Why neighbors dont stop the killing

So much so that they're also scared of releasing their names for this column. This is a loaded word these days. What exactly is "crazy" and what can be done about someone who acts this way yet who has not caused violence to herself or others, yet? I mentioned a personal visit to this woman, who's in her 50s, to see things from her point of view and get a better feel for the situation. He confirmed that this woman has contacted his department many times off and on through the years.

His officers are familiar with her calls, her claims, her outbursts. No charges have ever been filed, no arrests made, no fines or other punishment. The woman's neighbor who contacted me wasn't aware of her irrational and frightening behavior until the first day of his kids' school year in As he leaned against his car parked near her home, waiting for a school bus, the woman approached him. She marched up to him with fists clenched, asking why he was spying on her, he recalled.

She pointed toward the nearby bus stop, where other parents waited while holding their phones, claiming they were taking photos of her. She's been on his radar ever since. Several months ago, he noticed three police cars outside her home, not just the one squad car as usual. This piqued his concern and his worries for his family's safety.

He did some poking around with help from another neighbor with young children. They learned that a mental health agency contacted police for a wellness check that day, a police report stated.

She was again hearing voices in her head and tried battling them with a broomstick, according to the report. Police don't agree. The woman hasn't harmed herself or others so there's nothing they can do, they told me. She's not suicidal or homicidal. Adult Protective Services also has visited the woman but concluded they can't do anything to help the situation, police said.

Brian Neyhart, who's dealt with her a few times. Last week, on the first day of school for the neighbor's son, the boy walked to the woman's corner and waited for his bus. Let them know that teens are more frequently victimized by crimes, both violent crimes and property crimes, than any other age group. Help them think about the costs of crime and the benefits of prevention.

What drug-free, alcohol-free positive activities are available for teens and how these can be improved to attract even more young people. Building a safer neighborhood We and our families cannot be safe if our neighborhoods are riddled with violence. Help your neighborhood become or stay healthy. Start, join, or reactivate a Neighborhood Watch or Block Watch.

Include discussions of ways neighbors can watch out for situations that might involve children in or threaten them with violence. Consider starting a formal block parent program such as McGruff House so that children will have reliable, recognizable places to go in the neighborhood, if they feel threatened, bullied, or scared.

Talk with other adults in the neighborhood about how fights among children should be handled. Who should step in?

Under what conditions? Make sure children in the neighborhood know that adults are prepared to help stop any form of violence. Share information on basic child protection from this booklet or other good sources. Help each other learn about signs of drug abuse and gangs, along with where to go for help in your community to address these problems. Get to know and encourage the kids in your neighborhood. Many young people say that carrying weapons gives them a sense of power, a sense you can help them get in far more positive ways.

Many communities have information and referral services that keep extensive records of the government and nongovernment groups that can help address neighborhood issues.

These are usually listed in the telephone directory. United Way and similar groups sometimes operate referral services. Local taxpayer and civic associations can often provide information. They organized Mothers Against Violence in America MAVIA and began educating themselves and others, asking for policy changes and working with others in the community who shared their goals. Teenagers formed school-based groups Students Against Violence Everywhere SAVE that not only promote nonviolent ways to handle anger and conflict in school settings, but stage violence-free Teen Nights, hold anti-violence poster contests, host forums and speakouts against violence, and sponsor country-wide anti-violence planning conferences.

Each branch has taken up the challenge to become a center of positive activity for kids in its neighborhood, including acting as homework centers. No new funds were used—libraries were asked to refocus existing resources to tackle this neighborhood need. With a group of neighbors, scan streets, yards, alleys, playgrounds, ball fields, parks, and other areas. Look for things like overgrown lots, abandoned vehicles or appliances, public play areas blocked form public view, intersections and streets that need lighting or traffic control improvements, unsafe equipment or structures, abandoned buildings, hazards in nearby businesses or commercial areas, and signs of vandalism, especially graffiti.

Talk with children in the neighborhood about what worries or scares them and about where and how they have felt threatened by violence. Interview teachers, school staff, crossing guards, and bus aides. Add these concerns to your list. Look around to see what happens to kids between p. Are there supervised programs for younger children? Opportunities for teens and preteens to work with children, help retirees, tackle neighborhood problems, get or give help with homework?

After-school programs in many areas are located in schools themselves, known most often as Safe Havens or Beacon Schools. Recheck the neighborhood periodically at least once a year to catch new conditions that need attention.

Start a discussion of neighborhood views on weapons in the home, use of toy weapons by children in play, children and violent entertainment, and how arguments should be settled. Be sure you know where and how to report potentially violent situations or concerns about conditions in your neighborhood, or about conditions that could lead to violence.

