wwyd?

[mtemm]

my dh was travelling for business this week. the first night he was away, I was taking my twins up to bed and glanced outside and there was a person I have never seen before standing across the street. just standing there. not someone from the neighborhood. I live in a very quiet subdivision, so not like a busy neighborhood/city street where foot traffic other than residents occurs.

I tucked the twins in, did a few things, looked outside. person is still just standing there. I watch for a while. they have a magazine in their hand that they wave around occasionally (not reading it, not fanning with it, just random waving).

I'm a little wary when dh isn't here as it is, which probably put me a bit on my guard. at the same time, I didn't do anything.

after about a half hour, person wandered away down the street and I didn't see them again. other than take a picture of them out my window.

I told dh about it when he got home last night and he was really upset that I didn't call the police.

I'll admit that I had a gut reaction when this originally happened that something was not right. I think that is why I took the picture. but logically I couldn't say anything was really wrong...it was just strange and out of place for my neighborhood. no crimes were commited that I could see, etc.

I still would not call the police if the same thing happened.

I did, however, almost call my neighbor and ask him to go ask the person if they were looking for someone/needed help/whatever. and think I would go that route if I had a do-over.

wwyd?

 

[Liberty Belle]

I would not call the police, but I'm sure it would be ok to do that. They always tell you to follow your instinct and don't mind if you call.

I probably would have just kept watching him and assumed he was either waiting for someone or trying to get someone's attention in a house near your's. Actually, I might have assumed he had special needs, but that's most likely because I work with kids with special needs!

 

[NMAmy]

I understand being cautious but it's not illegal to stand on a public street even in a quiet subdivision. I wouldn't call the cops.

 

[chipscamping buddy]

Having worked with the local police on a volunteer basis, I would definitely make the call. For a person hanging out on a street at night they would likely have sent a drive by, maybe offered to help them if they were lost, basically just being seen to be watching. If it is something innocent, no harm done, but this could be anything from staking out houses and checking to see if the police drive by, or even a lookout for some guys breaking in two doors down. With them waving the magazine around, it would seem to me that they were signalling someone, which is rarely a positive thing.

I would call the police at this point still and give them the picture. You might not be aware of an investigation going on, but if something has/will happen, that picture could put them looking in a direction quickly.

 

[*BTMRR*]

I understand being cautious but it's not illegal to stand on a public street even in a quiet subdivision. I wouldn't call the cops.

No, it's not illegal, but a lot of what happens before a crime takes place is not illegal--just suspicious. The police can't come out and arrest someone for standing there, but they sure can come by and take a look and see if the person is someone they recognize from similar calls, they can help if the person needs help, they can possibly deter a crime just by making their presence known.
I would have called the police and let them know what was going on.

 

[allison443]

my dh was travelling for business this week. the first night he was away, I was taking my twins up to bed and glanced outside and there was a person I have never seen before standing across the street. just standing there. not someone from the neighborhood. I live in a very quiet subdivision, so not like a busy neighborhood/city street where foot traffic other than residents occurs.

I tucked the twins in, did a few things, looked outside. person is still just standing there. I watch for a while. they have a magazine in their hand that they wave around occasionally (not reading it, not fanning with it, just random waving).

I'm a little wary when dh isn't here as it is, which probably put me a bit on my guard. at the same time, I didn't do anything.

after about a half hour, person wandered away down the street and I didn't see them again. other than take a picture of them out my window.

I told dh about it when he got home last night and he was really upset that I didn't call the police.

I'll admit that I had a gut reaction when this originally happened that something was not right. I think that is why I took the picture. but logically I couldn't say anything was really wrong...it was just strange and out of place for my neighborhood. no crimes were commited that I could see, etc.

I still would not call the police if the same thing happened.

I did, however, almost call my neighbor and ask him to go ask the person if they were looking for someone/needed help/whatever. and think I would go that route if I had a do-over.

wwyd?

I have seen some odd looking behavior like this, and the person even appeared to be talking to himself! It turned out he was on the phone (using a bluetooth thing) and had gone outside to make a call. It only took me a couple minutes to realize this! Very glad I didn't call the police on him!

