Neighbors not laughing at teens' pranks

At some point in the next month or so, law enforcement will get this call from an irritated homeowner: The reindeer in my front yard are in -- well -- a compromising position.

To some, it's a harmless prank. To others, it's a personal violation -- though it involves just some lighted lawn decorations -- and warrants a call to the police.

As with most other neighborhood shenanigans, the culprits probably won't get caught. But homeowners and police officers still say they know who is to blame: kids who live in the neighborhood or nearby.

"There are definite seasonal patterns to it," said Michael Sakata, community services officer in Cary. The culprits are hard to catch, he said, because they know the area and they know when people aren't watching.

Teenage vandalism takes a variety of forms. Sometimes it is a sign of gang or other criminal activity.

But often, smashed mailboxes, broken glass in the pool and damaged playground equipment are simply signs of bored teens with little respect for property, law enforcement officials say. Though low-level annoyances, they can add up, costing the neighborhood time and money to clean up.

"It's a constant thing we have to deal with," said Herb Hernandez, president of the homeowners association in northwest Raleigh's Harrington Grove.

In Hernandez's neighborhood, vandals have smashed entrance lights and signs. This month, they dismantled some playground equipment and tossed it into a nearby pool.

Vandalism prompted two articles in the neighborhood's newsletter this spring, including an emotional plea from April Hutson, Harrington Grove's community watch leader.

When school started last fall, she noticed that more than a dozen teenagers were hanging out in the street between two houses in the afternoons. They stole her pumpkin, banged on her window and shot off firecrackers as her young son looked out. The teens also confronted motorists on the street.

A talk with a mother of one of the teens proved fruitless.

"I felt helpless," said Hutson, who also is the mother of a teenager. "I felt like I was trapped. ... It's a situation where the parents aren't being parents, and you know what's going on. The police are even behind you, and still there's nothing you can do until you catch them."

The problems with neighborhood teenagers prompted Hutson to get involved in the community watch program.

But the problems weren't resolved until a police officer moved in across the street -- and parked his cruiser at his house.

Stepping up security

In Durham this summer, the Audubon Park Homeowners Association made several changes to keep people from loitering in its pool parking lot or hopping its 4-foot-high fence and damaging the pool, said Ron Carroll, the association president. This summer, vandals opened a fire extinguisher in the pool, forcing the neighborhood to close it for three days for cleaning.

Chaining off the parking lot at its pool and hanging a "No Trespassing" sign has eliminated problems the association had with people congregating there. Security lighting for the pool was added. More lighting is planned, and the association is considering planting thorny bushes around the fence at the pool.

The association also has worked out a system with the Durham police, helping them quickly identify community watch leaders when they find a trespasser in the neighborhood. Durham police also will step up patrols, Carroll said.

"They are coming from out of the area," he said. "And the only way for them to stop is that people will charge them."

In Cary's Lochmere, homeowner association president Jack Shannon said the neighborhood regularly deals with a small amount of minor vandalism.