Ask your police department especially your community policing officer for help in identifying what to report, when, to whom, and how. Consider an event that lets children turn in weapons, especially those that might be mistaken for real firearms, in exchange for public thank-yous, donated non-violent toys, books, or coupons from local merchants.

Offer to take on routine chores, to babysit, to provide transportation, or just to listen. Learn about hotlines, crisis centers, and other help available to victims of crime.

Find out how you can help those who are touched by violence to recover as quickly and completely as possible. If you see a crime or something you suspect might be a crime, report it.

Agree to testify if needed. Short talks are mixed with role playing to help emphasize what kids should do if they find a suspected gun toy or real , how to resist peer pressure to play with guns, and where to turn for help. In less than one year, two children found and properly reported weapons, saying they knew what to do because of the program.

Strengthening the community Violence anywhere in the community affects all of the community. By working on community-wide anti-violence efforts, you are protecting yourself, your family, and your neighborhood. Equally important, community policies and regulations can boost neighborhood violence prevention measures. Work to build community standards and expectations that reject violence and other crimes. All kinds of groups—civic clubs, houses of worship, social clubs, the school system, professional associations, employee groups and unions, business groups, and government agencies—can sponsor educations efforts, conduct forums, develop community service messages for media, and create community-wide networks to prevent or reduce violence.

Emphasize prevention as the preferred way to deal with violence. Ask what schools, law enforcement agencies, public health agencies, libraries, workplaces, religious institutions, child protective agencies, and others are doing to prevent, not just react to, violence. What policies do they have to prevent weapons-related violence? How can they help the community? Make sure that adequate services are available for victims of violence and other crimes including help in following their cases through court, if necessary, and in recovering from physical, emotional, and financial losses.

Enlist those familiar with the costs of violence—parole and probation officers, judges, doctors, emergency room staffs, victims and survivors especially youth , local and state legislators and chief executives, youth workers, and others—in pushing for prevention strategies and educating the public about their effectiveness. Personal testimony can be powerfully persuasive.

Make sure your community offers ways people can learn about anger management, conflict mediation, and other nonviolent ways to handle problems. Find out what positive, enjoyable opportunities there are for young people to have fun in your community. What services are there for kids facing problems? What programs help kids of various ages spend the critical p. Establish policies that reduce danger from weapons, especially firearms. Make safe storage of firearms a community expectation, even a law.

Ensure that licensing laws are rigorously enforced. Some states and communities have outlawed sale of weapons to those under 18 or Others have imposed age restrictions on permits to carry concealed weapons.

In at least one state, conviction of a firearm violation can cost a young driver his or her license. Join forces with other community groups and government agencies to publicize, finance, and staff these events.

Learn your state and local laws on firearms. Insist that these laws be enforced vigorously but fairly. Support police, prosecutors, judges, and other local officials who enforce laws designed to prevent gun violence. In San Antonio, Texas, a year-long planning process brought dozens of civic leaders together and led to a point plan to address crime problems in the community.

Energized residents and leaders turned that plan into action, increasing services to troubled youth, involving businesses in prevention strategies, devising public education campaigns, engaging schools in teaching conflict management and mediation skills, and more. The city, within a year after implementation had started, saw a 20 percent drop in reported crime.

The Missing Peace, Inc. In Oklahoma, parents can be fined if their child brings a weapon to school. In North Carolina, failure to store firearms safely in homes where children are present can result in prosecution and fines. Twenty-one states have enacted laws mandating gun-free school zones and imposing sharply increased penalties for firearms possession or use in such areas.

Florida and Maryland are among the states that have set up special statewide organizations to help address school-related violence, including gun use. More than two dozen states have increased judicial or prosecutorial discretion to try youth involved in especially violent offenses as adults.

Insist that local law or regulations require that confiscated or surrendered weapons be melted down rather than auctioned off or sold to dealers. Make sure that local laws mandate the most secure possible storage of any firearm stored in a private home. Was it unfair? Can a redundancy be an unfair dismissal? Was your employer a small business?

What can you do? Remedies What is unfair dismissal? Time limits Can you apply? Wages, leave and other workplace rights Union activities Discrimination Absence because of illness or injury Sham contracting arrangements What are general protections?

Talk to your employer What if my employer can't pay me? What type of employee am I? Top Panel Area 1. What is unfair dismissal? Wages Leave Superannuation Payment in lieu of notice Redundancy pay What if my entitlements are not paid? Middle Panel Content Area 3. I went to the police and made a statement about the fight I had with my boyfriend but the police won't apply for an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order for me. What can I do? The police must apply for an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order ADVO , unless they have a good reason not to, where: they believe a domestic violence offence has been, is being, or will be committed against you, a person stalks or intimidates you with the intention of causing you to fear physical or mental harm, or an offence against a child or young person has been, is being, or will be committed.