 

[VAN]

Honestly, I probably would have done the same thing you did.

We also live in a somewhat secluded neighborhood and when I see a car stopped or loitering, I tend to keep an eye on the situation.

If you are friendly with the neighbors you might want to call them and ask them to also look out their window and see what they think as well. Just smart to keep an eye on things. Also, probably doesn't hurt to call police and ask them to drive by just in case, though.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Call. The police can do a routine swing by and say hello to them. If they are stalking or casing the neighborhood, they are on notice the police have seen them

You felt nervous, it felt suspicious and made you uneasy enough to take a picture. The police could have given you a sense of security. They are there to serve and protect, please use them

 

[EllenFrasier]

If my Dh was home, he would have called the police, so I guess I would have done the same in his absence. Or I might have called Dh and see what he thought first, just to be sure I was not over reacting.

One time we saw a guy walking around our neighborhood. He had long hair and was unkept, could have been a homeless person, whatever. My Dh called the police and they said it is not illegal to walk on the sidewalk. My Dh persisted and wanted them to come and talk to him find out where he was headed, etc. - hey, he could have been a missing person or something. He explained to the police that there are kids all outside in our neighborhood, etc. and finally they agreed to come and talk to him. By then, the man had continued up the main street, so he was probably just passing through. I felt sorry for him, but maybe if the police talked to him they could offer him advice on where to go for help if he needed it.

As for your guy outside with the magazine - that was weird. I think I would have called the police if he had stood there longer than 10 minutes. Why would someone just be standing there? Doesn't make sense and it would not have hurt to have the police check it out.

 

[of the seas]

I would call the police for sure! Your not trying to have the guy arrested for standing there, but if you are uncomfortable there is no reason why they cant patrol. That's what they do.

 

[Scurvy]

I probably would have called the police (non-emergency number) just to explain the situation and to ask if they could do a couple a passes through the neighborhood. I've been told before that they recommend asking for that if you are uncomfortable about someone acting suspiciously in your area. Seeing the police driving by might be enough to deter someone who is scoping out the street for possible break-ins.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

One time we saw a guy walking around our neighborhood. He had long hair and was unkept, could have been a homeless person, whatever. My Dh called the police and they said it is not illegal to walk on the sidewalk. My Dh persisted and wanted them to come and talk to him find out where he was headed, etc. - hey, he could have been a missing person or something. He explained to the police that there are kids all outside in our neighborhood, etc. and finally they agreed to come and talk to him.

I am so sorry - but this seems wrong on so many levels.

Really - insisting the cops come and talk to him? How paranoid and pathetic to think that just because a man has long hair and is unkempt that they could be a danger to children.

In my opinion this takes stranger danger way too far!

 

[ZephyrHawk]

So yesterday while crossing the street I saw something weird. I work in a city with a bunch of homeless people right outside my building, so I'm used to that sort of thing. This was weird in a different way. There was this girl standing stock still next to a famous landmark. Didn't move a muscle, just staring off down the street. Really odd behavior. There was also this guy sitting on the pavement on the other side of the street, but he appeared to be stretching (for running), so I didn't think quite as much of him. Anyways, I remarked to myself how odd it was. Then when I passed the area a few minutes later in my car, the guy was still there on the ground, but had moved his position. And I realized, 'Oh, he's a photographer. He's balancing his camera against the ground for a timed shot and she's a model.'

Statistics tell us that most of the world is not, in fact, out to get us. I try to live without unnecessary suspicion.

 

[lovesmurfs]

I would have done just what you did! He could have been waiting for a ride to work, etc. and he could have been using the magazine to swat at mosquitoes -- they're swarming in our area.

 

[npmommie]

my dh was travelling for business this week. the first night he was away, I was taking my twins up to bed and glanced outside and there was a person I have never seen before standing across the street. just standing there. not someone from the neighborhood. I live in a very quiet subdivision, so not like a busy neighborhood/city street where foot traffic other than residents occurs.

