Someone ripped up the plant S . a neighbor?

Jessica Seymour recently renewed a twoyear lease on her home. As part of the agreement, she asked for some grass seed to get the front lawn up to par. Unfortunately, Seymour believes a neighbor did not take kindly

The Victim: Jessica Seymour

The Crime: Theft

Date: Tuesday, June 25

Southwest Patrol Division says a “run-in” with a neighbor can be as simple as a personality conflict or as serious as a suspicion of drug activity. Knowing when to contact the police about problems with neighbors can be quite a dilemma.

“There are several questions to ask yourself in order to make a decision on how to address a problem in the neighborhood,” she says. “Is this a quality-of-life issue or a criminal violation?”

Time: Between 8:30 a.m. and 9:45 a.m.

Location: 1000 block of Oak Cliff to her new green yard. She believes a woman in the neighborhood began targeting her property for some reason. That included ripping up some of her plants from the flowerbed. A few days earlier, she also had her tires slashed at her home. Both times she called the police, who also spoke with the neighbor and even issued a citation and warning, Seymour says. The neighbor warned Seymour to “stay away from her man,” she says, and threatened and cursed at her in front of her children. The words from the neighbor seemed completely absurd.

“There have been all kinds of strange things happening on this street,” she says. “This all came out of nowhere. Now I just ignore her.”

There have been other recent crimes in the neighborhood as well. Seymour says a home across the street was burglarized. Also, at the barbershop behind her home, a man was beaten up, and then jumped her fence and ran through her yard.

Quality-of-life issues could include violations of city code (high grass, parking violations, abandoned or unsecured residences) and safety concerns for children in the neighborhood (kids playing in the street, on vacant lots with hazards or on construction sites).

Hughbanks says that if the neighbor is approachable and open-minded, you may want to speak with him or her regarding your concern. If not or you don’t know the neighbor well, she recommends calling 3-11 to determine what department within the city should handle the complaint.

If the issue is a suspected criminal activity, Hughbanks recommends calling the local substation and speaking with the Neighborhood Policing Office to see what they can do to help with anything from loud music to suspected drug or other criminal activity. The more detailed and descriptive the complaint is, the better. Callers can request to remain anonymous.

If a neighbor chooses to retaliate, Hughbanks says, it is a criminal offense, and residents need to document all actions accurately with dates and details to help officers investigate effectively.

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