Need ideas to deter vandalism

[Planman1954]

Hi all.

I hope everyone had a good weekend. My wife and I had an interesting one. After working off and on through the last month or so on a circular small picket fence at our driveway entrance (me constructing, and my wife painstacking painting base coats and marine varnish on each little picket for 2 days), some fruitcake took the time to take perfect aim for it with his vehicle to smush it to pieces.

Here's a couple of before pictures that I happened to take right after it was finished about a month ago before it was painted and the flower beds put in:







Here's what they looked like Saturday morning when we discoved we'd been vandalised:








My wife put a note on the damaged fence: "Somebody Needs Counseling."

So, here's where you guys come in. I plan on rebuilding the damaged sections later this week. I'm letting the damaged fence remain for a few days so that folks passing by might spark conversation leading to a culprit. But I digress....Anyway, later this week, I'll start to rebuild it. I'm afraid though, as soon as it's back up, the varmit will attack again with his vehicle. So, here's the question:
Any bright ideas to deter/damage any vehicle riding over the new fence? I've pondered exploding paint balls, steel pipe w/concrete behind the fence, Nails sticking in boards facing up (too dangerous for grandkids), etc.... I need help, so that when they hit, they won't be happy with what they've done to THEMSELVES. Vengence...Justice...., not really. I just don't want all the hard work ruined again.

[Jeff]

That really sucks. I think I would be to mad to even type yet. I think I would put some sort of sudden tire deflation system in there.  Around here you have to be careful about putting in any immovable objects as the law is on the perps side should they get hurt.

[doctorb]

I think that I would use some concrete posts instead of wood, painted just like the fence, so that there would be some damage to the car when it went astray.  I don't think that you'd be found liable for any damage.  Concrete posts are used for split rail fencing around here, though not very commonly.  You could pour the concrete into a mold, with the appropriate fittings to make attachment of the horizontal wood pieces quite easy. Another idea would be to use a very heavy concrete planter at each end.  Might look nice and it would definitely do some damage should they try to vandalize it again.  Finally, lots of people use very large rocks in their gardening as well as to prevent cars from driving across their lawns and property.  Place one on each side, just inside or outside the rebuilt fence.  Put a few bushes around it to hide it some, then go home and wait for the loud bang!

Are you sure this was on purpose??  Could it have been a drunk driver out of control?  Any tire tracks to help you identify these kids?

Like Jeff, I would be spitting nails about now.  doctorb

[Planman1954]

Man...right off the bat...perfect idea. I know where some really large rocks are down the road. And YES. It was on purpose. They took their time to take direct aim at one side...lined the car up by backing up a bit to get direct aim at the opposite side. They spun their tires in one area so that they could hit it just right. Thanks for the ideas.

[sandhills]

Have to agree with Jeff, wouldn't be able to type yet, but because you couldn't pry the gun out of my hands.  Try this if you have any in your neighborhood.  Get a section from an old well used drag harrow, flip it over so the teeth are pointing up (if it's old and well used they're razor sharp) and lay it under the fence before you rebuild.  They will flatten all 4 tires immediately. Just let anyone you know that you want driving on your new fence that it's there. ;)  

[Tom]

Yep!  That's vandalism.  It's not far afield from having your mailbox smashed.

Putting damaging stuff in the fence might only put you at fault.  I've thought of traps on my mailbox but know I would have trouble living with having hurt someone.

The one time there was justice done on my place, I wasn't the one who caused it.  The car that was running over mailboxes didn't take into account that there was a culvert under the road at the same place as the culvert under my driveway and the resulting intersection created a deep hole that the county maintained.  The car,apparently, went into the hole with the right front tire and smashed into the end of my culvert.  When I saw it the next morning, the car was gone, but there were cigarette butts (emptied ash tray), a little glass (headlight), and numerous pieces of litter from inside of an unkempt car.  It was obvious that it had rolled up on its side and dumped a lot of stuff out of the windows.

