TGE

I think what we need to do in this situation, where landlords do not perform background checks, police are to afraid to stick their head out the station window and cable theft is rampant, is introduce a national vigilante scheme where any man, woman or cripple (who owns a gun, pitchfork or cable cutters) is allowed to roam the streets of socioeconomically challenged neighbour hoods to keep them free from gun toting, pitchfork wielding, cable cutting hoodlums. Thats the American Way.

AquaVita

You are joking right?

Such a system would only perpetuate more violence.

I know you may have been joking but I know some people who think just as you described.

fatherphil

when do the citizens of a neighborhood take action against a threat to their safety?

Godless Dave

Your question is kind of vague. I'd say "immediately" but it would depend on the type of threat. Do you have a particular threat in mind, or can you give some examples?

If my neighbors are having a loud argument at 3 am, I would probably call the police, whether I thought my safety was threatened or not. If I saw a car going down my street at excessive speed I might try to get the license number and call the police, but more likely I would swear at them under my breath. If it were a regular occurrence (and it's starting to be one, I'm using real life examples here) I would write to my city council person, explain the situation, point out there are little kids living on my block, and ask for more police patrols. My neighborhood is already pretty heavily patrolled as it is though.

But I think the specific action to be taken depends a lot on where you live and how your local government works.

Godless Dave

Here's an example of a communtiy organization that works to foster communication and community building in a historically crime-ridden part of Minneapolis. They are trying to make their neighborhood more liveable, and street-crime prevention is a big part of that. I'm talking about the kind of crime that has a direct impact on public safety: people dealing drugs on street corners and in abandoned buildings; users injecting themselves in public and leaving used needles on the ground; and gang shootouts.

Phillips Neighborhood Network