WILMINGTON -- Police say for more than seven years a Wilmington house has been known as a hotbed for criminal activity. Neighbors say it's an on-going problem in the community but police say it's not an easy one to clean up.
Wilmington Police arrested two men Sunday on drug-related charges from a house on Montgomery Street -- and police say it's not the first time.
They've arrested many offenders on drug-related charges from this particular home. The house has been the subject of more than 200 complaints from neighbors; 111 Montgomery Street is known for the sale and distribution of drugs, but police say they can't just close the home down.
WPD Capt. Hickman said, "I know that community is fed up with that particular address and we get calls on that, and we investigate those calls, but we have to do it within the guidelines of the law."
Police say residents have constitutional rights, so they can't just go in and seize property without probable cause.
The owner of the house is an 86-year-old woman who isn't involved the drug problem
Those who shout blame need self reflection
When the government that determines how much to pay cops start offering a salary worth risking your life for to area law enforcers we will start getting the driven, reliable workers that can operate within the law and get the job done, instead of the bottom of the barrel gun crazed I want to drive fast without repercussion's cop wannabes. The reason so many traffic tickets are being written is because the local officials see tickets as a form of the income needed for this to happen and if you haven't noticed its a college town full of kids and kids can not drive. Alas the cops love giving tickets because it gives them a reason to drive fast and away from hot spots of criminal activity (Creekwood, 13th street, 8th and nun). One of the areas afore mentioned is where I live by the way. Until we start compensating the correct people for the correct job, we will always have those cops (but not all fall into this category, we have some fine police officers in our community also) that present a bad picture for the rest of the community(ie Carolina Beach police aka big meanies). So ... if you want to start throwing around blame, are you also willing to start paying the taxes needed to fund a better force, and if not do you know enough about the problem to really throw around some blame? Self reflection people, look inside, see what you find.
Never knew people who
Never knew people who enlisted into the military that did it for the pay, but for the desire and or honor.
Don't blame reluctance to get involved in day to day law breakers on pay with police officers in the police department. They chose the hours of training required to graduate police academy to become an officer. If one went through all of the training required in hopes of getting rich, they need to move on into another profession.
Yes...law enforcement is under paid...75% of Wilmington residents are under paid in their jobs, but there are still a lot of people that take pride in their work for a living.
As for speeding tickets the police hand out, good for them. Have you looked at some of the drivers on our roads lately???
If it makes you feel any better, I have seen police officers turn their heads to red light runners. Bad feeling on that one!
Go to www.google.com and
Go to www.google.com and type in "60 Minutes" and it will offer you websites to write to them and ask them to come here and do a story on all the corruption going on.
Heck...I'll look it up for all of you:
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml
I did...and with enough proper request from locals...they will.
owner of the home
"Police say residents have constitutional rights, so they can't just go in and seize property without probable cause.The owner of the house is an 86-year-old woman who isn't involved the drug problem"
OH really????????? Then tell me HICKMAN why was I told by a POLICEMAN that my rental home could have been seized from me if the renter had been busted for making/selling CRACK in/from it w/o my knowledge?? I called the Police myself when I had to go into the house to remove his belongings because he was in jail for 2 months and did not pay rent. I found the crack and I called YOU guys.
There were not 200 calls on that home, there were none, BUT I was told you could seize it.
Maybe if you all actually did seize homes used for this crap the OWNERS would NOT rent them to just anyone and the neighborhoods would be safer.
Keep in mind
Keep in mind that the people in and around this drug slum house are criminals. They have more rights than you and I and every other person out there that try and obey the law best we can.
Course they cannot do anything because CRIMINALS have rights, but that makes it easy on Law Enforcement as well. They can sit on their butt and not break a sweat either.
If they are not up in that house everyday a phone call comes in then THEY ARE NOT DOING THEIR JOBS! But you the fire department would be there everyday a call came in.
How to stop the problem
It states in the article that "The owner of the house is an 86-year-old woman who isn't involved the drug problem "
Start holding the property responsible for drugs being sold on their property, they know it's going on. Take the property.
See how fast the slum lords start to clean things up.
7 years??? 200 complaints
7 years??? 200 complaints from neighbors. They can't do anything about it?? What a bunch of friggin putz heads. Cops are idiots. City politicians are idiots. This absolutely proves it. This should be an international headline proving how pathetic the U.S. justice system is. Go out and catch people speeding 5 miles over the speed limit. That is all you seem to be good at. Let the politicians keep taking bribes....that is what they are good at. IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Clean up the town. It is what you are paid to do. The neighbors want it done. There are no excuses. Time to fire the cops and city leaders if they can't do their job and form a possee and take matters into our own hands if the law can't do it.
More
You are not the only one who feels exactly the same way. "Police" should not be allowed to issue another "speeding" ticket or code violation until they address the real issues like we are paying them to.
Go ahead and do nothing, gentlemen
Situations such as this have arisen before, all over this country, and when the police don't act......the community DOES.
Let's face it - if they had video poker machines in there, it would be the biggest "bust of the week." If it was a house of prostitution, you'd shut it down in a heartbeat.
But since they're just selling drugs in the inner city, the wheels of justice move forward at the blinding speed of a glacier?
This may require some innovative, out-of-the-box thought by police and the DA, but the extra work will be far preferrable to losing the entire city block when a fire started by a neighbor who is tired of police inaction gets out of control.
the community are the police
If you expect a small group of men and women to control every house and all of its problems in a city of almost 100,000, then you more issues than it sounds from your comment. Sir Robert Peel, the father of community policing, said many many years ago that "the community are the police and the police are the community". Everyone wants their issues address but the role of the police should be to assist the community in the policing of their neighborhoods, not do it for them. Just not possible.
policing ourselves
Policing ourselves? TELL us wise person just how we can do that? The losers/druggies/thugs that are causing the problems have GUNS, most of us do not, they have no regard for human life, we do, they are jacked up on crack, we are not.
SO wise person, THIS IS WHY WE CALL THE POLICE. If we have to shoot and kill these troublemakers in self-defense while policing our own neighborhoods will we go to jail? Ok, thats what I thought, vigilantism is illegal and that is what policing our own neighborhoods would be. Do you think that anything OTHER than violence will stop these thugs? Maybe if we send a nice flower arrangement with a card they will stop a lifetime of crime.
Sir Robert Peel was a British statesman and son of a RICH cotton manufacturer. He was chief secretary for Ireland for like 6 years, where he maintained order by establishing a police force in friggin 1812. I would like to see him living on Red Cross street TODAY.
He did not mean that the community take up arms and kick thug butt, he meant CALL the police if you see anything going on and then they will help you clear it up. Meaning the police do not have eyes everywhere.
Hello...
Pay attention... the community is about to take the area back because they are COMPLETELY dissastified with the policing effort. The police are not a small group, they are well equipped and funded, they have the support of other agencies and they need to refocus. Fight illegals, violent crime, robbery, etc. if the community is the police then why do we need LEAs??? The way these armed anti-social bandits have acted around here, right minded people would arrest them first! USA#1
All true, but....
...when the police KNOW that a specific cancer exists, in this case one particular residence, they need to take action. The rule of law can handle this situation far safer than a group of ticked off neighbors.
There are several methods and tools to shut this place down, from concentrated observation and enforcement, to soliciting federal help in initiating a forfeiture.
I suspect that they fear the bad PR of seizing the property of an elderly owner, but the PR they're getting from crying the blues about "Ain't much we can do" is worse.
This warrants "special attention."