They got my mailbox, but this one cost them.  :D

My most favorite dream has to do with a camera.  I would like to install a camera or two in weather-proof boxes and then arrange some kind of trigger on the fence or mailbox that would set it (them) off.   Lights, for illumination, could be mounted away from the cameras so as not to give away the camera location.   I've not done it because it would be too expensive for my pocket, but I sure dream of it.  :P ;D

The chances are good that the person who did this doesn't even live in your neighborhood.

[sandhills]

Tom, my nephew bought a game camera late this summer that is triggered by motion and also can take night pictures.  The nice thing is it switches to video (not sure how but think it has to do with movement not stopping in a certain time frame) and it not only works well but I think it was rather inexpensive.  If you want I can check on it then you just have to figure out where to mount it so it gets the licence plate in the pictures ;)

[doctorb]

I don't think the camera will work without a lot of effort on your part.  Trail cams can take pictures at night, but you'd have to go through a ton of pics and batteries.  It  might be worth it, just deleting the memory card every week or so.  If these guys knew you had a camera, even if it was locked, it would be gone.  While prices for them have come down in recent years, they still can be pricey.

I don't think that landscaping with rocks can be considered harmful to people.  They are, by themselves, harmless.  Unless you put them in a position to endanger the general public, not just these whack-jobs, I think you are fine.  Doctorb.

[Texas Ranger]

In Texas we have a lot of used 3 and 4 inch drill stem, hollow stuff.  Use them for posts, and then fill with concrete, of course they are set in concrete as well.  Used to be a sport around here to take a baseball bat to mail boxes, till folks started building them out of sheet steel, with drill stem and concrete posts.  One dude showed up at the hospital with a broken wrist, and was told off on by his buddies.

Justice can be sweet, as long as no liability is attached.

[Kcwoodbutcher]

I made a mailbox out of 6" pipe  and a couple of pieces of angle iron. Looks just like the real thing. It's welded to a sch 80 post set in concrete. Over the years there have been splinters on the ground many times indicating someone got a big surprise. I could even see where it's stopped a bullet or two.  The mailman loves it.

[beenthere]

For us in snow country, there are laws that anything in the ROW can't be too solid. Not that stops everyone from putting out some pretty hefty posts and things to protect their property. 

[ely]

hollowpoints are the first thing that comes to mind..... or was it fmj? >:(

[Holmes]

A few boulders 18" to 20" high  should be fine to hold your new fence in place.

[D._Frederick]

It looks like you would have room to dig a ditch in front of the fence and cover it with some 1/4inch plywood strips. Hide it with an inch or two of bark dust. They will need help getting out. 

[Ironwood]

How about spring loaded fence made of steel, would trip over and pop back up, would likely REALLY tick them off, and would look just the same 8) : Each section could automatically trip over. Would be fun!!! Might even get their car stuck on it as well, possibly ripping the bumper/ cowling up :D

Ironwood

[celliott]

My grandfather made a mailbox out of a spruce log with a large burl in it. He carved out the burl and put the box in there. it hasnt been knocked down yet!

[pineywoods]

Bet it was the same low lifes who stole my driveway lights. You need a driveway cam, stop by and I'll show you how...

[Planman1954]

Thanks everybody. Keep um coming...I'm taking notes. 10-4 piney.

[paul case]

if youns catch them see if they happen to have my 2 chainsaws and 3/4'' socket set and magic's torch cart.  we all get to put up with some of those kinda folks now and then.
my advise is to build it back and put up a sign. not that theives and vandalls can read but you may feel better!  pc

[doctorb]

I don't want to change your mind about rebuilding, because you did a really nice job and obviously put a lot of thought and work into it.  Having it taken from you will only steel you further to return it to what you wanted in the first place.

