Helpless

[HelloGail]

I don't know where to start, I can't ring Lifeline.  I rang waiting for the police to come but as I was so stressed the person listening to me grew angry with me telling me to listen! I felt he wasn't listening to me but just wanted to tell me what he thought. I could not believe I was arguing with the Lifeline person at end of the phone, I  apologised when I signed off, I am just in shock this had happened, gas meter tampered with. My worries (anxiety/hurt) started last Thursday, early morning: When I stepped out from my front door at 6:30am for my regular walk, I noticed a neighbour aged 80 seated outside in his courtyard (we live in a social housing complex) rolling his tobacco cigarette as usual. Sometimes I use to wave to him if he had his head up this was before the troubles started. When I arrived back from my 6:30am walk at 7:30am my three (3) large beautiful Sunflower bushes were missing, what was left were half the stems, sliced, sticking up from the garden bed. It was that neighbour, he came out with it and said he threw them in the bin. Yesterday, 2 days later, Saturday, after arriving home from my walk, my large bird bath was gone. And tonight Sunday, as I was preparing to have a shower, I heard him outside near my bathroom. I waited until he passed on his usual walk around the complex. I eventually was ready and I turned on the shower. No hot water. Long story, at 9:30pm, Jemena Gas Company said someone had turned it off. So they guided me over the phone to turn the lever to vertical position as apparently it is supposed to be. I rang the police but they refuse to come. I rang 000 at 9:38pm and again 10:20pm to ask if they were coming but they just rang me at 12:30 after midnight telling me  that it is a civil matter and that you have the gas back on now so you should be okay. I replied, yes but behaviour of this man. I am afraid of him. I forgot to mention week my windscreen on my car has a circular scratch. We have a car park for tenants only. All these things in one week. He hassles me in the garden told me to stop gardening. A lot has happened but I have no where to go, this man has scratched my car, slashed my flowers, stolen my birdbath and tonight turned off my gas meter but still the police refuse to come and speak with him. The police returned the bird bath after this tenant gave it to them. Am I left to live in fear since the police refuse to protect me. I cannot sleep tonight. 

[white knight]

Hi, welcome

Certainly I think you are justified for being concerned and violated however as your neighbour is 80yo his age plus his actions (which dont appear to be violent), lets say annoying, inappropriate and interfering it's little wonder the police didnt attend.

Technically his destruction of your flowers is illegal and he admitted he was the person that did it. IMO that is enough for the police to attend and nip in the bud any future plans he had. 

In terms of evidence that law enforcement rely your other neighbour returned the bird bath and indicated he was the culprit. That's evidence. With the gas turned off the police might not feel enough evidence from just hearing him in the vicinity of the turned lever. Unfortunately it's illegal to lock a gas lever in the "on" position. You understand where I'm coming from - a legal perspective. Unfortunately being afraid of a neighbour isnt enough sadly, for them to attend. Your windscreen would also be an assumption without evidence. This is why people have to go to the trouble of installing miniature cameras to gain the evidence they need.

I'm sorry I have had to point out the need of evidence but this is how police have to operate otherwise they could be focussed on the wrong person with some of this damage. Imagine if they charged him with wilfull damage of your windscreen for example and some teenager did it for retaliation for some other reason. Hence their operations are strictly on law, however if you persist on ringing the police and ask them to talk firmly to the old man then he could be spooked enough to stop his activities.

I'd also talk to others nearby for them to keep an eye out as witnesses are good for statements if needed.

I hope you are ok, it would cause anxiety.

TonyWK

[HelloGail]

Hi Tony WK Thank you for your understanding and wise words re evidence. Well, I thought maybe it wouldn't happen again but it has, 7:50pm no hot water, this time I knew where to look and the valve handle had been moved to horizontal position again. This time the Police did come but the man's wife spoke to the Police. I told the Police it is her husband that admitted to slashing my sunflowers and taking my bird bath whom police returned for me. I said he is hiding behind his wife. They promised to go back to the unit and ask to speak to the man. The police were short tempered with me which didn't help. I guess they were stressed as well. Social housing knows about this problem but when they find out tomorrow that it has happened again hopefully they can counsel him to encourage him to let me be. I don't have any hope though. I don't know what next he may do as since last Wednesday my car has a circular squiggly scratches on drivers side windscreen in our rear parking bay, my sunflowers slashed & binned, bird bath taken, now 2 nights my gas has been turned off manually. Jemina said there are no gas outages only caused by the lever being pushed upwards off.