Make the call. Howell officials are urging residents in the Ramtown section of Howell to let police know of any problems they encounter so there is a record of any criminal activity.

Several residents of Ramtown came to a recent Howell Township Council meeting to ask for help in dealing with a number of incidents, including slashed tires, car breakins, men drinking beer openly on neighborhood streets, an assault and vandalism.

“They are coming from outside of our neighborhood,” said Adrienne Harold. “These are not kids who have a sofa in the woods. I’m not concerned about those kids.”

Councilwoman Pauline Smith said that reporting any suspicious activity to police could prevent problems from escalating.

“Make the phone call,” Smith said. “It’s your privilege and your duty. And don’t forget, if someone is on your property, that’s trespassing. It’s against the law.”

Resident David Gusk said he did not attend the council meeting to “bash” the township, but to let officials know what is going on.

“It’s getting to be a serious problem,” he said. “We had an assault, a few house burglaries, a few cars broken into. I’ve actually observed numerous people going into my cars. It’s a major problem.”

Gusk said many of the people who are causing the problems are not juveniles.

“A lot of them are young adults,” he said. “They walk up and down the block with beer cans in their hands. I’m just here to ask for some help. Maybe we can get a little more police presence.”

Township Manager Helene Schlegel told Gusk that Howell Police Chief Ronald T. Carter had already increased patrols in Ramtown.

“Not true,” Gusk replied.

“Sir, that’s not fair,” Mayor Robert F. Walsh said.

When residents call police about problems, the report is documented, Schlegel said.

“It needs to be documented,” Schlegel said. “They need to know. Every call that comes into the police department is documented.”

Schlegel said police have found no evidence that people are living in the woods in this area of Howell, as had been reported in online forums.

“There is no tent city in the woods,” she said. “The detectives walked all of the trails. There was only one area of debris. It’s an area where juveniles hang out. There was absolutely no evidence of any narcotics. We went through the [police] reports from the beginning of July through August. There was not one call to the police department in regard to that [people living in the woods].”

Councilman William Gotto, who lives in Ramtown, said police patrols have been stepped up since residents began e-mailing one another.

“I live here,” Gotto said. “I do know there is a police presence. I think they do a good job.”

One resident said her nephew was the person who had been assaulted a few weeks ago.

“I was the one who sent out e-mails to people to make them aware of what happened, not to spread fear,” she told the council. “We need to be aware that Ramtown may be joining the rest of the world, and crime may be coming in here, and we are not reporting it.”

Harold, one of the residents who spoke, asked if some type of neighborhood watch program could be set up.

Schlegel agreed to have a meeting later this month when Sgt. Chris Hill is available. Gotto will be the council’s liaison at the meeting, she said.

Harold said she had heard Hill speak recently about how to detect the presence of gang activity in a neighborhood. One of the clues was boots or shoes thrown on a telephone pole or electrical wire, she said.

“That is an identifier,” Schlegel said. “It is also something juveniles do. There is no evidence of illegal narcotics. I think if there was extreme gang activity or there was extreme drug use, I have full confidence in the police department that we would be aware of it. And the police department has no evidence of that.”