But...every time I do a nice project with fencing, it takes me more time to mow and trim around it.  Why not extend the bed to where the fence was placed and put a row of ornamental grasses.  They serve the same visual purpose as the fence, take minimal effort on your part, you can mow right up to them, which decreases your work, and they look great.  I am not a landscape architect, but I think it would have the same effect you created with the fence.  It's unlikely your vandals will get much pleasure mowing down some tassled grass.  Just a thought.  Doctorb

[terrifictimbersllc]

Too bad, sorry for your loss.   Is it possible it was an accident?  Did you find the tread...was it a truck?   This would have damaged a vehicle somewhat I think.  You might be able to spot your paint or some splinters on the likely suspect.

[Woodwalker]

Rebuild it, paint it and leave a couple gallons of cheap paint setting on the top rail behind the pickets. With any luck, the next time they run over the fence, it will be with enough force to send the cans airborne and knock the lids off the paint cans and deposit some evidence on the vehicle.  
My folks had a mail box that had been mounted on a piece of drill stem, which in turn was welded to an old truck rim which was buried just below ground line. One Christmas morning (of all times) some guys decided to run over mail boxes along our road. Big old truck with a cow catching bumper, everything was going fine for them they till they hit Dad's box at about 35MPH. Mailbox laid over, buried truck rim flipped up and caused quite a bit of damage  to the under carriage and brake lines of the truck. Postal Carrier got in the act, think there was 6-8 boxes damaged by these guys, charges got filed.
I'm not much for shooting some misguided soul over something like this, but there is a lot be to said for a good old fashion a$$ whupping.

[ely]

i wouldnt shoot an individual over a vandalism like this but i would without hesatation make certain they did not drive that mode of transportation any longer.

[David Freed]

The steel pipe on a truck rim sounds to me like the best chance of disabling a vehicle with the least chance of injury to vehicle occupants or pedestrians.

[Coon]

I vote for putting up an infrared game cam.  For mine I have an external 12 volt battery that the camera runs off of and in any case the battery gets disconnected the 4 "C or D" batteries (can't remember which) automatically take over.  Just last week when I checked my memory card I caught a perp red handed on video with some stuff that he had taken.  I put the video from the memory card onto a dvd and took it to the police and gave them a statement.  The police came to my place and looked at my system and where I had it stationed.  The lone guy has been charged and been caught with other stolen property  as well.  The key to the camera setup is to put it where it will be undetected by vandals.  I put mine up on the side of my purple martin condo unit which is on a tall steel pole.  The pole has a hinge system that I lock with a padlock.  I have the camera taken down right now for deer season but will be going back up shortly there after.  I need to invest in a few more of these systems to rent out.  I keep getting asked if I could put it up in such and such a place and catch vandals and thieves.   :

  When I bought my game cam system the place that I bought it from sold it to me with a written bill of sale as a security system so I could write it off for tax and insurance purposes.  It really helps to know people.  ;)  ;D

Brad.

[Chuck White]

I believe the camera is the answer.

Pictures are admissible in court.

I've been thinking of getting one to hide near my sawmill when I'm out on mobile saw-jobs.

[Planman1954]

After listening for 2 days to many different great ideas, I plan on going the path of least work for most effect. Number one, I'll consult piney about setting up a webcam. Number two, I plan on using the concrete post idea:
Build back the fence as it was, but add 4 concrete posts ...2 on each side spaced between the old existing posts...to appear as additional support posts. But they will not be attached to the fence. They will basically be obstacles to driving over the fence. I'll dig a hole about 24" deep, and probably about 12" diameter. I'll then set a 4" PVC pipe in the middle of it, and cut the top off the pipe flush with the top of the pickets. I'll then drive 2 of the metal fence posts we use around here for reinforcement down through the middle of the pipe into the bottom of the footing. That will keep the pipe vertical enough to then pour concrete into the hole and then in to the pipe to the top. I'll let it dry for a day, and then paint the PVC pipe the color of the fence and put a little dirt over the top of the concrete footing. The fence will look exactly the same from the road (the pipe will be behind and flush to the pickets) and if the perp does the same thing, he will have an obstacle under his vehicle. Anyway, that's the plan. easy to do...but I think it will be very effective.  Thanks everybody...I'll update probably next week with a new pic.

