# Suspicious vehicle in front of my house..What would you do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 9, 2011, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767 "2011-02-09T15:53:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/61 "2011-02-10T05:05:20Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I guess I don’t see sitting in a car as suspicious activity, I see it as someone minding his own business. I’ve noticed that people from the suburbs seemed scared of a lot more with a lot less reason than people in the city. Preach it, brother! I used to be a carefree city dweller myself. I was busy enjoying the vibrant life of the city, a new restaurant every night, concerts, gallery openings. Nothing fazed me - burglary, arson, rape, murder, double-parking - I took it all in stride. Then I moved to the suburbs, and all that space and quiet made me real nervous. I started packing heat just to walk the dog. Strangers? Hell, I’ve blown away more than one person for just asking directions. You’d best not park in front of my house for more than a few seconds, even if you’re posing as the mailman or UPS guy. I’m onto you people. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/62 "2011-02-10T06:14:44Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I guess I don’t see sitting in a car as suspicious activity, I see it as someone minding his own business. I’ve noticed that people from the suburbs seemed scared of a lot more with a lot less reason than people in the city. The person was waiting in the car for 45 minutes and was seen with some type of electronic device. There is no obvious explanation for the behavior which makes it suspicious. This is how crime is stopped before it happens. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/63 "2011-02-10T06:37:50Z")
“Don’t let the sun set on your ass in this town, n_gg_r.” Unbelievable. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/64 "2011-02-10T07:42:08Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > “Don’t let the sun set on your ass in this town, n_gg_r.” > > Unbelievable. Is there a point to your racist rant? ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/65 "2011-02-10T08:45:49Z")
The guy could have had a fight with his wife, and needed to cool down, or continue fighting via text messages. I [del]fondly[/del] barely remember the late night fights me and the kids’ mom would have, and I’d get in the car and drive to a random part of the neighborhood to get away from her bitch ass for awhile. Lots of paranoid people in this thread, for sure. And what does ‘down there’ mean? Did he mean like a house down the street? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/66 "2011-02-10T10:03:21Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > The person was waiting in the car for 45 minutes and was seen with some type of electronic device. There is no obvious explanation for the behavior which makes it suspicious. This is how crime is stopped before it happens. Oh my God, an electronic device? …you mean like an iphone? Why are people so scared? ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/67 "2011-02-10T11:07:24Z")
If the person is doing something innocuous – cooling down after a fight with his wife, for instance – then he can explain that to the cop. No harm, no foul. ---
**Author:** ![mittu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/68 "2011-02-10T11:29:00Z")
> [@](#): > > he just apologized and said he needed to be ‘down there’. So many people seem to be ignoring this that i’m starting to think it is a regular turn of phrase i’m unfamiliar with. Can anybody clue me in on what he meant by this? Personally I wouldn’t be too concerned at all, perhaps I would be if I lived in a remote area but even when I used to live in a quiet suburb on a road that was on the route to nowhere it wouldn’t concern me. From the sounds of it the guy wasn’t acting suspiciously or watching anything or anyone intently, he was just a guy dicking about on his phone. It’s something I have done more than once, sometimes I work in the evenings and might have a booking at 9pm (when the person gets home from work) and if I get finished at my previous job early I will just park on a street somewhere until 9pm rolls around. During this time I tend to play games on my phone to keep myself occupied. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/69 "2011-02-10T11:34:07Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > If the person is doing something innocuous – cooling down after a fight with his wife, for instance – then he can explain that to the cop. No harm, no foul. Except that we have to live in a world where we explain our behavior to police officers for no reason other than we created a vague sense of unease in the community. Seriously, where does this fear come from? I have friends from all over the world and I only get this fear of the other vibe from a certain strain of Americans. In general, crime is down in the US, there really isn’t as much to be afraid of as some people seem to think. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/70 "2011-02-10T11:47:21Z")
> [@Kozmik](#): > > If the police aren’t concerned, then whoever is in the vehicle in front of your house is not your friend. > > If you don’t know whether the guy in question is doing anything wrong, then you have someting to worry about. I had thought my sarcasm was evident but I guess not. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/71 "2011-02-10T12:21:42Z")
Another vote for asking the police to send the car down your street on the next loop. > [@madmonk28](#): > > I guess I don’t see sitting in a car as suspicious activity, I see it as someone minding his own business. I’ve noticed that people from the suburbs seemed scared of a lot more with a lot less reason than people in the city. I can shed some light on this. I live on a quiet little cul de sac in a city (as does the OP, I believe). My street goes nowhere, and I am familiar with the cars of my neighbors, their families, their friends … so, a strange car parked on the street stands out. Although the neighborhood is quiet, the city is not. We’ve had mini-crime waves three, four times. So I am concerned about those strange cars (even though the problems are probably caused by foot-bound teens.) However, when I do see a strange car, I usually assume it’s a visitor and leave them alone. I did call the police once on a strange van, but only because it was the wrong color - a green van with the logo of a company that uses WHITE vans, and the logo was magnetic, not a painted. The van drove off before the police arrived. Looking back, I’m pretty sure that was some kind of stake-out on one of my neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/72 "2011-02-10T12:32:58Z")
