Wow has this thread received alot of attention LOL- Let me give you my 2 cents worth-
We live in the inner city up in Erie Pa, small town, but has its problems like everywhere else. When we bought our place, there were a ton of mid to late teens, all delinquents for the most part. Now mind you, it helped that my husband's occupation was in running juv. delinquent group homes, cause I'm sure that had an impact on how the kids thought about what they could get away with. BUT I think even more important is that we made some very strong efforts to treat the kids with respect and to get along with them. Now mind you, we did not invite them in to tea LOL, but we showed curtesy and respect.
I can tell you, we are the only house in the neighborhood that has not had some type of problem in 18 years, so I'd say it worked. My kids are now at the mid to late teen age and I can tell you they are on such a short rope of what they can and cannot do that they are ready to run away from home sometimes LOL, but at least they are not the problem children in the neighborhood for this season.
Sorry about the vandelism that happened Pyro, I know it is upsetting and makes you angry. I do advise instead of treating the kids poorly because of it, try a bit of friendship when you see them. They can be more protectors than problems in the future.