[Banjo picker]

For us in snow country, there are laws that anything in the ROW can't be too solid. Not that stops everyone from putting out some pretty hefty posts and things to protect their property. 

I'm a long way from snow country, but even in Mississippi we have laws governing what can be on the ROW...Tim

[rbhunter]

Years ago a city worker for a small town in Kansas got tired of replacing a stop sign that someone with a four wheel drive enjoyed running over. He buried a board with nails in front of the sign. The next day the sign was knocked down. He picked up the board and noticed a four wheel drive with four flat tires. He put the sign back up and had no more problems.

[IMERC]

piking come to mind.....

[doctorb]

I know some vandals like to get under the same person's skin by returning over and over again to the same scene of the crime, but not all do.  What makes you think they will be back to torment you again?  Do you have even a glimmer of insight into who they may be?  Is it possible that somehow, somewhere, you ticked off some adolescent personality in your life?  In other words, is this act random or is this act personal?  Any thoughs?  Doctorb

[Randy88]

I know guys who tried the camera idea but unless they get out of the vehicle and can give a positive id of the driver it didn't hold up in court and all you could do was know the vehicle, one even had the driver on camera but it still wasn't enough for a positive id in court due to low lighting and poor weather conditions so it was a high priced idea that was useless for any compensation.   I'm not sure but maybe our legal system works harder to help the vandels and thieves and not the victim but thats just my idea of our legal system.    I'd go for the large rocks behind the fence so the fence obsecured them and coulnd't be seen and if anyone asked in court I'd play dumb and say mother nature put them there and I got tired of looking at them so I put up a fence so I didn't have to see them, instead of making something man made and that theres no doubt you'd be legal for.   Anyway what are the laws pertaining to the fence in your state, around here no criminal is really liable for the damage due to it being public property and only if they get the mailbox is that a legal problem, you don't have the right away ultil it enters your propety line which is further away from the road, you pay taxes to the road but you don't own that property until it gets to your property line and so many feet from the center line of the road, another legal debackle in my opinon but that hasn't done me any good yet and never will argueing with the county and state but I was curious as to where it was in reationship to your property line. 

[Bruce_A]

I would reinforce the posts with either steel post driven below the top of the wood post or screed pins set in upside  down alongside the posts.  Either will have the desired effect.

[Planman1954]

Doctorb: This is IMO a random act of vandalism by local teenagers..Nope, I didn't make anybody mad. I just work hard with my hands and try to improve our place...I'm on a 5 year plan.  The night after this happened, we had 10-12 cars/trucks drive by to go down the road and congregate to party at a bonfire they built next to a gas pumping station (I'm not kidding). It was probably one of them the night before that decided to do a random act to just be mean.
Bruce_A: Read my earlier post...I think I'm about to do exactly what you suggest, except I have some leftover 4" PVC sewer pipe I'm going to use with metal fence posts in the center for reif. and concrete.
Randy88: I own the entire area that we're talking about. In this area, the property lines run through the center of the road. There is not a dedicated ROW that the parish owns.

[Randy88]

If your dealing with teens and alcohol maybe your on a spiral downhill and all your doing is creating a challenge for them to figure out how to destroy, egged on with booze and braindead friends who create stupid ideas to do.   Around here its steling vehicles and totalling them out or wrecking them to the point of the vehicle won't move anymore and go steal another one and do it again, the most stolen vehicles and wrecked in one night without getting caught wins, thats no bull, its whats going on around here, they've even graduated to stealing 18 wheelers and wrecking them at night now.   

