My life has turned into mafia wars!

So, for the past few years things have been bootling along merrily at their own pace...Since we pressed for prosecution on two assaults and resolution on antisocial behaviour, we've developed a certain reputation, not as one would wish as those you don't wish to mess with; but rather as a group of grasses who have no compunction about calling the police if there is a problem. I take the view that i don't play playground games with idiots, but to each his own i suppose.

Not only have we not taken any nonsense, but I've worked within the community and made friends with some of the not so bad ones. Amazingly, people never consider themselves to be yobish/thugish/chavish and look down on those that they consider to be. I've also supported some of the local neighbourhoods with odd jobs around the house when I've needed shelves put up etc... It's a great deal, they're sure that they're ripping me off, and i know I'm paying under market price for those services...we're all happy. One lad in particular has taken us under his wing. i get the feeling that he thinks of us as helpless kittens, he's even offered to do violence against the dreaded X.

And all seemed fine, till last week Friday. No, I stand corrected, all was fine till two weeks ago, when my seven year old son came in from riding his bike to announce that he'd been happy slapped. he told me that his assailants were three girls, and that they'd told him that if he told me they'd get their mothers to sort him out. Unfortunately we had no idea who these bullying miscreants might be. Last week Friday he was out riding with my thirteen year old and some friends, when my daughter came running in to tell me that he'd been hit again. i went running (or hobbling rather as I've got whiplash from a car accident at the moment) out to see three backs disappearing up the road. i couldn't give chase as i was to concerned for my son. He told me that one of the girls had again 'happy slapped' (as if personifying a slap as happy makes it so) him. He was alright, although very nervous. My daughter identified one of the girls to me - one of the not very nice families in our charming pastoral idle. This girl has had problems with my daughter for years - nothing serious, but they've never got on. I told the kids to keep an eye out and call me if anything happened. In all honesty i was working on a final assignment and needed to finish up before five so that i could have it printed by a friend with access to a free printer. I was sitting at the dining table in front of the bay windows totally engrossed in biological psychology with no sense of time, when my son came running in to tell me that these girls were on the way back. I bravely went out to confront the charming and eloquent young ladies (one hopes that you can spot extreme sarcasm). I told the girls that my son had told me that one of them had hit him. One of the girls - the one with the mother who thinks she's the godfather (or is that godmother?) erupted into my face. Now i know that these girls must be around thirteen - possibly fourteen or fifteen as one of them was at school with my daughter although a few years ahead of her - but i was horrified at the language that this 'child' came out with, nor the level of physical threat that she brought to bear. I've not seen anything like it, in fact since my X, and we all know he's nuttier 'n a pecan tree! I told her that hitting a person is assault, that i have witnesses and that if it ever happens again i will call the police. The three of them (remember, I'm there outside my house with my seven year old hiding behind me and my daughter) then turned around and strutted off down the road, I snapped a shot of them for identification purposes as the left. One of my neighbours had been alerted to the problem by the noise, and a passing car had stopped and checked if we were all right. Yeah - she's gonna be a real charmer when she's all gr owed up!

Anyhoo, thinking it was over for the moment, i went back inside to work. Back in front of my window i noticed the three of them lurking around on the other side of the road - to quote an old advert, like germs in a toilet bowl - making threatening gestures etc...As previously said, charming girls. I became nervous and rang the police - not really expecting anything as it was a Friday afternoon, their busy time. A short time later, the kids inside, there was a knock at the door, i looked up to see one of the charming little yobs peering in my window, right at me (I really go into my own world when I'm working). I went to the door, to be confronted with an aw some sight - enraged yob. ugh, not pretty. The most charming of the girls had gone to her mommy and the woman was now on my doorstep with the three girls and one other yob - baby on hip. She proceeded to yell, threaten and swear, if i though the daughter was bad - whew! I've never seen anything like it off of TV, and I'm pretty sure that they throw sailors out of the Navy if they use that sort of language. She threatened me, my mother, my daughter and my son -my home as well. She was so abusive that my daughter hit my panic button, installed against the dreaded X. Eventually she called me a pedophile (?) because I'd taken a photograph of her darling charming daughter (as if!!) and demanded the photo back. I explained that I'd taken it for record purposes and would be quite happy to hand the disputed record to the police. This stopped her a little (not much, the 'lady' was in high dudgeon), she then told me she'd report me to the police (for what I'm not sure as to that point I'd held my temper, not touch the little ahem *darling*, nor used abusive language - I'd only threatened to pursue assault charges, which i intended to do). She explained that she would make my life a misery, told me to go back to new Zealand, 'you Aussie c....' (grossly inaccurate as I'm south African and never been to either Australia or new Zealand) and stalked off.

Shortly thereafter the police arrived. I of course outdid myself by bursting into tears - i mean, talk about provocation, not only had this happened; but the pain medication was making me weird and i was worried about my assignment. They weren't very sympathetic, i suppose that I'd interrupted some important crime busting. They proposed to do a resolution - they would go to the girls and get them to admit guilt, give them an official warning and be done with it. they wandered off. Shortly later they arrived again, they couldn't go to the house (it's a known drug den and often raided) without back-up. They seemed to be taking things more seriously and wanted to take a statement from me. Of course they didn't have the right forms so meandered off for a bit. They returned and took the statement - although only about the assault, apparently the abuse, threats and slander won't be dealt with! - and assured us (mom had arrived by then) that by the end of the weekend the girl would be arrested (no resolution due to her age apparently) and the matter sorted. I re-iterated that this was essential as my daughter is in the same school (different year) as one of the yobs and has been threatened.

The next day we received a call from an inspector a the police station - this is being dealt with very seriously, resolution is now apparently possible and will be carried out forthwith. We had a reassuring visit from a very sweet female PC who told us nothing, but lots of promises that things would be dealt with by Monday.

Monday, nothing, my daughter still had to go to school, and mom had to take time off work to escort her. I rang the police and left a message, also both schools to ask that the kids be watched carefully. The inspector rang me later to deplore the lack of communication and promise that something would be done. Wednesday Mom rang while i was out to ask for an update, we've still had no reply. I rang yesterday - no reply, and today - no reply. There's been no resolution. We now have a camera running 24/7. The once i removed it from the window to rewind the tape ( i was standing there and the procedure took three minutes), our house was hit with a stone. All good promises aside, this thing needs to be sorted, and now! the stress it;s putting on the family is horrific, we're living on our nerves and i don't know how much more i can take. i carry a rolling pin around in my hand bag, and am scared to let my kids out to play with their friends.