I can see and accept a vehicle parked in front of a house if the driver goes fishing or whatever. However, why would someone who is fighting with his wife park in front of a house, instead of in front of a gas station or something? I like my privacy, and I’ve done my share of running around after midnight. But this behavior still sounds pretty suspicious to me. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/73 "2011-02-10T12:33:52Z")
What I would really do is to take careful aim and await developments. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/74 "2011-02-10T13:15:07Z")
> [@ducati](#): > > This happens weekly to me. > > I live in average house in an average neighborhood with average break-ins and burglaries. > Had a drug-related double homicide down the street last year. That’s supposed to be an “average” neighbourhood? Where do you live? ---
**Author:** ![pyromyte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d26b3c/32.png) [@pyromyte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pyromyte)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/75 "2011-02-10T13:27:46Z")
> [@mittu](#): > > So many people seem to be ignoring this that i’m starting to think it is a regular turn of phrase i’m unfamiliar with. Can anybody clue me in on what he meant by this? I should have mentioned that he gestured toward the front of the car with his hand. I took it to mean down the road. I’m not really sure, but I think he didn’t really know how to respond and just kind of blurted something out. I have also lived in the city before, and this sort of thing happening in the city would not have attracted my attention. It was definately unusual behavior in my current neighborhood. I did not assume he was up to no good, but I also didn’t assume he wasn’t. I appreciate everyone’s responses and different perspectives you’ve given me. I would most likely call the police next time. So, if you come park at my house late at night without leaving your vehicle, you’ll just have to explain to the police officer that you’re just playing pacman on your i-phone and this paranoid jackass (me) called the police, and he’ll be on his way. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/76 "2011-02-10T15:46:42Z")
I would have turned off my Wi-Fi with the assumption he found my signal and was surfing off it to use my interwebs. I would suspect that the signal would drop and he’d wander off to find some other Wi-Fi connection. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/77 "2011-02-10T17:00:36Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Is there a point to your racist rant? My point is that the “this is how crime gets stopped before it happens” paranoid BS I’m reading here reminds me of those shitty little towns where the local sheriff would make sure that “suspicious characters” (like Blacks, Indians, and strangers) were warned to leave town before it got dark. I used to think it was a thing of the past; my mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/78 "2011-02-10T17:12:38Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > My point is that the “this is how crime gets stopped before it happens” paranoid BS I’m reading here reminds me of those shitty little towns where the local sheriff would make sure that “suspicious characters” (like Blacks, Indians, and strangers) were warned to leave town before it got dark. I used to think it was a thing of the past; my mistake. Wow, what a stupid thing to say. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/79 "2011-02-10T17:25:03Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > My point is that the “this is how crime gets stopped before it happens” paranoid BS I’m reading here reminds me of those shitty little towns where the local sheriff would make sure that “suspicious characters” (like Blacks, Indians, and strangers) were warned to leave town before it got dark. I used to think it was a thing of the past; my mistake. Fine, you can do that. I on the other hand welcome a bit of paranoia. Home invasions are a reality, and I am a gimp female that has few options. I live in the countryside, and a quick offense beats being robbed and possibly killed or hospitalized. ---
**Author:** ![ducati](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767/80 "2011-02-10T18:12:35Z")
> [@Sateryn76](#): > > I would wager that you don’t live in an “average” neighborhood. > [@Eats\_Crayons](#): > > That’s supposed to be an “average” neighbourhood? Where do you live? You’re right. I live in what some would consider an above-average neighborhood, the average home being about 6,000 sf and costing about $650,000. According the the homicide detectives who came to visit after finding out I have cameras facing the street, mexican drug gangs rent houses in middle to upper-middle class neighborhoods all over the Atlanta area. Two or three people will live there with no furniture, and avoid contact with everyone. This is called a stash house. They bring in a ton or 2 of pot, and after dark they’ll back a car into the garage, sell some dope, and repeat as necessary. Something went wrong one night, and 1 buyer and 1 seller were killed. The others involved jumped in their vehicles and fled. The police were hoping they went by my house so they could at least have a lead on vehicles to look for. One did. They told me they have 15 more such houses “in the area” that they’re looking for. I live in a nice place with nice things and nice neighbors. Strangers walking around are unusual. Parking in front of someone’s house is unusual. Cars driving and parking after about 10pm are unusual. Parking in the street is illegal. In my experience, the unusual always warrants a second look, and perhaps a question or two. It’s one way to prevent crimes before they happen. People with nothing to hide typically understand; they’re homeowners too, somewhere. Punks with a problem? Fuck 'em. Cops are on the way, meathead. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suspicious-vehicle-in-front-of-my-house-what-would-you-do/570767.md?page=5)