I understand its your property and you want to do improvements so it looks nice, which it does, but maybe hold off on the improvements until things cool down or do improvements that are more protected away from the road.   I fully understand your upset and that would be a mild understatment if it were mine but all the work you put in it if they do it again how upset will you be then?    I'd not give up by any means but I'd do something else instead and once these kids get older they'll move onto bigger and better things and hopefully someone elses's stuff to destroy instead of yours.   If your dealing with adults or the kids that never grew up and left home and still meet and have beer parties like they are still in school, then your in for a long wait.   I"d try to figure out who these are that are having parties and how old they are and where they are from and do some homework first before redoing my improvement projects to figure out how dense of poeple your dealing with that are vandalizing your property, its not so important exactly who, more like which crowd or group and go from there.    If your on a five year plan, maybe the timing is more important than the perticular project date, say for example, the same project in two years from now instead of today kind of thing.    Just my opinon though take it for what its worth.   

[Planman1954]

You have some great points Randy...thanks.

[DanG]

If they come back for another bonfire, call the Sheriff.  They take a pretty dim view of underage drinking, especially where vehicles are involved.  It should at least cause them to find a new party site.

[gary]

 


I saw this one a hunting forum that I belong to. I thought it might help some of you who are trying to hide trail cams. He has hiden his trail cam in the bird house.

[Magicman]

Thank you Gary for a wonderful idea.  That and an infrared trail camera will provide the surveillance that I need around my cabin that was broken into.  I was hesitant to install those expensive infrared trail cameras for fear of them being stolen also.

[gary]

All you need to do is put up a few other empty ones and it is hidden.

[Bruce_A]

Doctorb: This is IMO a random act of vandalism by local teenagers..Nope, I didn't make anybody mad. I just work hard with my hands and try to improve our place...I'm on a 5 year plan.  The night after this happened, we had 10-12 cars/trucks drive by to go down the road and congregate to party at a bonfire they built next to a gas pumping station (I'm not kidding). It was probably one of them the night before that decided to do a random act to just be mean.
Bruce_A: Read my earlier post...I think I'm about to do exactly what you suggest, except I have some leftover 4" PVC sewer pipe I'm going to use with metal fence posts in the center for reif. and concrete.
Randy88: I own the entire area that we're talking about. In this area, the property lines run through the center of the road. There is not a dedicated ROW that the parish owns.

What I was suggesting will rip tires up and not cost a fortune while still doing the job.

[Banjo picker]

I saw this one a hunting forum that I belong to. I thought it might help some of you who are trying to hide trail cams. He has hiden his trail cam in the bird house.

If I saw a bird house with two holes in it , I would probably check it out real close like...Tim

[IMERC]

build it as a two story house... or a quadplex...

at night, would you easily spot those two holes...

[gary]

If you put it in with a few other bird houses your average scumbag is not even going to look at it.

[IMERC]

use heavily knotted woods.... make them all look like they have multiple holes...

[DanG]

You could put a CBS News crew out there with a satellite truck and a drunk vandal wouldn't notice it. :

[Buck]

I would definitely build it out of material that could endure the impact.  I have plans to use a piece of r/r track for a mailbox post. My damages are due to truck traffic leading into the papermill next door. I have a neighbor that made a crude homemade spike system due to constant tresspassing issues. He got the subjects and even a sheriff deputy and even stood them all(including the sheriff) off because they had no business on his property. Something like this would work well behind that fence. Im suspicious that your vandals probably have a vehicle that has a good bumper. They cant protect those tires. Dirtbags like that deserves a setup!

[Magicman]

You gotta be careful when/if you build a trap.  Even on your own property, if someone actually gets hurt, you could have to defend your actions.   :-\

[Nate Surveyor]

I like the rocks. I like the tire rim, with big pipe, that tips over, pinning the vehhicle. I like the hidden trail cam. I like the tire spikes. I generally like the idea of stopping vandals.
If you use all the above, well maybe you would wind up with some good pics of the perp, as he/she/it will have to exit the vehicle, to investigate, and try to remove the vehicle.
We all like pics, and success stories. So...... share them if you get them!!