My partner was served with an Apprehended Violence Order. I don't think I need the Apprehended Violence Order to protect me. What can we do? The police prosecutor may: agree and apply to the Court to withdraw the application ask for an adjournment to allow you time to make representations write to the police and explain why you want the AVO withdrawn refuse to withdraw the application, if they think you need the AVO for your protection.

My elderly father told me that my sister's husband is quite abusive to him and yells at him all the time. Can my father do anything about this? In the last two weeks, I've noticed my ex-partner hanging around my workplace and house. He has also been calling my mobile and leaving threatening messages. I'm afraid he may go through with his threats.

Can I do anything about this? An application for an ADVO can be made by: the police yourself. You should contact the police if you have fears for your safety. I have a neighbour who has threatened me in the past. Can I get an Apprehended Violence Order? For an APVO application to be successful you must prove that: you fear that your neighbour will be violent towards you, or intimidate, harass, or stalk you, and it is reasonable for you to have that fear.

If you are not sure if you need an APVO, you should get legal advice. A couple of weeks ago one of my work colleagues started following me around. She has left flowers on my desk and sent me inappropriate text messages. What can I do to get her to stop? You should also report these incidents to your supervisor or manager at work.

I want to take out an Apprehended Violence Order against a man who lives in our street. The problem is I don't know his name or which house he lives in. Can I still get an Apprehended Violence Order? If you still want to get an AVO, you should get legal advice.

I have left my partner and am staying with a friend. A Provisional Apprehended Violence Order has been made and my partner is forbidden to contact me but I need to go home to get my clothes and computer.

I have had a lot of trouble with my neighbour. When I walk my dog past her house she yells, "I'm going to get you and your stupid, ugly dog". Recently, I have seen her leaning over the fence and feeding my dog something out of her hand. Every time she does, my dog is sick afterwards. I'm worried that she is poisoning my dog. I'm having problems with my neighbour. There are other ways that your problems can be sorted out without going to court.

This is a free service where you can talk to your neighbour in an informal environment and CJC mediators will work with you to try and resolve your dispute. You do not need to have a lawyer to attend a CJC mediation.

My neighbour plays loud music at all hours of the day and night. Can I get an Apprehended Violence Order to stop them? Going to court 1. The police applied for an Apprehended Violence Order on my behalf against my boyfriend. They have told me it is listed for mention. What does this mean and do I have to go? I made a private application for an Apprehended Violence Order against my husband.

I don't want to go through with it. Can I have it withdrawn at the mention? I made a private application for an Apprehended Violence Order against a neighbour.

She said that she would enter into an undertaking if I agreed to withdraw the application. What does this mean? The police made an application for an Apprehended Violence Order on my behalf against my father.

At the mention my father did not consent to the Apprehended Violence Order. The Court then made orders that both sides file and serve witness statements. Now we have been given a date for the hearing. Do I need to attend? I have made a private application for an Apprehended Violence Order against a former friend. I have to go to the mention next week. At the mention, the Court will want to know: if you still want the Apprehended Violence Order AVO how your former friend wants to respond to your application.

What happens next depends on what your former friend wants to do. I have been given a hearing date but I can't make it. I travel a lot for work and will be overseas on that date. What happens if I can't attend? If you don't go to the hearing your application may be dismissed.

At the mention, the Court made a timetable. She ordered that I file and serve my witness statements on a certain date and that the defendant file and serve witness statements in reply two weeks later. I filed my witness statements and sent them to the defendant but I haven't been served with any witness statements from the defendant.

The Court may: adjourn the matter to give the defendant more time make a Final Apprehended Violence Order, or give you a hearing date and proceed without the defendant's witness statements. At the mention, the Court ordered that we prepare witness statements. What information do I need to put in my statement?

If you need help preparing your witness statement, you should get legal advice. After court 1. The Court made an Apprehended Violence Order against my ex-boyfriend for two years. It expires in one month. I have seen him driving by my house a few times and the other day I received a letter from him saying that he is looking forward to seeing me when the Apprehended Violence Order is finished.

What should I do? You should report this to the police as soon as possible. I applied for an Apprehended Violence Order against my neighbour.

The Court said that it would only make the mandatory orders for a 12 month period. The police applied for an Apprehended Violence Order on my behalf against my husband. The Court made the mandatory orders about behaviour and an order, which said that he was not to contact me except through his lawyer.