Vandalism can destroy a community

Now it was a mess.

"Why did you do that?" There was a blank expression on her face as she responded, "I just did!"

It was the first time that I remember being aware of senseless vandalism. I was 10. We found out later that this was part of a convoluted initiation ritual for a wild bunch of youngsters who envisioned themselves a force. They broke windows, damaged property, stole paper and milk money, swiped bikes, terrorized us little kids and made life in the neighbourhood miserable.

I remember the kind but worried face of a policeman who came to a school assembly. He asked for our help and encouraged us if we knew anything to contact somebody.

I like to say I had the courage to tell the adults in my life who the vandals were but I became an ostrich, even as the perpetrators graduated to bigger and more destructive pursuits.

If you were the snitch, then you would be ostracized by the good kids who were scared that the bad kids would make you—and your associates—a target.

Over time, the crowd was caught, but not before they had destroyed our peace and sense of security. Older ladies who had been used to making us cookies and juice stayed in their homes with locked doors. The milkman didn’t deliver, unless you met him at the door. The corner store owned by an elderly couple, our only retail place, closed after it was broken into multiple times and trashed.

Our playtime was strictly monitored. Gone were the days that we could wander to the ballpark as long as we were back by dark. Some families--like mine—moved.

Looking back, I can now see that there were only one or two that kept this going. Had there been a way to anonymously identify the ringleaders to the authorities then maybe, just maybe, we would not have lost our community.

On Saturday, Feb. 10, Crazy J’s on Water Street was senselessly vandalized. Coupled with the many other incidents of this type of crime occurring over the last year or so, it certainly demonstrates a distressing trend. The cost to businesses—and then the consumer—is obvious, yet the cost to our community is far more devastating.

Somebody knows something. It is difficult to come forward, but today we have that anonymous option: Crime Stoppers 1-800-222-8477. They want your information not your name!

kristy@ns.sympatico.ca