"Dobbing on a suspected dealer"

[BriD]

I have a suspicion that we might have some shady people living next door to us on the top floor of this apartment block with live in. I had commented to hubby a couple of times over the last couple of weeks that Aussies don't seem as considerate with noise levels late at night. Not talking parties, but people coming and going, talking loudly, laughing raucously at 2 am right outside windows of people who are sleeping. Anyways...Saturday night....I had serious insomnia...I ended up still watching random tv at 3am....through the night our neighbours had a steady stream of people coming in and out. No music, no party...but he even propped the door open at the bottom, so no one had to buzz to be let in. At 3 am I noticed particularly the sound of young girls stomping up the pathway, clattering up the 2 flights of stairs, swearing at each other and finally literally banging open the door....silence ensued. Followed by the girls leaving one by one a few minutes later...much more quietly. Soooo....Detective Bri, heart pounding with her ear pressed to her door...lights off...hardly breathing trying to imagine what is happening next door. I decided to peep over my balcony railing to see the people coming and going...the sound of the door opening sounded like the earth's crust had just cracked...it was so loud, almost as loud as the pounding of my heart. As I slowly leaned out to look over the balcony...I caught sight of a man in the neighbours apartment on their balcony...I leapt back SO fast I nearly smashed my head into our door...I did not try to look again. I slunk off to bed and continued to hear comings and going for the rest of the morning until about 5am. So...my theory is...a drug dealer....I don't at all like this option...not one bit. We are not considered to be in a bad area...in fact, it is seen as quite larny....but...even larny neighbourhoods...can be hoodish....hmmmm . Obviously I have nothing to go on besides his late night visitors coming and going...he and his wife/partner look in their 40's or so...we hardly see them...but they are not very chatty at all. I also don't want to "dob on a dealer" (if he is one) if I have to live next door to him....hmmm. So the inner rebel in me made a point and I got rid of the piece of wood that he and some of the other people living here use as a prop to keep our "security" door not so secure....pathetic maybe...and I may yet decide to do something more significant...but for now I will just keep my ears open and see what happens. I could be so off with this....but as my mama likes to say...there is no smoke without fire.

I just copied this from my journal...because I need to bounce my thoughts a bit...hopefully figure out if I have the balls to do something about a suspicion...

Sunnyskies and Bronwyn have encouraged me to "dob" the suspected dealer...but I am quite terrified this could leave me with a target on my back...What if the guy saw me peeping and then cops come see them and they connect the dots. These people have not been living here for long...maybe one night is too little to make such assumptions...I don't know...but this is seriously freaking me out.

What if there is something going on...but when cops come nothing is off...but the neighbour is pissed off...hmmm??? If hubby gets this job in Sydney he would go ahead of me to set up...and I would be left alone here with the kids for a couple of weeks...this is not sitting well with me...

In my position, what would you do...I can totally feel myself wanting to play the ostrich because I am feeling too scared about the consequences...but that also doesn't sit right with me....if he is a dealer...those are someone's kids getting drugs off my neighbour...not ok. at. all....

I seriously feel like bursting into tears.

Would it be ok...if I gave it a week or two and keep an eye on things over the weekends (things seem much quieter here in the week)...and if it seems like something that happens regularly on the weekends then I call them in?...

I want to add to this...that that night I googled reporting suspected drug dealers...and came across a forum of some kind where people were openly telling each other where to find drugs...and then someone said something about "ah the coppers could come here and see everything"...and then followed a discussion on what they would like to do to people who "dob on the dealers"....string them up and slit their throat...was one of the "ideas"...so that left me freaking out...needless to say...

Edited April 29, 2014 by BriD

[Sunnyskies]

To answer your question on the other thread it is definitely off. If need be wait til Saturday and see if you have a repeat performance.

Anyway, how are they going to know it's you. There are other people in the block. The cops won't tell them. I would be more worried that their activities bring harm into the building and my kids. If they are dealers they will be under lock and key, if not they may be a bit irritated but won't know it's you. I just think that their behavior is not normal and I wouldn't be happy to have the security gate open with a lot of traffic coming through the block.

