Update: Bad Children

I would suggest being proactive as the other moms have said, rather than just reactive (with the camera).

Could you (and other neighbors perhaps) go talk to the parents that were away, now that the weekend is over? That would be my first step. Let them know that you are concerned, that you would appreciate it to have it cleaned up, and you're worried about retaliation and no harm in saying that you will take it up a notch if things continue. You've already called the cops - let them know that.

If it were my kids ... and I was away, I'd want to know. I'm not saying these parents are responsible - perhaps they are not (you made it sound as if these kids might not be well supervised as bad kids). But I'd go that route first - rather than put myself out first.

You can get those video cameras - often hunters and outdoors enthusiasts use them - just Google.

Good luck :)

This is a link to the legal age kids can be left home alone for each state.

http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/11042014-the-lega...

I would absolutely get the police involved. Eye witness account can be used as evidence, especially if there are several people who all witnessed the same thing. Security cameras can be good and they can deter quite a bit of undesirable behaviors. I wouldn't discount it just because some say its "paranoid".

I would also be talking to the parents. They may be totally unaware of their son's actions and might be able to put a stop to it. Best of luck and I hope all works out for the best with this.

ETA: we are far from paranoia just because we have cameras. Every house in my upscale neighborhood has some sort of surveillance. We have low crime in the neighborhood as well.
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We live in a good neighborhood and I have game cams from Academy out on my property. The "word" is that we have cameras watching cameras and since word got out, we had no trouble.

Our trouble was when daughter was in high school and some kids from a rival school vandalized some of our property. They denied it to police but they were clear as day in camera!!

Most of what I get on camera now are the wild animals that come through at night and I love them!

I don't know your laws but I'd probably tread carefully when accusing someone if I didn't personally see the violation. I agree it needs to be reported and the police need to visit all of the homes of all children involved.

Get the camera. I am putting cameras up around my home, too. We've had problems similar to what you're describing and my next call will be to the police, not the parents.

A friend of mine put cameras up after a few incidents around her home. Once word got out around her neighborhood that cameras were watching, all activity stopped at the edge of her yard. It's not being paranoid. It's a deterrent to future problems.

In our town, the police will pay a firm but friendly visit to the home to talk to the mom/parents. It doesn't matter that you don't have photos - you know the children and the older brother, right? What's the age of the oldest person/child supervising during the parent's absence? I would think the police or CPS would want to know if that person isn't old enough.

Otherwise I would get a motion-activated system but consider where you're going to put it - it can't be that visible or a target itself. It needs to operate in low light too. And it will turn on with every dog who wanders by and every branch that blows in the wind.

To clarify -- was the older brother who dumped the glass the second time, after the cleanup, the brother of the child whose mother WAS home or the brother of the one where their parents were gone? Just wondered, because if it were the former, I would have gone back down to that mom and informed her (however late it was) that her other child had made things worse and retaliated. If it was the latter case, you can't do that.

The one parent did have her kid clean things up right away, which is good. I would try to maintain communications with her, maybe thank her for having her own kid clean up.

For the other family: Diane B. is right. Call the police department, or go there in person, and press for the police to send an officer in a marked car (that gets people's attention) to make a "friendly talk" visit, especially if this happened when there was no adult in town. It will be much more effective if you and your neighbor go ask for this together, so the police cannot dismiss this as just one grumpy neighbor doing a "those darned kids" routine.

I would ask the police to ensure that they do not identify which neighbors asked for a police visit. Yeah, the kids are going to know anyway, or at least have a good idea if there are numerous families they've ticked off over time. But I would still insist that no one be identified, and be sure the cops know about the retaliation.

Before you go, look up your state's regulations (it's usually in regulations rather than law) about the age at which kids can be left home alone. Ask the police to look into whether the kid(s) left home were actually all alone or were looked after by some adult you might not have seen, etc. Just having a cop ask the question could be enough to make those parents realize they could be in bigger trouble if they leave their kid(s) alone again.

Yes, get a security camera. Good point below that the camera itself could become a target for vandalism so choose with care. I would also keep a regular camera charged up and ready to grab easily if they start stuff like breaking thing in the street again -- take photos of it and if possible of them doing it, if your house's cameras won't catch it, but take any photos from inside your house so you aren't out there where the kids can throw stuff at YOU.

I don't know what else they've done but it sounds as if you have examples of other incidents since you characterize them as "bad kids" and are talking about security cameras--?

With summer coming, you'd better hope these kids have something to occupy them besides hanging out in the neighborhood.

You called the cops and you KNOW the kids that were involved (and at least have knowledge of the parents, older siblings, location of the houses). Did you give that info to the police?
Security cameras, IMO, border on paranoia, and I wouldn't be willing to live like that. Once you have the camera--you have to call the cops anyway, right?
Good luck.

You can Google 'security camera' and you'll get lots of hits.

sure, a camera's a good idea, but you don't have to have the villain red-handed in your custody to call the cops. did anyone see the older boy commit the vandalism?
and a separate matter, is he old enough to be the younger child's guardian in loco parentis?
i would definitely want a police report since the kids seem to be defiantly aggressive, and the mother uninvolved.
khairete
S.

I would call the 1-809 number for child welfare. These kids are not being supervised by an adult and the state might come in and simply remove them from the home. Then she'll have to fight to get them back. If you want to take it a step further after the kids are picked up call the local office and ask if you can give a written statement pertaining to neglect you have observed.

Updated

I would call the 1-809 number for child welfare. These kids are not being supervised by an adult and the state might come in and simply remove them from the home. Then she'll have to fight to get them back. If you want to take it a step further after the kids are picked up call the local office and ask if you can give a written statement pertaining to neglect you have observed.