So, my new neighbours who have been renting next door's lower maisonette for the last few weeks are serious weed smokers. I'm not talking the occasional spliff but literally every night of the week for hours at a time. Apart from this, the guy is a nasty piece of work and eff's and blinds at his mrs, the dog howls from 5:30am most mornings and during the day, the garden is already a pig sty and he attempted to have a bonfire in the back garden the other night - not an issue in itself but our gardens are like postage stamps. Complete contrast to the previous occupant who kept herself to herself and was actually quite attractive - I digress... My issues: It reeks. I usually open my back room window in the evenings as it gets quite stuffy but the stench coming in is unbearable, 10x worse than cigarette smoke which is bad enough and you can smell it in the house for hours afterwards. It's like someone having a bonfire every night of the week, made all the worse by the fact the gardens are so small. They have children round regularly and I'm pretty sure they have one themselves although I rarely see him plus there are children in the garden to the rear too. What can I do? I'm not one for confrontation, especially as the guy seems to be decidedly unpleasant and I can see things going from bad to worse. Never been in this situation before so not really sure which way to turn but thinking about the CAB or popping down to the police station for a chat. Anyone been in a similar situation?
I'd imagine the land lord wouldn't appreciate his/her tenants smoking weed on his/her premises. So maybe a private chat with the landlord may sort it, though there is always the risk the tenants find out you told the landlord, which could lead to the confrontational issues you wanted to avoid.
Tell the police they are dealing drugs out of the maisonette. Wait for them to raid and go to the cinema first. When you get back act all surprised.
And if there is a child around, call Social Services in confidence. Then follow instructions above. ^^^ The good thing about lifestyles like theirs is that it acquires a lot of enemies. If they get grassed up (no pun intended), it could be anyone of dozens of people who did it.
Give Crimestoppers a call. http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/ Report the guy anonymously. He'll never know it was you. He may have suspiciouns (that doesn't look like the right spelling but whatever) but he'll never be able to prove them. However, I have to say I've never used them myself.
We all have a responsibility to consider our neighbours and how they might be affected by how we live; unfortunately some people just don't give a toss. I'd get onto social services straight away regarding the kids, but in terms of weed I think it's worth doing the diplomatic thing first and just chatting to the guy... nothing to lose, and if there's no change you have the liberty of telling the police that he's a dealer.
I would not recommend having a word. If you do as soon as you call the police he MAY be after you, and MAY therefore blame you for what happens.
I'd agree. The observed behaviour pattern would suggest that diplomacy is futile. Even if he listens to you, and promises to behave in a more considerate way, and he actually means to, there is still very little to say that he will.
Have a polite word about the drugs and the noise, ie his world is coming into yours. You never know, you could be the advocate of good things (slim chance) He might calm down a bit and realize he being a bit of c*nt. Not advisable, but might work for some. You telling us might not be the whole picture if you know what i mean. Just like you might not know the whole picture of what's going on in there. Either way, If you end up acting, The Police is the first port call no matter what, remember that. They are the law, they can take appropriate action and have the power to do so.
On the other hand, you could always start dealing yourself and try to drive him out with good old competition. Actually, no, that's bad advice. Call the police.
Another +1 for the polis. Through personal experience they can be unreliable so be persistent. I would not confront the individual. The drugs and generally being a dick combo does not equate to a positive outcome.
Citizen's Advice Bureau would always be my first bet, as (a) it's free (b) it's quick (by email response) and (c) it's anonymous. There's literally no downside to using CAB, whereas with the police I always worry that they'll get overzealous and/or indiscrete and cause trouble for you. Sure, they're not supposed to, but like in all professions, some of them are better at their jobs than others.
As many have already mentioned, just call the police and landlord. Hell ask the landlord to do a passing drop in one evening, in order to get an idea. Now is the time to start smoking cigars, it helps over power the stink with another.
Although I wholeheartedly agree that it is difficult to know the whole picture of the family's circumstances and you have to give people the benefit of the doubt, the description of their behaviour sounds like it is uncontained. So even if he cares about not coming across as a c*nt, there is no guarantee that he can follow it through when he is under the influence or just pissed off with his missus. It's tricky because a police visit is not necessarily going to change this behaviour either, although he will very likely start to suspect his neighbours from calling down the law on him. I think he will handle that conflict like he handles disagreements with his wife (although of course she will contribute her bit to the escalation of that). The way to deal with this that has the best (albeit still slim) chance of success is to build a relationship with them first, before you mention the issues you have. Get to know them, find out what sort of people they are, and what they would be responsive to. This may take weeks, if not a few months. Once you have established a relationship that they care about, you can start raising your concerns. They may be more motivated to listen and act on it if they value maintaining the good relationship.
Call the Police. When you speak to Officers tell them you don't want them speaking to him as you fear it may make things worse. Ask to be referred to the Community Safety Unit (or your Force equivalent) who have good links with housing and council. They also own anti-social behaviour etc. None of it is quick because that side of the law is covered in red tape, but it can work. If he is effecting your life as much as you say, trying to talk to him or build a relationship with him isn't going to work, and you'll resent yourself for even trying to do so when it comes to having to escalate your concerns because he didn't listen. Also, if there are children around when he is smoking or arguing with his partner, social services need to be made aware. Again, this doesn't mean that on the same day SS will coming storming in to rescue them, nothing happens overnight, but it will be looked into.
I'd call the landlord and state you don't want to give your name, but you have serious complaints in relation the your neighbours behavior and smell and mention potential property damage. This should alert them enough to call around and see for themselves. Wait 2 weeks for something to happen, if nothing does, call the police and tell them you are worried about the childs welfare as you have heard violent outbursts and you believe they are dealing drugs from the premises due to people coming and going at all hours and the smell of drugs coming from the premises.
I think the general idea of reporting them as dealing drugs when you can smell a bit of weed is a bit out of order. It's one thing to tell the police that they smoke too much weed and it impacts on your life, it's a completely totally different thing to tell the police that they are selling drugs from their property. One involves a pair of policemen paying a visit to the property and asking them to stop smoking so much or shut the window, the other involves warrant's and raids. If you don't actually know they are dealing drugs - don't tell the police that they are dealing drugs. That's grossly unfair - regardless of your personal opinion of them. I'm not saying the way you say he conducts himself is fine, and obviously the children and the implied abuse towards his partner is a totally different thing, but that can be dealt with as the police/social services see fit - but I think labeling someone as a drug dealer when that is potentially completely unfounded is out of order.
Personally I'd advise smoking some weed yourself and stop being so bitter that your new neighbours aren't as attractive as the previous one. Then I would recommend having a chat about the barking with the dog. I'm sure your stoned conversation with another species would be as about as effective in altering the dogs behaviour as his. Perhaps if you were stoned you might not be so eager to pass moral judgments on people due to their language and social class. Especially when these people are deemed reliable and caring enough to be entrusted with other people's children. Personally I'd rather have a social, vital and passionate neighbour than a unsociable creeper who sits in his house and pervs over attractive women while condemning the fun others have on their own property. Although before you take any action...consider this:
