To call the police on this family?

[catofdoom]

I live on a dirt road. It's single track and very windy. This particular part has a sheer drop off to the ocean.

Driving home with ds yesterday afternoon and out of nowhere two kids (between 10 and 12 I think) jump out at me and start pelting my car with water balloons. Trying to get them through the driver's window. (Luckily they didn't.)

They are my next door neighbours. They're only here for a month in the summer though.

It scared the absolute shit out of me. How I didn't crash in to a tree or go off the road I don't know.

I stopped and told them what a horrible thing to do it was and how dangerous it could have been. They laughed at me and ran off.

I drove home, turned around and drove back to go and speak to their parents (I'd seen the car home.)

Coming back they did it again!

I carried on past their house to go and sit further up the road and have a think. DH then came home and they did it to him too! He got out of the car and they ran off, their Mother was outside, dh told her what they'd been doing and she walked off and slammed the door in his face.

Turns out they did it to my brother in law the day before. They've been sat by the road with a big bucket of water balloons for a couple of days. Their Mother must have know, the only windows of the house and the porch look down at the road.

Anyway, so since we've had no apology. If it were my son I'd have marched him round there furious to apologise.

I want to lodge a complaint with the police (I've already spoken to the local policeman but he's not on duty until tomorrow night.) DH thinks we shouldn't stir things up. I think they could do with a talking to, I'm annoyed their parents clearly don't give a shit. Plus, if it happens again they could cause a nasty accident.

So I guess it's more of a - what would you do?

Also, we're in the States in an extremely low crime area (one burglary in 10 years) so I won't be wasting police time, they'd actually be thrilled to have something to do rather than sit on the side of the road trying to catch speeders.

This happened to me at least 20 years ago and it was terrifying.I'd try and speak to the parents again and if that doesn't work go to the police.

Well it sounds like the local police are not too busy and might have a bit of fun with this. I definitely second an unmarked police car, with a dashcam.

@Streamside we did try to speak to the parents. We had the door slammed in our face.

The police spoke to them and they flat out lied about it. Not hard to see how the kids have become such little gits.

I would get a dash cam. That way if the idiots try to do it again after being warned off, you have evidence

I wouldn't report it, the police should be dealing with crimes not children throwing water balloons, as a society I think we need to stop expecting agencies to solve our problems for us and take some responsibility for ourselves.

Parkermumma07

There is no crime for the police to deal with.

I have an earlier model of this dash cam and it works a treat.

www.amazon.com/Garmin-Extremely-GPS-Enabled-Recording-G-Sensor/dp/B06XFQTDQL?th=1&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

You have to connect it to your computer to pull the video off of it but they give you the software and it's easy to do.

Every time I see someone doing something really dumb or goady on the road I smile, knowing I have the video of it if necessary.

So what do you propose she does about it Parker? The parents are not responsive.

There is no crime for the police to deal with.

On the contrary...

www.ajc.com/news/local/year-old-faces-felony-charges-for-throwing-water-balloon/XCacxuVXt85gIbP4p78BkK/

www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/teens-charged-throwing-water-balloons-cars/2008852/

Since the officer has already tried to speak with the mum about it, he certainly thought there was an issue.

Wish the UK police had the resources to respond as quickly to neighbourhood hooligans.
Good luck OP.

@Parkermumma07 we tried to speak with the Mum. She slammed the door in our face.

The police have NOTHING to do here. The guy actually thanked me as he gets so bored working out here.

We've had onc buggery in 10 years. People leave their keys in their cars and don't even lock their houses when they go abroad for two weeks.

We did have someone break in to a house a shit in someone's kitchen a few years ago but they caught him pretty quickly as they went full forensic on his ass.

One of the reasons we have no crime is that when something does happen it gets tackled quickly and fully.

And leaping out in front of a moving vehicle to scare people when there's a 50ish foot drop to rocks and the ocean is quite obviously dangerous and a police matter.

What would you have had me do? Go talk to the kids myself? I did, they laughed in my face and did it the next time I drove past? Scare them? Then I'd have ended up on the wrong side of the law.

As I've said, we have two elderly neighbours in very poor health, (one of whom I found out this after has terrible ptsd from a war), it could have been awful for them.

Pmsl at buggery.

In view of parents being hopeless, totally right to call police.

We've had onc buggery in 10 years.

Burglary!!!! We're a very inclusive island and I'm quite sure there much more buggery going on than once every 10 years!

Criminals also tend to avoid islands as it greatly limits their ability to hide or leave the area.

but they caught him pretty quickly as they went full forensic on his ass

Was that related to the buggery case? 🤔

you did the right thing oP- i am extremely curious where you live?! with zero crime and a beach!!! can i live there??

As it’s their holiday home they obviously rely on neighbourly goodwill to keep an eye on their place the other 11 months of the year.

I guess all your “goodwill” has been used up now!

I know this is no help...but I'd run the sods off the cliff while laughing like a maniac.
Putting that aside...if the parents aren't responsive and the police can't really do anything if it's your word against theirs...then yep dashcam is the way to go.
But I'm sorry... I'm crippled with laughter over the shit on the kitchen floor...🤣😂 what the hell!

Sorry I've probably read that wrong...but my misunderstanding has given me a laugh! 😁

They are only there one month on the year?

Honey around their window frames, my dear.

I love how quickly you leapt in to explain there is much more frequent buggery!

I remember you from your ama post too, I wanted to make friends and come and visit. So, if you do need help dealing with your neighbours, let me know 😉

One of the town's kids (who's a bit of a scamp) broke in to a summer house and shit on the kitchen floor. He actually went back later that night and they caught him then I think.

Nobody knows why but the people are HIDEOUS. (No excuse I know.) We used to work for them and they're the most entitled, awful people I've met.

DH and I spent weeks working at their house after they'd bought it, buying furniture, cleaning, getting it ready for their first ever arrival to the house Christmas Eve. We even made garlands around the fireplaces, put three big Christmas trees in and decorated them, lit the fires for their arrival.

They asked us to pop over the next day (so that was Christmas). We did, thinking we'd get a glass of wine and a thank you. They wanted to walk around the house discussing plans for renovation. On fucking Christmas Day. And no thank you. Or wine.

Then they consistently didn't pay us for one reason or another for months (cheques in the post must have been lost, Aunt died, dog died, bad back.) I can only imagine they've done it to everyone as the two builders on the island and electrician have all sued them.

Honestly, I could write a book on some of the arsehats that summer here. My time working with one family made the Nanny Diaries look very tame. But nobody would believe it.

Honey around window frames? Oh that's genius.

I had a run in with her last year as she drives like a maniac. There's a 15 mph speed limit on our road and she does about 40 pretty much the whole time. I yelled at her to slow down when she blasted ds, ddog and I off the road and she screamed at me and screeched off. Ugh.

DH said when the husband came up alone in June for a couple of days to check the house and turn the water on he saw him in the store and he said he was dreading coming back with his family as he 'hates them'. Actually used those words. Half of me feels a bit sad and half of me agrees!