Retaliation

[DancingLady]

When I was living with my parents, there was a situation with a neighbor where they had cars coming and going all the time. It looked like they might be selling drugs. We were taking notes to report what was going on, but before we even went to the police with the info, my mom found dead rats in our mailbox. When my dad went to the police, the said they were aware of the house, so we weren't the first to complain about what was going on, but they must have thought we had told on them.

Have any of you had a situation like that? I was afraid to be seen my these people and avoided doing anything in the front yard because of this, I didn't know if they would do anything worse if they thought we were spying on them or something.

 

[admin]

There are 2 ways that criminals tend to react to people they feel have attempted to turn them in. One is they will try to intimidate and retaliate, the other is they will try to cover their tracks. Unfortunately and fortunately criminals are typically not very smart so it is hard to say what you should expect. You should never shy away from reporting any suspicious activity, including finding a dead rat in your mailbox. It is better to have a report and let them know that the police are watching rather than let them think they have intimidated you.

 

[askanison]

Sounds unrelated if you weren't seen actively watching their house. I would start watching and writing down the activity that does go on their just in case though. I wouldn't want a drug house or something like that in my neighborhood where my kids go out and play. You never know what people are going to do now days though so be careful.

 

[Muthoni]

Right now, I am living next to a crazy person who even stands outside my window to listen in on me. There are sick people everywhere; they should not prevent you from enjoying your life. It is important to learn their schedule so that you can avoid them as much as possible. There are some people who feel that they should control how others live; going against them brings out the hostility in them.

 

[Profit5500]

Just keep written and visual evidence of what these people are doing. I would write down everything that you see that is suspicious to the police. Its better to report the activity that you see in front of you then to let things happen that should be reported.

 

[Patrick]

Just keep written and visual evidence of what these people are doing. I would write down everything that you see that is suspicious to the police. Its better to report the activity that you see in front of you then to let things happen that should be reported.

Yeah that's pretty much the most sensible thing to do. If the police say that they will act on it but nothing is done, go up the chain of command until you find a supervisor who will attend to it, given your evidence.

 

[princenyc]

I disagree with most of the advice here. You are not a cop. You said you see suspicious activity. Have you seen anything illegal going on? If not, then maybe you should consider minding your business. Why put yourself and your family in danger? Acting like a private investigator when you are not is not wise.

Let the cops do their job. And if you think they are not doing it then complain. But don't go looking for trouble. You might end up in the mailbox!

 

[DancingLady]

This was some years ago, and I no longer live with my parents. I don't think we were seen watching, but we had a full view of where the cars were parking for these brief visits from the bedroom windows. My dad did take our notes to the police and report what was going on, I think he did mention the rats too. I don't know what was really going on, but they ended up moving out after a while and the new people are fine as far as I know.

 

[Teens In Crisis]

I think it's commendable that you stepped up and reported suspicious activity. You didn't accuse them of anything, simply reported that it might need further investigation. There is nothing wrong with having a sense of responsibility and honor, especially if it's about the neighborhood where you live and those you love live. Those who talk about "minding your own business" and "snitches" often have something going on they could be snitched on about. The truth is, if everyone is doing the right thing, it's a non-issue. You're not a cop, or private investigator, but you are a person who cares and wants their home and community to not fall into a POS like other communities where people sit around and allow bad things to happen. Feel good about yourself, and be careful.

 

[DancingLady]

I am definitely careful. I did report on an upstairs neighbor a few years back when I was living alone in an apartment. I overheard them, drunk, apparently trying to call people to ask for help getting rid of the evidence of an accident they had driving home. They didn't know if they hit a deer or a person... and it sounded like they were saying one of them was hurt or something. Anyway, I did call the police because I was afraid this could be a serious things, but I was definitely scared to do so. Everything turned out fine for me, I don't really know what happened with them though. I stayed quiet with the blinds shut so they wouldn't be able to guess which neighbor called.