Nate

[Buck]

Those big rocks are a real good idea.

[Randy88]

I've been sitting here reading over some of the replies and I have just a few questions, not trying to be critical here or anything but lets say you install all these measures and go to the expense of it all and time involved and actually get a picture of the vandals and if your really lucky and can identify them from the picture and the law is on your side, which is doubtfull but lets say they are, you still need to take them to court to get any compensaiton out of them and you still need to win in court to collect, which is even more doubtfull and up until then what did you gain?    Other than to provoke a lowlife who doesn't care about anything in the first place, least of all your property and now gave him or her an issue to resolve with you due to the fact he or she knows you destroyed thier property and they'll want to get even with you?

I've gone down this road myself before several times and the only thing I ever accomplished was to pith off a lowlife and put anger on thier side to do more damage to my property than I did to theirs.  If your viewing this as a need to get even or to take someone down for the damage or to do more damage the next time to thier property than they did to yours, I think your looking at it all wrong, if you even think for a minute it'll deter them I'm afraid your sorrowfully mistaken, it'll only highten the acts of vandalism by the one whos vehicle you do damage to.    Now think again this whole idea of getting even, it reminds me of a story that actualy happened to a businessman I did business with up unitl he died a few years ago, he was a tire dealer who sold ag, tractor, truck and car tires and was having problems with thieves stealing his tires from behind his house so he'd sit out there and wait and try to stop them and gave the idea up and decided to put a few tires out as bait to attact the thieves so they were more covient than haivng to break in all the time to steal them and beside the tires he put a double barrel shotgun with the hammers cocked and a string tied to the hammers and across the opening that the thieves used to get into his place to steal the tires and aimed the shotgun at the opening, the next morning his good neighbor stopped by to tell him that if his boy would have been along with him when he went by they would have went out and picked up the tires and brought them into the yard for him so nobody stole them from him but he knew they were too heavy for him to carry by himself so he left them alone and hoped nobody stole them and wanted to stop by to tell him he must have left them out by mistake and to put them away so noone stole them.     This stopped the guy in his tracks and he ran out and took the shotgun down and never put it up again, he almost shot his good neighbor who would have been trying to help him by going to retrieve the tires so noone stole them, he told me personally to never let vengence cloud your vision because the one who might get hurt might be someone totally innocent and only trying to help you out.   

I'm not saying it would ever happen but what would you do if a friend got injured or his vehicle got destroyed if he had an accident in front of your place and he was never the one whom you set out to get even with in the first place?     I'm not saying your right or wrong, its your property and others should respect it, but I"m seeing two things happening here, one, you'll set off a total jerk whos hell bent on getting even with you or two, you'll do damage or harm to someone totally innocent of anything but having an accident in front of your property.   In either case I'm not seeing where you win, all your going to do is spend a lot of time and money and effort to either spend a lot more of all the before mentioned or feel really bad someone innocent got hurt and your to blame and you'll know it.

I'm certainly not a very religious person and all can offer is something I've learned from my own personal experience and how I should have done things after the fact, if I were you I'd turn the other cheek and improve your property elsewhere with other improvements and let this one go for now and work behind the scenes to figure out who might have done it and go from there, you might be grabbing a rattlesnake by the tail without even knowing what kind of snake you've got a hold of.    There was a farmer not far from me who went to evict some tresspassers from his property he saw walkng across his farm and they shot him in the head to get his pickup, they knew if they were on the road nobody would come and confront them but if they were on personall property someone would come to kick them off and they'd have the opertunity to get a vehicle, any owner would be upset enough to go personally throw them off instead of calling the police and they knew it and thats how they got vehicles instead of trying to break in and hot wire them, most didn't resist and this guy did so they shot him in the head and killled him, all for a rusted out old pickup truck and someone waliking across his land, maybe think about it awhile first before implementing any deterrents and rebuilding a fence.    Not trying to preach just planting some seeds of things to think about, llike I should have done a lot of times instead of what I did do.   

