Tyre slashing in Charlbury on Saturday night

Fri 30 Jun 2006, 10:35

As a relative new boy I am always struck by what a wonderful crime free community we enjoy in Charlbury. Sure there will always be the occasional drunk and odd malcontent or nutter about.
Criminal acts in Charlbury are the exception. The crowds of kids who appear threatening are always polite when you actually approach them - they are just kids hanging out looking for something to do - it's a shame they only have the local convenience stores to meet around, but then it was the same 30 years ago when i was a kid in a different town.
It seems to me community is the operative word here, we are an inclusive community who in general respond to each other with consideration and understanding. If we start to exclude those of a more awkward nature via a lack of tolerance or ASBO's we will create a sub- class with a real axe to grind.

Wed 7 Jun 2006, 13:04

Not to start this debate up again - or perhaps I'm playing devils advocate...but I've just had three new tires put on my car which came to just over £360 so I'm quite keen that whoever is responsible is stopped!! Otherwise, I'm royally stuffed if my car falls victim of this...Over and Out :-)

Fri 19 May 2006, 21:41

Thanks for the link John, as I expected, it was an adult, not a child or youth and I think there's implied mental health issues in someone who 'hates cars' and 'just snaps'.
This was a totally different thing.
I apologise for my strong replies to you, but I've lived through this kind of thing before, and I know the outcome. The names change, but the personality type doesn't!
I, and the other John know Nick personaly and know that he would never have posted this thread for any reason but to try and find out who did it, and he'd never be a 'youth of today' type whinger.
Anyhoo, you're right, I'm sure the Police will try as hard as they can and hopefully there will be some kind of justice.
Kate

Fri 19 May 2006, 21:00

Kate, here is a link to the story of the Bournemouth tyre slasher...
http://archive.thisisdorset.net/2004/8/5/64462.html

Fri 19 May 2006, 20:52

Kate
I certainly wasn't arguing with Nick's email, simply questioning whether there was factual evidence that more than one person was involved. I do appreciate that Nick has been the victim of a crime.
I could continue this thread, but perhaps it would be best to just leave it to the police to sort out.

Fri 19 May 2006, 20:20

The total was 35 cars, and I don't believe 1 person would be able to do this alone without being noticed, and wasn't it you John who questioned the 'considerable period of time' that it would have taken???
I've heard about someone who was spoken to by the police and he named NAMES plural.
Crime is nothing new to Charlbury, I remember when I was a teen there being alot of nicked car stereos, broken payphones, stolen petrol from cars, kebab van tipping, spendlove toilet door kicking... and it was ALL done by groups of 2 or more.
Kids don't do this kind of thing to be criminals, they do it to be 'cool' They may never figure out that it isn't cool, but they do it while being egged on, and to impress others.
I'd put money on the arrest being the one the Police think they can get to 'stick' with the CPS and not because it was a lone act. I wonder if the case in Bournemouth was an over 21 on drugs or with severe mental health problems?
As for deliberately arguing with Nicks post, please! The man is a victim of this crime, he's entitled to speculate and having lived her for a loooong time and raised 3 kids through the teen years himself he's got a pretty good handle on local crime and yobbery. Living on the Playing Close I'm sure this isn't the first time he's been a victim of such an act.
Kate x

Fri 19 May 2006, 17:55

Firstly, I would like to make it clear that I am very sorry that this thoughtless act of vandelism has occured in Charlbury and I can confirm that I have no agenda, apart from wishing that any accusations have substance and that innocent Charlbury kids aren't all tarred with the same brush. Nick's original posting used the word 'knives' in the plural and my original question was whether this was fact or hearsay. By implication, it suggested that many kids in the town were carrying knives with them. I would hate to think that every kid I met whilst walking around Charlbury had a knife on their person, or that others thinking of moving to the town get the impression that it is a den of evil, with lawless gangs of armed youths wandering the streets.
I disagree with your assumption that these acts of vandalism only happen as a result of peer pressure, as I clearly recall a case in Bournemouth when an individual rampaged up a street doing similar damage to car tyres, not as part of a gang.

