Should I report to the police? Stranger with torch

[starrysimon]

I posted a lighthearted thread a few days ago about strange behaviour from unknown cars on our quiet cul-de-sac. We’re in a big estate and very set back from any main roads. All road signs are very clear and it’s a spacious estate so would be hard to get lost so regularly.

Almost 20 different cars over the past few days have driven up our cul-de-sac, turned around and driven off again. A few cars have done it twice in one day a few hours apart. No one got in or out of these vehicles. Some pause for up to 5 minutes and then leave, some just turn around and drive straight off. None of us have CCTV good enough to see exactly what they’re looking at.

I was shrugging it off until last night at 9pm when a man was walking around the cul-de-sac shining a torch at everyone’s house and worryingly shined it at ours a lot. He was staring at our house a lot as well. Everyone has exterior lights that are on all night so you can clearly see the house numbers so he wouldn’t have been looking at that. He didn’t go into/come out of any of the houses on the dead end. I was also sat in the living room so would have heard him if he was shouting for a lost pet. The way he was walking gives me shivers. I wish I had noticed it at the time so I could have confronted him from the window. Walking around an essentially private road shining your torch in people’s windows at 9pm isn’t acceptable behaviour no matter what the circumstances.

Should we inform the police? Nothing like this has happened before. Especially the cars driving up and down as it’s quiet on our estate and you’d have to be very lost to use it to turn around in. There’s also a large area at the start of the cul-de-sac where cars an easily turn so driving down the bottom of the dead end is unnecessary. The man’s erratic behaviour last night is my highest concern. The way he was walking was creepy, so slow and he was almost assessing everyone’s homes the way he was looking at them. He’s shining the torch at our house in the second pic and did it several times whilst staring. He seemed to focus on our house quite a lot. We were the only house with no vehicles on the drive so it would appear to a stranger that no one was home.

The first night I moved into my new house I had a knock on the door from someone purporting to be someone who repaired soffits (I think) ie the boards just under the edge of the roof. He didn't stand close enough for me to see his face in the light and his mate was standing at the end of my drive again, hood up and in the shadow.
I emailed my local police force to ask if it was a known scam - it was just weird that it happened on my first night in my new home and I was particularly jumpy after being burgled four months earlier in my old house.

Call or email your local police force please.

Just a thought, could they be Community First Responders? I am one and often end up looking for addresses in the dark with my torch. Often looking for 'the one with the key safe' or 'the one with the green rover on the drive'. There are frequent callers too who have people out on a daily basis. FYI, if this was me responding to a call I wouldn't appreciate my photo being posted on the internet.

How unsettling. Yes, tell 911 now, then tell them more as you gather registration numbers etc. It's definitely weird.

There's plenty of innocent explanations though. And less innocent, but not directly a danger, like the PP's suggestion of looking to nick abandoned parcels.

If they're casing the joint, aren't they a bit early? You're meant to leave it until the dead of night. Did he know you were watching? If he comes again, make him know you're there. Switch the lights on and off or something, to get his attention. See if he acts guilty.

If you see him again, just shout out of an upstairs window and ask him what he’s doing. If he’s up to something fishy, he’ll most likely run away.

My parents car was done in broad daylight only a few days ago, it does seem suspicious. I’m another that would call the non emergency line. Saying that I would’ve gone out to ask him if I could help him with anything!

Sorry but the pp’s suggesting it could be someone altruistically peering in peoples windows at 9pm at night with a torch to see if someone’s ill from corona are making me . As if.

He is clearly looking for houses to rob. He’s using the torch to see what you may have worth stealing. He’s not looking for his cat or seeing if someone has collapsed.

You should inform the police and send them your footage - why wouldn’t you? I seriously doubt they will do much though so step up your home security as much as you can (I personally would leave a downstairs light on and possibly the tv and close the curtains).

I throw saucepans of cold water at these sort of people from upstairs window- did it last week also shouted at them. They have not been back¬ if you have a front garden - use a hose.

WeShouldBeFriends my camera isn’t even 720p so you can barely make out on the photos that it’s even a human being, I’m sure their privacy is well protected with my CCTV😂

Do you have Pampas Grass out front ? 😉
Seriously ..get a very bright torch and next time anything like this happens shine it on the person or car and ask loudly from your window .."helloooo ..are you lost ..can we help ? " if innocent they'll tell you what they are doing and if not they'll either leg it or tell you some old rubbish but will be unsettled and stear clear .

They are often clumsy /inexperienced drug dealers looking for their contacts - usually rather young.

This is beyond creepy, glad you've informed your local police OP.

@tara66

I throw saucepans of cold water at these sort of people from upstairs window- did it last week also shouted at them. They have not been back¬ if you have a front garden - use a hose

Surely if they're innocent this is the wrong thing to do, and if they're guilty of something criminal, they're the kind of person you don't want to piss off? Especially because they know where you live?

@starrysimon was there ever a resolution to this? Did you find out who they were or did they stop?