To have reported my next door neighbour to the police?

[HeartsAndClubs]

This morning I am 99% certain that I heard my neighbour hitting his child. She was screaming in absolute terror and he was shouting at her while hitting her. It was loud enough that I could hear it through the walls. Then when she stopped screaming he carried on shouting. It’s now gone very quiet.

These neighbours are always shouting at one another, but never like this. I froze at the time so didn’t ring 999 before it had all died down, but I have reported it, and am about to report to social services.

But talking to a friend she said we don’t know the circumstances, and what if the child has SN and was screaming and head banging or similar and I should have stayed out of it.

I am 99% sure I’ve done the right thing. But what if friend is right? I’ve seen posts on here from parents saying their children scream constantly due to SN. I would hate to think that I have potentially put them under investigation if they might not have done anything.

You have done the right thing

You've done the right thing.

Yes there may be a justifiable reason for what you heard. In which case SS will investigate, offer support if needed etc. No harm done.

But this may also be a case of child abuse. In which case you could be saving a life. Well done

Let the police decide if there is an issue, you could have saved a child.

If it felt right at the time then it will have been.

If there is nothing bad happening then the SS and police will leave it alone. But you have to act - not ignore the situation.

If there is something bad happening you have still done the right thing.

Too often when it comes to light that a child is abused or killed by their parents do neighbours say they were concerned but never reported it.
If you're worried for a child's safety you report it, they'll do a welfare check and decide if there's anything they're concerned about. Worth the risk of offending someone in my opinion.

It’s irrelevant what your friend thinks, you or her are not doing the investigating. You did the right thing which was to pass factual information on.

If there are SN needs then no harm done in the long term. They may even get much needed support from SS.

If you said nothing then the child could come to harm.

I would hate to think that I have potentially put them under investigation if they might not have done anything.

More than you would hate to potentially be complicit in the abuse of a child by turning a blind eye?

You've done the right thing. It is not your place to assess the level of risk for this child. That this the job of social services and the police.

Your responsibility as an adult is to report what you hear and/or see regarding a child's safety. Then let the professionals do their job.

I assume that your friend is neither police or social services so she doesn’t get to decide.

You did the right thing.

I once reported over the road neighbours for leaving a reception age dc home alone when they went to the pub. Dc was screaming out an upstairs window.. No regrets.
Lots of dc should be under ss radar.. You may have helped such a dc...

Forgot to say, I have a child with ASD who used to scream the house down. Me shouting at him
or hitting him wouldn’t have helped.

I voted YABU because someone should call 999 in this scenario.
However, having not done this you did the right thing to report it.

I have a child with SN who did those things.

But I didn't shout (well maybe once when really frustrated before I knew how to handle him) & for 30 seconds/one phrase as that would have made the situation/meltdown far worse.

You absolutely did the right thing.

Omg this gave me flashbacks. I was a beaten child and your mention of screaming in terror has me shaking

@Easterbunnygettingready

I once reported over the road neighbours for leaving a reception age dc home alone when they went to the pub. Dc was screaming out an upstairs window.. No regrets. Lots of dc should be under ss radar.. You may have helped such a dc...

I bet social services never did anything. They don't unless there's multiple reports, I know this from experience sadly

Trust your gut. It is better to have been over cautious than to regret not doing anything later.

How many times do we see awful stories in the press, then the neighbours come out and say "Oh I thought something funny was going on"

You've done EXACTLY the right thing, and you should do it again and again and again if it continues.

Thank you, you did the right thing

I wish someone had reported my parents. You did the right thing, thank you OP

You did the right thing and thank you for doing it

A child having SN isn’t an excuse for being shouted at. And even if there is a reasonable explanation, social services would discover that and it would go no further. You’ve done the right thing. Abused children rely on other people standing up for them and not turning a blind eye.

You've done the right thing.
Don't second guess it, now the professional can act.

Definitely did the right thing. I understand it must have been hard but there needs to be more people like you in the world!