[WH_Conley]

I have been following this thread and agree that I would be very PO'ed, I also have to agree with Randy completely. I personally would gamble on the escalation, but, be afraid an innocent would get caught in the cross fire. Obviously, you would be the one to have that on your conscious, the other guy wouldn't care, or he would not have destroyed something somebody worked at to start with.

[js2743]

be nice to just nail it together with some extra long nails like 3 inch finish nails in every piece. let them stick out the front he might not be sitting there the next morning but i almost bet you could find him at a tire center getting some plugs installed in his tires the next day.

[ScottAR]

Drive some rebar "helpers" next to the posts and maybe mid span of the rails to "keep the fence straight"

[Planman1954]

Wow Randy....long post...but thoughtful! Remember the last thing I said on the original post: "vengence, justice, not really." I am not wanting to get even. I just don't want the repaired fence to be destroyed again. I'll be back out there fixing it soon. I took down the damaged section a couple of days ago. I don't want to keep fixing it, and it WILL be put back. The curved fence was a dream of my wife, and my job is for her to be happy.
As a Christian, I leave vengence to God. Your points are right on, and I do appreciate them. I thought it might be a lesson for the perpetrator to have problems themselves while delivering a hateful act. It might give pause as a life lesson...who knows. That's all.

[Nate Surveyor]

I sometimes think it is the Christian thing to do, to set traps for vandals. Not to kill them, mind you, but to supply them with the little spankin they apparently missed as kids, for their lawlessness. In fact, it is your Christian responsibility to do it, sometimes. Part of your job, as in Love your neighbor as yourself.

Pray about it.

I don't take this position ALL the time, but, some of the time, turning the other cheek is sin.

Do research on sexual predators. Simple vandalism, is a STEP towards more crime. It is better to stop them in little crime, than to let them become full blown criminals.

I like the rule of good law.

I got a DWI when a teenager. Best thing in the world for me.

Maybe you could do the guy a favor! (and all the rest of us too) We live in a way too permissive society. Our youth are headed down the wrong road, and if you stop one, well, you have done them good.


N

[Woodwalker]

Pray about it.
I don't take this position ALL the time, but, some of the time, turning the other cheek is sin.
Maybe you could do the guy a favor! (and all the rest of us too) We live in a way too permissive society. Our youth are headed down the wrong road, and if you stop one, well, you have done them good.
N

Agreed.

[Randy88]

If vengence isn't the motive, then I wouldn't worry about how to deter vandels at all, just rebuild it like it was and hope for the best, it may have been a case of an accident and and the one doing it was just plain ashamed or scared of getting into trouble and didn't want to come forward.   You might be going to a lot of trouble for nothing in trying to protect or deter someone who's not really trying to do harm, no matter what you do or how you do it in rebuilding the fence or how you go about attempting to deter anything if it happens again, damage was still done and the more you implement something the more work later to redo it, if your not after actually catching them then why worry about a camera or anything like that.    Nothing might ever happen to your fence again, I guess thats my idea of trying to figure out who might be behind it and why it was done the first go around, if you think it was kids and your creating a challenge for them anything you do will be pointless for now, if it was just an accident and the one who did it was afraid to come forward you may never have problems again.   
   

As for the christian thing to do is catch them before it escallates, I guess I'd never looked at it like that before, maybe your right, maybe it is our duty to correct others wrongs, but I'm not seeing it on my end, I've traveled down that road as well and the ones doing it were not looking to be saved, for that matter I think they thrived on someone spending time and effort trying to figure out who they were and prove what they had done, again creating a challenge to be outdone or up the anite of boldness and to outsmart the victim.   I'd opt for turnig it over to the authorities and letting them handle it and just rebuild the fence the second time as done the same way as the first and see what happens the next go around, you might be planning on a act of vandalism and its just a case of an accident and nothing more and your reading more into it that it is, but again its just an opinion.