To have sat in the car park on my mobile phone

[Summerbreezing]

There's a crèche operating out of the ground floor of our apartment block. There's a small car park at the back for the cars they use to transport children to and from school. At evenings and weekends this car park is empty and a gang of local teens hang around, climbing onto a high wall where they can see into our first floor apartment; throwing litter around, peeing up against the wall and generally being a nuisance. Phone calls to the management company keep getting vague responses about 'discussing the problem with the creche'.
So last night I just went out and stood against the wall myself having a pretend phone call with someone on my mobile phone and then sat on the steps and started texting. After a few dismayed looks and a bit of hovering around the corner waiting for me to leave (at which I said loudly into my phone 'no it's okay. You go and check with him and I can hang on here for as long as you like' they just mooched off.

So WIBU to just keep doing this until they get fed up and feck off for good?

[MrsCosmopilite]

Just wondering if the non-emergency police number would be appropriate?

[WeddedBliss]

I'd agree with the non-emergency police number, and see if they can have a word.

Other than that though, as long as the teenagers aren't threatening in any way and you're not putting yourself at risk, it sounds like a good idea.

Hover around, on your phone, doing a bit of weeding/tidying, if the carpark is empty then take the dc down there with a football and just generally be a presence and hopefully they'll find somewhere else to go.

Can you speak to the nursery about getting a 'private carpark' sign? If you could stick one of those up, you could always then just go down with a friendly 'Sorry guys, this is a private carpark, i'll have to ask you to move on'. Or in fact you could do that anyway really.

[Summerbreezing]

Unfortunately there's a right of way through the car park for residents to take a short cut. Hardly anyone uses it as it really doesn't cut out much of a walk but as long as it's kept that way I can't fool them into thinking it's a private area. I have asked if it could be secured at night as I can't imagine there'd be any objections from residents. I might ask if they could even agree with the residents association to put up a sign along the grounds of Right of way only. No loitering, skateboarding etc etc.

[Daisymasie]

I think what you're doing sounds like a good plan. A friend of mine did something similar when she got fed up with a gang of teenagers using her corner wall as a meeting place every evening.
She just went out every evening when they were there and weeded the flower bed beside the wall, or got out the hose and watered the grass with a bit of "oops really sorry, shall I get you a towel" etc and leant against the wall herself and started asking bright breezy questions about where they went to school and did they know so and so. They soon found somewhere else to hang out.

[APlaceInTheWinter]

Can you ask the management company to put something along the top of the wall so they can't stand on it and look into your home? tbh that is the part that would worry me most.

[ChaosTrulyReigns]

I'm sure there was a teenage hangabout by us that was solved by the council installing speakers and playing Barry Manikow songs on a loop.

Genius I thought.

[Daisymasie]

Ooh that's an idea OP. Could you sit on the steps playing your favourite Bee Gee hits over and over.

[Vintagejazz]

Ha Ha. YANBU. Sounds like a great idea and is a really non confrontational way of getting rid of them. If you were giving out to them or calling out the window to get off the wall etc that would just turn it into a sport for them 'Let's see how much we can annoy Summer this evening'. By just blithely going about your business as if they aren't there you're being far more annoying but in a way that they just have to swallow.

[NynaevesSister]

Have you tried talking nicely to them? If they are put off by someone on their mobile phone then they don't sound like particularly aggressive teens. Just thoughtless. Speak to them and if they seem approachable point out that this isn't some disused carpark but someone's home so could they refrain from pissing on your house and leaving their rubbish there.

It may not have occurred to them. Teens can be very self absorbed. But they can also be surprisingly considerate sometimes too. If they do seem approachable then try giving them the benefit of the doubt first, and then blasting Barry Manilow/opera in your garden second.

[500smiles]

A friend had a similar issue in her block, one of the neighbours had tried the aggressive approach and told them to sod off or he would ring the police - this resulted in them getting gobby and unpleasant.

Friend went down on the pretext of getting something from her car, did a double take and greeted one of them like an old friend, asked how their Mum was, marvelled at how much they had grown....last time I saw you you were in nappies, added made up embarassing story etc etc... cue the other friends taking the mickey out of him big style and funnily enough they were never to be seen again

[houseofstark]

500smiles that is just brilliant, made me smile a lot.

OP I think you're taking the right approach. I'm my experience if you challenge teens, they can get a bit feisty and dig their heels in.

But your presence can be snug deterrent as essentially they want to be left alone.

There are some great ideas on this thread.

[EarSlaps]

Yes, we had teens hanging around the path behind our house, smoking weed and climbing our tree (that was the only bit that peed me off, they used our rickety fence to climb up). Plus graffiti sometimes.

Pcso does walk arounds occasionally and advised us to just give them a cheery wave when we see them. Makes it feel less like they have privacy there and they know they've been seen so less likely to do anything.

[Upwiththelark]

A friend of my mums was fed up of a gang sitting on her wall, throwing crisp bags into her garden and generally being a nuisance. So she went out one day and said to one of them 'you look like a nice strong lad. Would you mind mowing my grass for me? My son can't get over every week and I'm not really able to push the mower myself" (total lie, she's as fit as a fiddle). The horrified and embarrassed young boy muttered an excuse and he and his friends shuffled away and never came back.

I know someone else who brought a little foldy chair out into a car park beside his house and just sat there for a couple of evenings reading the newspaper. Again, it worked like a dream.

[Andrewofgg]

Some London Underground stations use recorded classical music to discourage the undesirables. They don't like Mozart.