Calling the police to check on a crying baby

[summermumma2021]

Just had to call the police to check on a new neighbours baby. What would
you have done in this situation?
New neighbours live down our road around 100m away from us and could hear loud very distressed crying for over half an hour.

It sounded like a newborn or young baby crying and so I assumed they’d settle or some attempt to comfort them would be made but the crying stayed at the same level for ther period time. I could also hear raised voices and car doors slamming and I asked my husband if he’d heard it too (he was downstairs) and he said yeah he was worried as well.

Anyway in hoping it was nothing and the little one is fine but it just didn’t sit right and it sounded like no attempt to comfort them was being made at all.

i have no idea who the new neighbours are as it’s quite far from our bit of the road but for it to be that loud from this distance didn’t seem right. I have also had three colicky babies so I do know babies can cry for periods of time but as I said it sounded like no attempt to help them was being made.

Anyway police treating it as a priority case and checking things out. Just wanted to share really as worried.

This^^
OP called the police because she heard a baby crying for 30 minutes?? Wtf??!

So if nothing was wrong, the likely exhausted family will feel targeted by neighbours calling the police on them for their crying baby. Poor sods. Hopefully they don't find out it was you.

You absolutely did the right thing. You were worried and so was your husband. Best to get these things checked out rather than wait for some devastating news report.

The neighbours next to my partner would leave the baby crying during the night , but the screams would get louder and I could hear raised voices, this was over time, so I reported to children’s services , I didn’t care if I was wrong, if it was nothing then fine, but what if it wasn’t ? I’d do it again if I had to, I don’t know the outcome all I know is the baby sounded distressed and I’d rather intervene than do nothing.

You’ve done the right thing OP and in this instance police were the correct people to call. You were/are concerned a child is at immediate risk of harm.

Social services are not first responders - that’s the police. Social services are who will follow up in the morning.

My dd1 cried a lot! She was breastfed which did shut her up briefly but she really never could be settled awake until after 6 months or so, turned out she’s autistic. I’m sure our neighbours thought something was up though they would see one of on the shared balcony attempting to calm her regularly

Who would subject themselves to any possible scenerio
Best to let them know police can follow up and stay out of it now days.
100m and can hear that.
Good on you Op.

Yeah, my baby was not a particularly big crier, but she did often cry for 30-60 minutes of an evening as the sun went down for the first 12 weeks. We soothed her constantly through this. At points she had nappy rash so we would change her, which would be the only time she wasn’t being soothed and probably intensified the crying. To me it felt like the crying remained intense and I doubt anyone would have heard the soothing as it was quiet. I am so glad nobody called the police because that would have broken me postpartum, but equally if OP had a gut feeling that can’t be ignored.

You shouldn’t feel bad about reporting something like that- that’s what we should all do in situations like this. I will say that sometimes babies are completely inconsolable, especially when they’re colicky or unwell. My youngest (1) had a horrible virus last winter and cried solidly for hours at a time. I comforted, gave calpol etc, rocked her, read and sang to her and in the end we were both crying. As far as I know our neighbours could only hear her crying/screaming and not everything I was doing to try and help her.

eta: if the police had showed up I would have been upset at the time but in hindsight knowing that people in our neighbourhood care enough about our children is a very good thing. They would have done it out of concern.

If only all those who heard children in distress, screaming had intervened instead of "its none of my business"........

I’ve reported this post I made and asked for it to be deleted. I misread what I was quoting an it so the absolute opposite of what I thought it had said. I read “wouldn’t” as “would”.

For clarity, as a former police dispatcher we absolutely would have dispatched to this, and with quite a high priority

Perhaps when this has all calmed down, you could try and get to know new neighbour who may be isolated and struggling newly away from her friends or family.

This. I’d have at least gone to look or something.

I always remember when my son was young like this and he was just a baby that cried a lot, nothing was wrong he just didn’t like being put down but I had to have a shower and just get stuff done so yes he was crying for a good 20-30 minutes at times

One particular day I found a letter basically telling me my baby is crying too much and I should do a better job etc.. obviously it was not signed by anyone but it made me feel so shitty and angry, and until this day (18 years on) if I ever found out who sent it, it would not end well for them because they actually made me feel like I was a bad parent.

I didn’t change anything by the way and I just had to let him cry as I couldn’t spend my days literally just holding him 24/7 but that letter was bad enough, if the police or social services knocked at my door I would have hit the roof

I am surprised by this. If this baby is being severely neglected then police protection might be needed. All the children that I know who have been brought to the hospital out of hours have been brought by the police under PPO....

Police do welfare checks though if members of the public report concerns.

God, im glad my neighbours didnt do this when my newborn had horrific silent reflux. She cried for hours and hours. The police would have been out 3 or 4 times a night!

Yes we all have a duty to safeguard, but newborns cry a lot!

It was the right thing to do, OP. Ignore those saying it wasn't. It's the fact that you also heard raised voices and doors slamming - clearly something going on. I would have done the same in your position.

Much better to make the call and all be OK than to not call and regret it.

And were you also shouting and slamming doors?

Some babies with colic cry for hours and hours on end. That said I think it’s no harm getting it checked out especially with the raised voices and banging . I mean everyone would be complaining that neighbours did nothing if it came to light that a child was being abused and people in the neighbourhood heard this and did nothing .

Complete overreaction - there’s a heatwave, newborn babies cry a lot and you have no idea if the baby isn’t being comforted. Well done for making new parents feel even worse.

It’s kind of pissed me off that you’re making a huge assumption the baby is being left to cry with no attempt to console it. What exactly are you expecting to hear from the parents?

I don’t understand why wouldn’t have gone round first to ask if everything was ok or if they neededed help. Your DH was at home so one of you could have gone.

I think I would of walked past first then made a judgement call

If there's nothing good on TV, perhaps some people like to create their own drama?

I can remember my first crying solidly for literally 4 hours with colic. She did this for the first 12 weeks of her life. I think if my neighbour had called the police on me my PPD would have spiralled.

Sometimes, just a friendly neighbourly knock as a first point of call could have been a bit less extreme than going straight to calling the police... I understand your concern but given the circumstances- new baby, heat wave etc it might have been worth trying something else first.