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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Was this police visit a bit suspect? What should we do?

42 replies

MrsTawdry · 09/01/2015 09:36

At about 11 o clock last night I heard the main door in our block of 4 flats open. I heard voices...looked through the spyhole and saw my neighbour opposite had opened her door and there was a uniformed policeman standing on the stairs...he didn't come all the way up to the landing.

He was talking to my neighbour and then he went.

Today she told me he had buzzed her door and said "Police" so she let him in...then on the stairs he asked for a woman who doesn't live here...said a name we've never heard.

She said there was nobody here of that name and he asked her "how long have you been here?" and she said "A year...can I help somehow?" and he said "No...it's just a job..." and then went.

We had it transpired both looked out of the window as he left in a normal silver car.

She wondered why he came alone in an ordinary car and had no radio or backup....don't they usually have a 2nd officer in attendance?

Is it odd? Dodgy? Should she report it to the non emergency number? I noted that the man didn't walk very well..his breathing was laboured and he limped quite heavily. He didn't seem very like a normal policeman iykwim...like he wouldn't manage or something...

OP posts:

imjustahead · 09/01/2015 09:38

i would report/ring to find out. if something felt amiss, it's no bother to try and find out.

LittleMissIntrovert · 09/01/2015 09:38

Yes I would report it to 101, sounds suspicious to me.

Could be innocent, or could be someone looking for an ex partner or something, certainly worth reporting.

Gem124 · 09/01/2015 09:39

Something definitely sounds amiss. It's worth mentioning, especially if you remember who he was looking for x

WooWooOwl · 09/01/2015 09:39

Call 101 and ask if they sent someone round to that address.

LurkingHusband · 09/01/2015 09:45

We've had a couple of visits from uninformed officers in unmarked cars. When I quizzed one about it, he laughed and said it stops people flagging him down.

Purplehonesty · 09/01/2015 09:48

Could have been a courts and warrants officer trying to deliver a warrant? Hence the age/fitness.

My dh sometimes takes out an unmarked car if he doesn't want people to see him coming. Or if all the patrol cars are out he will use a CID one. And often he is by himself.

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 09/01/2015 09:49

Did he show her a warrant card?
Impersonating a police officer is an offence and the police are (rightly) very hot on it, so I would phone 101 too.

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 09/01/2015 09:50

Although the silver car and being on his own seem normal enough - they do go out without back up if it's just a routine thing and I guess using unmarked cars is fairly standard too.

pilates · 09/01/2015 09:53

Yes I would check it out, it doesn't sound right to me.

tiredvommachine · 09/01/2015 09:59

Could have been a simple MFH enquiry of an address check. Wouldn't take two officers and if the officer was tasked with it all shift, he probably took a plain vehicle so his colleagues could react in the marked vehicles. If it puts your mind at rest, you could call 101 but you might not get an immediate answer as the address probably wouldn't have been listed as the initial attending address.

MadamG · 09/01/2015 10:01

It doesn't sound suspicious to me. I'd definitely not follow up. Sounds like a waste of police resources to check.

DancingDays · 09/01/2015 10:02

Round here its common to see police in a Corsa or such like. So I agree that's not on its own suspicious. But the police explain why they are at an address and seem to want to hang around. What you describe is very suspicious, I would call if only to get the full story of why he came.

Original poster

MrsTawdry · 09/01/2015 10:02

He didn't offer any card or anything no.

I agree though now Purple says that about the warrant....

OP posts:

Dumpylump · 09/01/2015 10:06

Really DancingDays? I'm not sure that the Police would necessarily be willing to disclose their reason for attending to the neighbour of an address that didn't actually have the person they were looking for there anyway!
It sounds to me as if it was a warrant delivery, or court summons.

SaucyJack · 09/01/2015 10:06

I don't think it sounds that suspect tbh. I wouldn't expect police to explain to me why they were looking for a previous tenant.

Perfectlypurple · 09/01/2015 10:09

Unmarked cars are common. Often if someone has an injury they go on to a desk type job and can often do routine type enquiries so being in unmarked car is common. However, no harm in checking it out if worried.

Nicknacky · 09/01/2015 10:10

I'm a police officer and it sounds pretty normal. If your neighbour thinks it suss then she should call, the police are happy for people to confirm that callers were genuine, I've had people do it and I take no offence.

However they won't tell her what it's about.

Notnaice · 09/01/2015 10:13

But if it was routine, why at 11pm?

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 09/01/2015 10:15

Sounds fairly normal to me. We have had similar but we're in a house not a flat; copper knocked on door about 11pm asking if we know anything about Mr X at number Y.

Definitely police because about half an hour later they baton rammed his door down

They didn't mention what it was regarding because it really wasn't any of my business.

OOAOML · 09/01/2015 10:15

I would phone and check if it were me. But then we had an incident a year or so ago when late at night the buzzer went and people said it was the police. We then ended up with several drunk young men in the stair (who apparently knew people in one of the rented flats as they went in there eventually) who threw someone's bike from the second floor landing. We called the actual police, who recommended if we are ever in doubt to phone and check, or to look out to see if there is an actual police car in the street.

Our police tend to always be in twos, but then I may live in an area where that's deemed more necessary than yours IYSWIM.

Nicknacky · 09/01/2015 10:17

not There could be many reasons. Missing person enquiry, concern for welfare, dropped 999 from a mobile, death message. That's just the few that spring to mind.

DancingDays · 09/01/2015 10:17

Yes, I would expect them to explain X officer attended to confirm person Y no longer lived at that address or something along those lines.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 09/01/2015 10:18

Various reasons why they might be coming at 11pm:

High occupancy rate if they're looking to pick someone up
They fear the person might be an immediate risk to themselves or others
They fear the person is at risk from someone else.

We may have spent a lot of time speculating after battering ram-gate

Showy · 09/01/2015 10:19

You can call and check if it puts your mind at rest.

DH always works alone unless there's a risk. Rural, small police force and you just don't have the manpower to be doubled up all the time. The work cars he drives are just normal cars (on the face of it), he doesn't carry a radio and is in plain clothes.

Showy · 09/01/2015 10:20

They often come early morning or late at night because you're more likely to be in.

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