by an outside group to determine why businesses were not locating there.  I know beyond the obvious but what the study found was that most businesses and their potential customers stated was that Dayton had become a dumping ground for criminals, addicts, prostitutes, etc.  Recently Huffman (where I reside) was told that a Methadone Clinic would be located along First Street.  I wrote to then running Leitzell who informed me that the clinic would make a “wonderful addition to my neighborhood” and that we should (in so many words) deal with it b/c Walnut Hills has Nova House.  Really?!  Write the real estate ad that mentions a METHADONE CLINIC and sell my home then I’ll shut up.  How much more of the under-belly of society can the City absorbe?  A neighbor gave a response “well not all of the addicts are criminals – some might be a housewife from Kettering”.  That is very true – perhaps then the clinic should move to KETTERING!  Ever ask why there are no homeless/soup kitchens in Oakwood or other outlying burbs?  They don’t tollerate it.  Old question, are all the services here in the City b/c this is where the addicts/prostitutes/criminals live or are the aforementioned groups here b/c this is where the services are?  Sorry hubbie and I will be signed up at Simm Trainer this week.  Allison feel free to join us.

@Shortwest Rick – The irony kills me.  In other words, the City gets punished by lack of patronage/business opening/ etc. by suburbanites for taking in the undesirables that the burbs won’t take.  Chicken or egg – chicken or egg??!!  And no it was not the UD study.  It was done VERY privately well over 5 years ago.  Let’s just say that I was not privy to all the details but it wasn’t pretty for the City of Dayton nonetheless the WDBA.  The nuts and bolts recommendations were that the SUBURBS have got to take some of the “problem children issues” into their boundaries.  Spread the pain as it were.  I can’t say that I don’t agree with that assessment.  What’s worse is when the burbs come HERE to “feed the problem” literally (think the food trucks that used to come to Cooper Park) or worse (my own personal experience) the mini-vans at 5th & Huffman with a “my child is an honor roll student at [Alter, Centerville, Oakwood]” bumper sticker picking up underage prostitutes after 5 pm. We don’t have hookers at that street corner anymore b/c I would walk up to the car and state “I have your license plate and I’m calling your wife”.  The Johns usually left skid marks.  Now the hookers know not to work that corner b/c there is a “crazy blond lady in a blue house” (and yes that would be me!).  I am certainly NOT recommending that tactic to everyone but the more we fear them/feed them/treat them – the more they steal from us.  BTW- nice try at the ad.  If you or anyone else read it – would you buy?  What was worse is that I had neighbors give an impassioned plea on behalf of the clinic at meetings (Really? Pretty sure that the housing market is in the tank already, I don’t think that a methadone clinic will IMPROVE home sales).  Needless to say many residents in Huffman and along 1st Street made such a stink that the clinic opted to go elsewhere…after several meetings at the Priority Bd where Connie… Read more »

First off – I forgot to say to DE that I’m sorry that a new toy was taken after 1 use.  Just wrong – that’s like 1 lick of a tootsie-roll pop.  But what has been fascinating are the responses to this post that range from: 1.     OMG – don’t tell anyone the obvious that the City of Dayton suffers from a persistent crime problem b/c we have a lame prosecutor who likes a 100% success rate.  This is easy for him to achieve b/c he NEVER prosecutes anyone.  90% of crime in Dayton is committed by 5-10% of the criminals. 2.     Buy a dog or at the very least don’t buy a gun.  HELLO – They are criminals not Girl Scouts.  Girl Scouts LEAVE stuff at your house.  Criminals TAKE stuff from your house.  And it doesn’t leave a nice taste in your mouth like a Thin Mint. 3.     DE this is your fault for a) not keeping your home like a maximum security prison b) you still live in the City-like selling/moving would be a piece of cake c) you actually thought that a window with a glass-pane in place was a prohibitive measure from someone stealing your stuff?! Additionally it should be noted that this is DE’s blog  – it isn’t South Park’s.  He can (and does) write what he wants.  If you want to see some really inappropriate official neighborhood posts – head on over to my hood’s blog.  The web master wrote about the scrap metal fire extensively.  Yep, way to bring the new ownership! And people still wonder why this City is declining?  Honestly are you living under a rock?!  Turning-out a 12 year old on my street corner was at one time “ignored” b/c if someone complained – the fear was retribution to cars parked on the street or worse arson to their home.  Then things changed – Some of my neighbors affectionately call it “the summer Emily came off the porch”.  Was I scared?  Yes, but when I am shining a huge spot light in a John’s car (and I mean really big like… Read more »