[Toitjie]

Interesting and frightening situation...I honestly don't know what i would do. My first reaction would be to play detective, spy on them and maybe try to take a pic or two...but with kids the whole game changes. And if you are going to be alone for a couple of weeks, I can understand your fear.

I would lean towards waiting a couple of days and see how things go. Maybe it will quiet down. But I also agree with Bronwyn about a deal or something gone wrong with you and the kids nearby so if it does not quiet down over the weekend, I think your suspicions might be right. If you do it anonymously they will never know.

Hang in there, I hope it sorts itself out quickly without adding any more stress to you.

[joweni]

Brid I been following your journey and I am so sorry to read about the hassles you are experiencing-healthwise,jobwise and now the dodgy neighbours just to add to your burden..... hang on a while before doing anything. Wait to see what happens about the Sydney job as that will also give you another Saturday night to see if the same pattern repeats itself before you make any decisions. This is one of the hardest periods of resettling and although it is good to do the right thing, give yourself some time and space-you have enough on your plate at the moment. Deep breath and hang on, things will get better .

[BriD]

To answer your question on the other thread it is definitely off. If need be wait til Saturday and see if you have a repeat performance.

Anyway, how are they going to know it's you. There are other people in the block. The cops won't tell them. I would be more worried that their activities bring harm into the building and my kids. If they are dealers they will be under lock and key, if not they may be a bit irritated but won't know it's you. I just think that their behavior is not normal and I wouldn't be happy to have the security gate open with a lot of traffic coming through the block.

Yeah...ok...at least I am not crazy. Yes...you are right...there are loads of people that must have been disturbed by the comings and going...not only in our apartment block. At least on our actual apartment door we have a metal security/fly screen door, and a solid door with a bolt and a chain and a normal lock....and the walls are brick not dry walling...so maybe I can check if it happens again on the weekend and then call it in...

This sucks

Interesting and frightening situation...I honestly don't know what i would do. My first reaction would be to play detective, spy on them and maybe try to take a pic or two...but with kids the whole game changes. And if you are going to be alone for a couple of weeks, I can understand your fear.

I would lean towards waiting a couple of days and see how things go. Maybe it will quiet down. But I also agree with Bronwyn about a deal or something gone wrong with you and the kids nearby so if it does not quiet down over the weekend, I think your suspicions might be right. If you do it anonymously they will never know.

Hang in there, I hope it sorts itself out quickly without adding any more stress to you.

Yeah...it is a difficult one...but at the same time...what kind of person would I be if I did not feel duty bound to report suspicions...specially on drugs...and I do feel very duty bound.

Brid I been following your journey and I am so sorry to read about the hassles you are experiencing-healthwise,jobwise and now the dodgy neighbours just to add to your burden..... hang on a while before doing anything. Wait to see what happens about the Sydney job as that will also give you another Saturday night to see if the same pattern repeats itself before you make any decisions. This is one of the hardest periods of resettling and although it is good to do the right thing, give yourself some time and space-you have enough on your plate at the moment. Deep breath and hang on, things will get better .

Thanks Joweni, appreciate your encouragement. I know we will get all the ducks in a row soon enough...then all this early days stuff will be in the past.

Yup...wait to see what this Saturday brings...confirm my thoughts...

[Bronwyn&Co]

I understand your concerns now BriD. In that case, yes, I agree too...give it another week or two and make sure. Maybe it all goes quiet & you will be glad you waited. On the other hand maybe it confirms your suspicions. Don't worry too much for now, it's probably too early to act.

Edited April 29, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co

[BriD]

I understand your concerns now BriD. In that case, yes, I agree too...give it another week or two and make sure. Maybe it all goes quiet & you will be glad you waited. On the other hand maybe it confirms your suspicions. Don't worry too much for now, it's probably too early to act.

Yeah...I agree...waiting a bit could help the situation become clearer.

Thanks for the input...always good to bounce things off people a bit removed from the situation...

[Mara]

There is a number that you can call anonymously, to report a crime or suspected crime. Perhaps Google the number and use that to make your report.

Just checked the number is 1800 333 000

[Tazzn]

I'd wait and bit a scout it out a bit more before calling.