I tucked the twins in, did a few things, looked outside. person is still just standing there. I watch for a while. they have a magazine in their hand that they wave around occasionally (not reading it, not fanning with it, just random waving).

I'm a little wary when dh isn't here as it is, which probably put me a bit on my guard. at the same time, I didn't do anything.

after about a half hour, person wandered away down the street and I didn't see them again. other than take a picture of them out my window.

I told dh about it when he got home last night and he was really upset that I didn't call the police.

I'll admit that I had a gut reaction when this originally happened that something was not right. I think that is why I took the picture. but logically I couldn't say anything was really wrong...it was just strange and out of place for my neighborhood. no crimes were commited that I could see, etc.

I still would not call the police if the same thing happened.

I did, however, almost call my neighbor and ask him to go ask the person if they were looking for someone/needed help/whatever. and think I would go that route if I had a do-over.

wwyd?

I probably would have called the police, so they could just ride thru.
but I live in a rural area, quiet subdivision, no thru traffic, so that would be odd for someone to be just standing out there. we don't even have sidewalks here! there is no where for them to be walking to, and it would be odd for someone to walk to our neighborhood.

once a car came down our street very late at night and just stopped in front of our house but down slightly ......and just sat there.
so hubby went out to scope it out, turns out it was two college age kids girl and boy, and they were lost and using a cell phone.

I think its good to be vigilant about things and notice things out of the ordinary. Like someone said, the majority of the time it is nothing at all.

 

[2binak]

I would have called the police. Like some others have said, most of the things that lead up to crimes aren't crimes in and of themselves. The police are there to protect and serve the public. Part of protecting is checking on unusual and out of the ordinary circumstances, even if they are not crimes.

The man could have been perfectly harmless, but it's always better to know for sure. A man that was like a grandfather to me had Alzhiemer's. Quite a few times, got into his car and drove up to 2 hours from home before realizing that he was lost and needed help. Luckily, he was safely returned every time. We've had quite a few cases in our state in the last few years, of people with the same condition, wandering away from home and the outcome was not a good one. The man in front of the OP's house could have been in the same situation and the police could have helped him.

You just never know what's going on in a situation like that and to me, it's better to let trained officers handle the situation than try to ignore it or handle it yourself.

ETA - Something very similar happened to a female family member at her home. A week later when she finally went to the police station to report it, they told her that she should have called them while the person was there and if anything like that happened again, that she needed to call them right away. They really impressed upon her that even though the situation seemed harmless at the time, it could have esclated into something serious.

 

[Mommy2three]

I would have called the police. it would have been considered suspcious activity at least thats what the police call it in the city i live. and the police would have came by and if the person was still there they would have stopped to see what they were doing. Always trust your gut instinct. The police are here to check up on stuff like that. Thats their job, and its better to be safe than sorry

 

[shortbun]

We live in a pretty quiet neighborhood. Yesterday, I saw a man who was obviously in the homeless category walking down our street. I was with two friends who are social workers for the state. They deemed him someone 'looking for their own little bit of space.' I asked them if they thought he was a danger and they said 'probably not.' We live just north of a large university and a large population of homeless who squat in a ravine in the summer. We all decided he had left the ravine and was heading to the park that borders our neighborhood for privacy. I'm not afraid even though he looked pretty rough, dirty and was perhaps mentally damaged. Had he been standing across the street for a long period of time waving a newspaper in the dark, I might have called the police just to get him some help or move him along.

 

[mtemm]

thanks all. you have given me a lot to think about and I definitely see the point now of calling the police. I just didn't want to overreact I guess, especially since this person wasn't actually doing anything. but at the same time they could very easily been scoping out the neighborhood/certain houses.

 

[wvjules]

thanks all. you have given me a lot to think about and I definitely see the point now of calling the police. I just didn't want to overreact I guess, especially since this person wasn't actually doing anything. but at the same time they could very easily been scoping out the neighborhood/certain houses.

Well, on the bright side, if anyone's home is robbed you have a picture of a possible suspect.