s/o Have you ever called law enforcement re unsupervised children?

[Tess in the Burbs]

Yes I have. Teen girl and the current boyfriend were fighting, then another showed up to fight, then the mom tried to stop it and mom got punched. It was 11pm and outside my window and loud. I was worried about someone getting hurt.

 

Many of us did once for siblings who were setting fires next to our houses.

 

It's a parental problem but since parents don't like being advised ;-) we just call the police to help out

[LMA]

I just called the police after waiting and dealing with their nonsence after two years! These children in my neighborhood are currently 11 and 12 years old. There are two main trouble-makers, the 12 year old girl, and an 11 year old boy. It all started when they were throwing rocks in my driveway and my mother saw them and told them to stop. They didn't think they were doing anything wrong, one of the mother's came out of her house, and started yelling at my mom. (My mother is 80.) Ever since then they don't have any boundaries, they yell at my mom, yelling "old lady", run through my yard yelling, screaming, and cursing, making obsene gesures, not to mention weaving in and out of traffic on the roads on their scooters. I would love to get a fence, but the surveying and actual fence is going to cost thousands of dollars. That still won't help what goes on in the front yards anyway, and I can still hear the yelling and cursing whevever they're out. I had it on Saturday when I looked out my window to see what the yellling was about. The girl saw me looking out the window and started yelling and screaming at me! I called the police, but of course by the time they got here the neighbohood was quiet. They took down all my information, looked at the 2 years worth of dates I wrote down when they yelled at my mom, started making a fort on my property underneath bushes, making gestures at me, etc. They said I should have called before, but I didn't want to be the "bad" neighbor. Nothing was done, but I have so had it being a prisoner in my home and worrying about my mom all the time, I will not hesitate to call again. I've lost sleep over this and don't know what to do anymore. It's terrible when you pray for rain so the kids will just stay inside. They are going to be bored out of their minds this summer, and summer's just started!!

 

 

Videotape the children with a recording device - phone, ipod, camera, camcorder, etc., every time you catch them in the act. Make a video log. Send it to the police station. I had a friend do this. Every time the children down the street came down to her house to throw rocks, she just calmly stepped out onto the front steps and started recording them. Even if the rocks were aimed at her. Even if they were calling her names. They loved to be taped actually. The police were able to talk to the parents with the video evidence.

[Guest annemtg]

I actually thought about videotaping and tried to, but I thought it was illegal to videotape children? But I guess that's the only way to prove they are harassing my family and to show the police. Thanks.

[PeacefulChaos]

No, I haven't, and I don't think I would, honestly.

I guess it depends on the circumstance - but what I think when I see 'unsupervised children' is children outside by themselves. Is that it? Then no way. Our whole neighborhood is made up of children who love to be outside by themselves. (a total of 8 from 3 houses, to be exact).

If I were to call the police for unsupervised children, I would figure that someone would call the police on my children (the oldest two - I don't let them outside unsupervised until around age 6, so Pink doesn't get to go out with them), since they are outside playing in our & the neighbors' yard all hours of the day... :blink: I just don't get it.

 

ETA (I posted too quick! lol)

(I also played outside unsupervised growing up - ALL THE TIME. When we were middle school age, we roamed up and down the street a lot.)

If you are referring to destructive behavior, I could see talking to the parents. My kids have wandered places they aren't supposed to (a friend's house, but the friend doesn't live there anymore and the landlord saw them there and got upset - he came to talk to me about it). It didn't bother me that he came to me, he also went to the neighbors' since their boys were there, too. It wasn't a big deal. Of course then they apparently decided to go BACK over there today, were caught by the neighbors' mom, and I told them that I wouldn't blame the landlord if he calls the police next time. :lol: Pretty sure they won't go back... :p

[Sasharowan]

The only time we called the police was for an under 2yo wandering unsupervised. We live on the corner of a busy street and the main feeder road into the neighborhood. She came walking down the sidewalk and nearly into the intersection after dark. We had never seen her before, no idea where she belonged nor could she tell us. So we called the police. She ended up coming from about a block down the busy road. Dad left to walk to the store and mom was washing dishes. Each thought she was with the other and she slipped out to follow dad who thought she was staying home with mom. Haven't seen them since, so I assume communications improved.

[Anne in CA]

I have not called to cops on unsupervised children, but some of these threads hit home for me because none of the unsupervised children I would have called on in my neighborhood have turned out well. I worked for a man who had been a police officer for many years. He told an awful story about seeing a young boy riding his bicycle every night when a child with good parents would have been in bed. My boss had worried about this kid for months when he and his partner were summoned to an apartment building because neighbors were worried about some noises coming from an apartment. The bike riding boy had been stuffed into a garbage bag. My boss lost it and decked the mom who had done it. Of course she sued him. His partner lied for him on the stand and said she had interfered with their recovery of the boy in the garbage bag. So the jury believed the two cops who told the same story over the mother who kicked her kid out of the house every night and stuffed him into a garbage bag. Yes, the boy lived, and no, my boss should not have hit her. He quit the police force soon after that. He did not feel he was helping people, which is what he had joined the force to do. So I am not sympathetic to free range parents.

[Alexigail]

So I am not sympathetic to free range parents.

 

 

I'm not really a "free range" parent myself, but that's not what this was.

 

I'm sorry for everyone in that situation.

[PeacefulChaos]

I'm not really a "free range" parent myself, but that's not what this was.

 

I'm sorry for everyone in that situation.

 

:iagree:

Though I am more free range than most I see. I find it a little bit offensive that someone equates free range parenting with child abuse/stuffing a kid into a garbage bag. :confused: