7/5/07
Ask the Chief about neighborhood safety
By Chief Randy Garrett

We are an elderly couple that has lived in our home for over thirty years. We have always taken pride in the upkeep of our yard. For the past few months, teenagers have begun to cut through our yard on their way to school with disregard to our property. They walk through flowerbeds and leave trash and wrappers scattered about. They screamed at us and mocked us when we approached them kindly and we put up “No Trespassing” signs but that hasn’t worked either. We are both in our ‘80s and this is distressing. We welcome your advice.

Continue to take pride in your neighborhood and home and know that we stand ready to assist you in remedying this problem. In these situations it is ideal that we are notified at the time when the teenagers are trespassing so that we can dispatch officers to the scene and hopefully make contact with the culprits. In situations where citizens were previously victimized, we ask that citizens communicate to us several specific pieces of information so that we can direct our resources accordingly:

• Time of day of the incidents
• Specifics of what is occurring
• Possible direction of travel to and from the incidents
• Descriptions of the teens
• Any known information about the teenagers (school attendance, address, parents)

Please forward this information by calling the Manning Police Department at 435-8859. With this additional information, we can put our resources to work in stopping this activity. Please do not put you or your family at risk by confronting these individuals but contact us immediately and ask that an officer be sent out to assist you. The Manning Police Department can only be successful when our citizens get involved.