[Johnno]

From what you have described it sounds very suss but I gotta be careful in stating the obvious here as I'll no doubt get clobbered for being negative and painting Australia in a bad light! Fact is, we'll never outlaw drugs completely and where there's demand there will be a supplier. The only problem is the type of people that will be visiting your block of apartments in the wee hours. Typically drug addicts are not very good at holding down jobs and they need to get money somewhere so I'd prefer that they do not frequent the area where I live.

[HansaPlease]

Johnno, are you going to mention it in every single thread you post in? As you have pointed out in the crime thread, Donny asked a question about crime and you answered it honestly, nothing more. Now Brid is asking about what to do about her situation - not our opinion about the state of the country or for us to drag dirty laundry from other threads into this one. Just keeping it fair? Most of your answer I agree with - can we just drop the tit for tat stuff though?

BriD, it's a tough one. I'm sorry to hear you have this negative experience tainting your overall experience of your move. It's a really hard decision to make - whether to dob or whether to put up with having unsavoury folks turning up on your doorstep and living next to you.

Johnno is right - it's the junkies that you really don't want hangin around your house. However- This may sound weird, but bear with me - can you tell if the general clientele (such as the clip-clopping girls) are young people out to get their party wares, or junkies looking for their fix - I do beeline there is a difference when it comes to the types of drugs they are selling and the type of trouble you are going to get from the customers. To explain what I mean - If they're selling party type drugs, then I would expect that the people picking them up at 3am are there to get their stuff, take it somewhere else and continue their party. If it's more the addictive, destructive stuff they're selling, heroin, ice, then the chances are, it's not kids looking for kicks, it's junkies looking for their next fix - to me it's by far the less desirable scenario because they would be looking for their next opportunity to make money to afford their habit....

A simplistic way of looking at it, but these are the things I would be thinking about in trying to establish what to do. What a lot of people don't realise is that drugs are everywhere - the guy at work who seems quiet - he probably gets mashed all weekend... What I am also trying to say is - not all drug users are slum dwelling junkies - often they are normal people like you and me.

I prefer beer. that's a drug too you know.

Anyway, in terms of dobbing - it's a tough one. I once reported a high speed road rage incident that endangered a lot of peopke around the two fools that were involved - and when I made a statement, the police asked me if I would testify in court. The first thing my statement said was my name and address and if it did go to court, they would know who I was. I'm not sure I was comfortable with that. If it was a killer I'd have no problem with the risk, but a road rager that would probably just lose his license, not serve and jail time and then come and pay me a visit? Me, fine... ok, but my wife and kids?

I definitely agree that you should not do anything right now- just watch and take note whislt you find out more.

How long are you planning to stay there?

[BriD]

From what you have described it sounds very suss but I gotta be careful in stating the obvious here as I'll no doubt get clobbered for being negative and painting Australia in a bad light! Fact is, we'll never outlaw drugs completely and where there's demand there will be a supplier. The only problem is the type of people that will be visiting your block of apartments in the wee hours. Typically drug addicts are not very good at holding down jobs and they need to get money somewhere so I'd prefer that they do not frequent the area where I live.

Yes, the type of people is a concern to me...I even dreamt about talking to the other neighbours last night...maybe I should.

Johnno, are you going to mention it in every single thread you post in? As you have pointed out in the crime thread, Donny asked a question about crime and you answered it honestly, nothing more. Now Brid is asking about what to do about her situation - not our opinion about the state of the country or for us to drag dirty laundry from other threads into this one. Just keeping it fair? Most of your answer I agree with - can we just drop the tit for tat stuff though?

BriD, it's a tough one. I'm sorry to hear you have this negative experience tainting your overall experience of your move. It's a really hard decision to make - whether to dob or whether to put up with having unsavoury folks turning up on your doorstep and living next to you.

