Is it suspicious and should I report? Not Covid!

[pipsqueakbollock]

I say report - I mean the police but it is only suspicious to me - I moved here from London and have street cred awareness of surroundings.

I live in a super Naice Area. A stepford wives type housing estate. Well heeled, well to do, polite people, fashionable dogs and very quiet blah blah.

It's a complete dead end but has two roads in and out. It's quite large and has a supermarket in the middle so the main road at one end is busy but the rest is quiet.

I first saw this car maybe in November lockdown whilst walking with kids. Again in December twice. And again today. 4 times.

A man parked up. Windows open. (It's cold!). A 15 plate sporty Merc - nothing to note.

First time - parked up
Second time I saw him when I was driving home from work and he was driving out the estate (wiping his nose) right near where he parks.
Third time parked up - same place
Fourth time today - parked up same place.

Time always between 3-4pm.

When I saw him drive out he was alone so not picking someone up.

There is nothing to do on the road. It doesn't go anywhere. No schools are open.
He just sits there. Not on phone. Not talking. Just staring ahead.

Today I took a pretend photo of DC but actually was taking his number plate.

AIBU to be suspicious?
What do you think he's up to?

Or maybe the fashionable pooches are the solution? Dog walker who has dropped off the afternoon clients and is killing time before picking up the later ones?

Did the open window emit a doggy smell?

@Sn0tnose

I don’t think you should report it. Once they find out you have street cred awareness, they might put pressure on you to become a coppers nark.

I drive with my windows open (I like fresh air) and my nose runs from the cold. Sometimes I even stop my car and leave the windows open while I check my phone. Am I raging cokehead dealer?

@MrsWeebles
Such a car is always suspicious regardless of where you see it and never to park next to in Morrisons.

This car (can't remember if I said) is a 15 plate. So now a 6 year old car. A Merc - so a nice car but it does make it stand out for just sitting there.

@viques everything you have written is completely normal in London.
This is completely abnormal here. Hence noticeable.

I'd love to do this but where I live the police are get a bit over excited and I'd probably be fine for have a picnic in my car and reading none essential material.

@MrsWeebles

A few years ago I had petty much the same scenario on my street. After a week or so of observing this stranger parking for long periods of time but never leaving his car or being approached by anyone I started to think perhaps he was "casing" the neighbourhood for likely targets for hoe/auto theft. I called the police (non-emergency #) and reported a suspicious vehicle and told them my concerns. A little while after my call the police called me back to tell me that it was an unmarked police car on "official business" . Within a few days they busted a large grow-op about a block from my home. FYI the unmarked police car was some kind of high end fancy tricked out SUV with mostly blacked out windows.

Strikes me that it's pretty stupid for the police to tell some random caller that they are staking out some bad guys. I'll need to remember that if I think they are watching me for, I dunno, excessive haribo consumption.

@SquirmOfEels no and leather seats with no scratch marks..... and my dog wasn't interested in sniffing towards him

Mind you, there is quite a bit of dog theft going on lately - if he was into that, he would need to be on foot and following to see what dog lives at what house.

I am actually livid about the dog thefts lately - they have been snatching them off the country lanes as they drive past

Strikes me that it's pretty stupid for the police to tell some random caller that they are staking out some bad guys

but equally it's pretty stupid for police surveillance to be noticeable by a random mumsnetter looking out their window.

The reality is, surveillance generally doesn't need to be very good, most people never look for it, or simply say "they're probably just some estate agent having a wank between calls"

@sirfredfredgeorge you forgot whilst sniffing a marker pen

Actually @UrAWizHarry they didn't tell me they were staking out bad guys, they told me they were on official business which here in Canada covers a fairly broad spectrum. And since I know I wasn't involved in anything to warrant being under suspicion I was relieved to know they were police and not some crook looking to rob (or worse) myself or my neighbours. I wasn't some "random caller" either as I identified myself and gave my address and voiced my concerns, I am happy that our police relieved my worries and glad they are on the job.

He could be between appointments and looking for a quiet place to sit. He might need a break from his household. He might be listening to the radio which would look like he was doing nothing.

To consider reporting him seems bonkers. What on earth would you report him for? What does having a particular reg/make of car have to do with anything?

What are the fashionable dogs wearing? Moschino harnesses?
When I used to work for social services I would often park up between visits, I got challenged many times about why I was sat outside someone's house. Theres a lot of paranoia out there that I think said more about them than me.
(Mostly they thought I was a bailiff/tax investigator or social worker).

@MrsWeebles

Actually *@UrAWizHarry* they didn't tell me they were staking out bad guys, they told me they were on official business which here in Canada covers a fairly broad spectrum. And since I know I wasn't involved in anything to warrant being under suspicion I was relieved to know they were police and not some crook looking to rob (or worse) myself or my neighbours. I wasn't some "random caller" either as I identified myself and gave my address and voiced my concerns, I am happy that our police relieved my worries and glad they are on the job.

Ah, so they were sitting there eating donuts then. Gotcha.

How has everyone missed that he was wiping his nose because he had just snorted cocaine?

I also have London street cred awareness and I have just reported a woman I saw repeatedly loitering behind the Waitrose customer services desk (she thinks she’s so clever, wearing the “uniform” and the “badge” as a disguise but I know better).

Oh dear.

@HTH1 my favourite answer yet
How dare she !

Is he running the engine? Perhaps he's picked a spot where it won't bother anyone to idle the engine for 30-40 minutes to keep the battery charged. Staring straight ahead- could be listening to podcast or radio. Windows rolled down- airing car because someone has smoked in it or to try to get rid of dog smell. You need to adjust the times you're out so you bump into neighbours and ask them about it.

@UrAWizHarry why the hate on/derogatory comments regarding the police? They weren't eating donuts actuall, what they were doing is called SURVEILLANCE. They were doing their job and the evidence that they did it well is that they busted a large grow op in a residential neighbourhood. I personally find it says a lot about a person who thinks its clever to run down the police force, if you are ever in a position to call them for help you ought to be damn glad they are there when you need them.

Why don’t you ask him? Tell him you’ve been watching him for a while.

@pipsqueakbollock the person in the car could also be a private detective, A former employer off mine used to do that for a living and said he spent many many hours just sitting in his car watching for what he was being paid to watch for, which was according to him, often evidence of adultery. So perhaps this fellow is watching to see if a "certain person" goes to a specific place or meets up with a specific person. SO many possibilities!

Ok apart from the fact you have way too much time on your hands and this is a non event. If you were London street smart you would know that if you suspected he was a drug dealer you would stay well out of it and forget about it.

[quote pipsqueakbollock]@Sapho47 He looks exactly like he's waiting to pick someone up but he isn't - I saw him drive out alone. Plus it's not a through route to anywhere, no station, bus stop, offices.

Just sitting there with the windows open.[/quote]
Is the bus stop on a busy road?

If you're picking someone up but have a bit of a wait its not always practical to park by their work place/stop.

So park nearby and they message when there ready

@TiersForFears1 🤣 that would end well

“ hi mate just wondering as I’ve been watching you for a while and saw you wipe your nose what sort of dodgy antics have you got going on incase I need to report it “

If no one is going to the car then it's not drugs.
One of my neighbours used to drive home, park up & have a smoke & chill before going into the house to face his dc.
I like the PI suggestion!