Police called out to my crying screaming daughter!

[paulanthony1976]

Hi everyone,
So our families bank holiday was ruined by a knock at the door on Saturday night at 10.30pm by the police. Someone had reported a disturbance from our home which the police came to investigate.

I was in bed already, as were the kids, and my wife was getting ready for bed when they knocked us up and interrogated us like criminals. About an hour earlier my 3 year old daughter had been kicking screaming crying tantrum as she didn't want to go to bed, but she soon wore herself out and was fast asleep when the cops came.

They took my kids names and birthdays and school details etc, as well as my wives and mine personal and work details. They had a good look around the house, checked on the kids sleeping in their rooms, asked us lots of questions and then left. Upon leaving the police told us they were satisfied that it was a false alarm, that the matter was closed, and that we had nothing to be worried about.

The next day on Bank Holiday Sunday at 9am, the police returned to our cul-de-sac, knocked on all our friends/neighbours doors and asked lots of questions about our family and if they had heard noise. Needless to say when the police left all our friendly neighbours came back over to us to tell us about their interviews with the police and to get the gossip from us and to express their support to us, and to condemn the "snake in the grass" living among us, and the for wasting the police time.

Although we had done nothing wrong, we now feel like criminals, and losing sleep worrying. Not to mention being gossiped about by our neighbours, even though all our kids play together in the street.

We are really angry at being falsely accused of something, a 3 year old cannot legally create a disturbance, can they? also angry at being told it was a closed matter, when then the next day they came back to interrogate our friends and neighbours. Can I complain for harassment and intimidation, or for defamation and libel?

I am now walking on broken glass every time my kids throw a tantrum and fearful of another public complaint or visit by the police and/or social services.

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcomed please.

OP- the police were called to a noise disturbance.

Are you that deluded that you don't categorise a screaming tantrum at that time of night as a noise disturbance? I certainly do. Along with booming bass music, engine revving and screechy adults.

Do you acknowledge that your daughter was making a lot of noise? Yes, because you admit she was my 3 year old daughter had been kicking screaming crying tantrum, ergo she was creating a disturbance.

When it has been pointed out to you, you go on the defensive, and even try to deny typing something that you typed.

Neighbours called the Police to my house one afternoon with a report of DV. I had no children and was alone in the house, doing some post holiday cleaning. Police insisted on checking for a potential perpetrator. They didn't find anyone, of course. I was glad they were thorough - but decided that I must never SING again.

I've learnt that:
Some people devote their whole lives to their children, having a magical source of money so that they do not have leave said children to go to work. (please tell why this never happened to me?)
You are old at 50 . Sob!
Single women who have the nerve to buy a 4 bedroomed house are sour old bags who hate lively children and tell tall tales to the nasty policeman.
You should not reporting a screaming child unless you just want to be vindictive

but decided that I must never SING again.

My god port how bad can your singing be?!

Portp

well according to my tenancy contract, which is a legal document, we must not make any disturbance between 11 at night and 7 in the morning, so it does not say we or our children cannot scream or shout or whatever else that may be classed as a disturbance at 9 or 10 in the evening, ;-)

I am being defensive yes, with good reason, a 3 year old does not even know what a "disturbance" is, 3 is below the age of reason, and therefore not breaking any law :-) so, ERG, that is a legal defence.

so, ERG, that is a legal defence

On what planet?

You are responsible for your three year old. You could be fined for the noise disturbance.

Are these educational days for you too?

you want to live in a free society this is what it looks like! Or do you want to live in a nanny state instead? we all know what a nanny state looks like to!

No, do tell: what does a nanny state look like?

I have learnt that if you are not a vibrant loud young person then you have no right to move into a street where these vibrant people live.

If, god forbid, you ignore that rule you have no right to complain about any noise ever. Because its your own fault for choosing to live there

I have learnt that if your DCs are not the centre of your entire universe, then you are not teaching them correctly.
Mine have turned out well due to luck.

I have learnt to question how the actual fuck you can never do anything without the DCs and yet manage to "like to party"
Also that a magic money tree grows in the gardens of said parents as they clearly do not have to work.

Although, it's funny. Because I believe the ops children are winning awards left, right and centre at school.
But yet the OP never has a moment to himself as every minute is taken up by his children.

Does he actually go to school with them, I wonder?

You're splitting hairs now and coming across as a total knob.

As you are determined to obsess about laws rather than people I suggest you google the civil law concerning statutory noise nuisance.

No offence was committed but then no one was charged were they

Police attended a report of a child screaming that's classed as a disturbance. A disturbance can be one of numerous things. The person causing it won't necessarily be charged with a disturbance.

A disturbance could be someone adult or child screaming because they're being assaulted
It could be someone screaming cos someone in their house has collapsed
It could be people messing about.
It could be one off 100 things

The police system records it as it's most obvious basic type. Someone screaming its a disturbance. It's then a case of ascertaining what's causing it and in many cases recoding the call type

Or study the actual law. If you can drag yourself away from your oh-so-excptional children.

OP, very very serious question now.

Do you not think that the level of noise your child was making, at 9/10pm was too loud?

Would you be happy if a new family moved into your street and their DCs were screaming at 9/10pm?
If your DCs were asleep, and a child was screaming, shouting, whatever and causing a disturbance would you say, oh ok well it isn't 11pm yet so it's fine?

I live in a very low crime area, so low in fact that apparently the only crime reported here is that of children having tantrums that are little too loud for some peoples ears.

Maybe some people here are right that i shouldnt have pointed the finger on my old/new neighbour, but hey we all do things in haste sometimes, especially when we are acting emotionally or hormonally.

so sorry for pointing the finger at my old-er/new-er neighbour (even though it probably was), you know we r all human after all, except for criminals as they are inhuman

YOU know what a disturbance is, I assume?

No one is suggesting your 3.7 year old is going to be fined or whatever, that's absurd.

But YOU know that if someone called the police, the noise she was making was disturbing them. And YOU are responsible for that.

OP, if you fell down the stairs and knocked yourself unconscious do you want the kind of neighbour who would call the police because they heard your child crying? I bloody well would.

Don't hate your neighbours for caring about your kids, ffs.

Am sure the police were visiting neighbours so that they had independent statements supporting their own impressions of the OP. Obv 10pm at night isn't the most sociable time to be door knocking neighbours (esp when all seems ok), so naked sense they did this the next morning.

Imagine it if you were looking through the notes

• call made regarding screaming child.
• home visited , children asleep, parents say all is ok.

... Unfortunately as baby P & the Anna Climbie case showed, parents/primary carers can't always be trusted to tell the truth, so a further note on the record:

"- neighbours visited & nil concerns raised, report family engage well & children play together with other kids well, haven't been bothered/noticed unusual or worrying noise from them"

Adds extra validation to their statement & could prevent SS from needing to make their own enquiries.

OP - you're understandably shaken by this happening, but think you ABU to the police when it seems all they were doing was pulling info together to prove there wasn't a case to answer to.

What a load of nonsense.

I call GF.

How many houses away does this newer neighbour live from you?

Are they right next door?

Ok, so yours was a baseless complaint, However I wish my neighbours had the balls to call the police when I was growing up and I was inevitably getting a good kick in from my dad and screamed bloody murder, instead of the looks next day and whispered "are you ok?" As I went off to school.
Better they check than ignore another child being abused.