Johnno is right - it's the junkies that you really don't want hangin around your house. However- This may sound weird, but bear with me - can you tell if the general clientele (such as the clip-clopping girls) are young people out to get their party wares, or junkies looking for their fix - I do beeline there is a difference when it comes to the types of drugs they are selling and the type of trouble you are going to get from the customers. To explain what I mean - If they're selling party type drugs, then I would expect that the people picking them up at 3am are there to get their stuff, take it somewhere else and continue their party. If it's more the addictive, destructive stuff they're selling, heroin, ice, then the chances are, it's not kids looking for kicks, it's junkies looking for their next fix - to me it's by far the less desirable scenario because they would be looking for their next opportunity to make money to afford their habit....

A simplistic way of looking at it, but these are the things I would be thinking about in trying to establish what to do. What a lot of people don't realise is that drugs are everywhere - the guy at work who seems quiet - he probably gets mashed all weekend... What I am also trying to say is - not all drug users are slum dwelling junkies - often they are normal people like you and me.

I prefer beer. that's a drug too you know.

Anyway, in terms of dobbing - it's a tough one. I once reported a high speed road rage incident that endangered a lot of peopke around the two fools that were involved - and when I made a statement, the police asked me if I would testify in court. The first thing my statement said was my name and address and if it did go to court, they would know who I was. I'm not sure I was comfortable with that. If it was a killer I'd have no problem with the risk, but a road rager that would probably just lose his license, not serve and jail time and then come and pay me a visit? Me, fine... ok, but my wife and kids?

I definitely agree that you should not do anything right now- just watch and take note whislt you find out more.

How long are you planning to stay there?

Thanks for sharing your experience....it can be a tough one. I agree that the type of drug users would be a factor...at this stage I would guess that it is more the party type since I would assume that hard drug users wouldn't wait for a weekend to need a fix...and so far the nights during the week have been peaceful and quiet. So perhaps it is the party goer type if indeed this is what is happening.

We have a year lease...ending at the end of Jan. But Hubby is possibly about to be offered a job in Sydney which of course would mean a move for us....so...part of me wants to find out the outcome of that too...if we move, it would be easier then to just call it in after if after some time I feel there is def something up.

And with regard to my overall view...this has not tainted it at all....you find stuff happening in any country. I still do not feel the anxiety that I felt constantly in RSA...so we are absolutely still far better off here.

[RYLC]

The first thing my statement said was my name and address and if it did go to court, they would know who I was. I'm not sure I was comfortable with that.

That's what the Crime Stoppers phone line is for - it is anonymous.

[HansaPlease]

That's what the Crime Stoppers phone line is for - it is anonymous.

True, but without a name of a witness, they would not use evidence in court from a nameless person. So basically, crime stoppers is a tip off at best, police wouldn't be able to use it as evidence - effectively making their case weaker.

[Johnno]

Johnno, are you going to mention it in every single thread you post in? As you have pointed out in the crime thread, Donny asked a question about crime and you answered it honestly, nothing more. Now Brid is asking about what to do about her situation - not our opinion about the state of the country or for us to drag dirty laundry from other threads into this one. Just keeping it fair? Most of your answer I agree with - can we just drop the tit for tat stuff though?

Hansa, it's not tit for tat, it's s disclaimer. I was clobbered on the previous thread for speaking the truth and told to stop spreading negative news about Aus because it makes some people feel "unhappy". So if you agree no more being clobbered for telling it as it is, then I'll feel safe for doing just that.

Fact is, happens.....good and bad and we should be able to discuss it on an open forum. Not in an attempt to put anyone off Australia but why not give both sides of the story. If what Bri is witnessing is in fact a drug dealer operating in her apartment block it merely highlights what I have been saying all along. One does not need to live in a "dodgy area" to have a drug dealer in your neighbourhood. I do not care if they are selling hardcore drugs to junkies or party drugs to yuppy teenagers, they are just as bad and especially so when you have young kids living in the vicinity.

This happened in Kallaroo (patrices neighbourhood). Sure it does not happen every week or even every year but it's a very nice neighbourhood and again proof that it does happen. This was one road away from where my inlaws live, Kallaroo is next to Hillary's both very nice upmarket suburbs. We've heard that this is the price that a drug dealer pays when they do not pay their supplier, which in this case the neighbours believe to be a bikie gang.

Edited May 1, 2014 by Johnno

[HansaPlease]

You missed the point of what I was saying