Fri 19 May 2006, 16:10

Not sure what your agenda is here John but surely it was a reasonable assumption on Nick's part that more than one person was involved. In my experience its unusual for such things to happen unless there are a group of kids hanging around together - after all its only peer pressure and a desire to stand out in some way within the group that gives such an activity the only "point" it has.

Thu 18 May 2006, 16:01

Are there likely to be more arrests, because if not, then Nick's original posting is slightly misleading and perhaps unfair on other 'kids' in the area. The original posting suggested that it was gang with several knives, not a single person with one knife.

Thu 18 May 2006, 10:37

I understand that an arrest has been made and that it was somebody who had just moved back to Charlbury - nice way to endear yourself to your community...Lets hope this is a one-off. We have always had kids hanging around the Five-Ways area and the Fountain (pre-Co-Op days)and I agree with Nick, crime is certainly not a new phenomenon in Charlbury!

Tue 16 May 2006, 14:07

Oh My God Nick!I had no idea your car was done too, I only heard about it in the pub last night, but I should have known it would have happened to you as it was the Playing Close.
I agree with the ASBOs, alot could be given out in Charlbury these days, along with parenting orders demanding people actually keep their kids in and send them to bed at night where they belong. I've been gobsmacked recently, walking to the pub, some 2 hours after my eldest is in bed, to see children his age roaming the streets and hanging around the co-op.
Kate

Mon 15 May 2006, 21:32

John
I was making a statement of fact. The tyres were clearly stabbed with a sharp knife (not a screwdriver)and doing a fair number of cars takes a considerable period of time.
Meg- Charlbury's no better and no worse than most small towns. I've been here for thirty years and I think it was a lot wilder then.This looks like a copycat job since there has been publicity about other towns, notably Wantage who have suffered similarly.It only needs a couple of idiots to inspire a small following.I wouldn't generalise from it to the extent that thinking that Anarchy is loosed upon our streets. However,it would be nice to see a policeman ON FOOT on a Saturday night in the town.
However, the point of my original posting was to try to find out whether anyone saw or heard anything.

Mon 15 May 2006, 16:33

Nick
Sorry to hear about the damage.
Out of interest, how do you know that 'these kids were wandering around Charlbury with knives for some considerable period....'?
Did you see them holding the knives and if so, were you able to identify any of them?

Mon 15 May 2006, 13:10

Oh God, Nick - sorry to hear that! I'm not yet a resident, so can't be of any help I'm afraid. We were in Charlbury though on Sunday and we did notice a large gang of kids, some of whom were pre-teen, hanging around outside the Co-op/Nine Acres playground. They were causing a bit of (fairly minor) trouble - shouting, swearing, banging boxes, playing around cars, throwing things. I was surprised that the younger ones had been left unsupervised by their parents for so long (a couple of hours at least) nor were they challenged by any of the adults out shopping/parking their cars nearby. Is it because people don't dare or don't feel this behaviour is unacceptable? I'm guessing this area is the kids' usual hang-out and I'm sure they were too young to have been the culprits of the tyre-slashing. But I can't help wondering what the police/town council are planning to do about this rowdiness as well as the much more serious tyre-slashing.
I must say, it does slightly put me off moving to Charlbury as I've never seen anything like this from kids in our current town but we do have a v. high police presence!

I do hope you find out what happened anyway and that it gets sorted out.

Mon 15 May 2006, 12:35

I was one of the 30 odd motorists living on route from the Playing Close, Dancers Hill and the Hixet Wood estate who had their tyres slashed on Saturday night. Being well known for my liberal views, I would like to see the culprits ASBO-ed and Community Serviced within an inch of their lives.
Seriously though, this is the second Saturday night running on which there has been widespread vandalism to cars.These kids (in mental age at least) were wandering around Charlbury with knives for some considerable period on Saturday night. One wonders if they had been challenged whether the stabbing would have stopped at tyres.Does anyone out there know anything?