We’ve had a sudden rash of police visits to our neighborhood to various houses. Is there a way I can find out what they were called out for? Isn’t that a matter of public record? I want to know if I should start looking for a new neighborhood! Finally, is there a way to find out without going to the courthouse, maybe the internet?
Depends on your county. Otherwise just ask any passing cop. You’d be surprised how much they like to give such heads up to area residents.
If you get some resistance see if you can get a realtor to do a ‘crime reports’ check on your neighborhood.
You probably can’t find out even by going to the courthouse unless someone was charged with a crime, and even then I’m not sure at what point it becomes a matter of public record; maybe there has to be a trial. Most local governments do not have this sort of thing on the Internet so I wouldn’t bother with that.
Just try calling the police department’s non-emergency line and ask them. Maybe some of your other neighbors know (although I’m not sure I’d ask the ones who are being visited by the police). It’s amazing what you can find out just by asking the people who know the answer.
A simple police visit to a home isn’t public record, I don’t think. If there was a crime and people were taken into custody and charged, you might be able to read about it in the paper.
Now, if you’re really interested, you could certainly call the police yourself. There’s nothing wrong with being curious about why the police have been stopping by so frequently. You just tell them that you live in the area (give your address at least, if not your name) and that you’ve noticed more police cars in the area than usual, and you are wondering if there is anything that you as a citizen need to know.
If there’s been a crime spree or something that might affect you as a private citizen, they might be inclined to tell you. But if they’re just responding to an inordinate amount of domestic-dispute calls, they might not see the wisdom of letting you know anything.
Of course, you could also get a scanner.
Although scanners are rapidly becoming useless in monitoring the police. Many municipalities are now using scrambled radio or, as is the case here in Fargo, relying mostly on cellphones for most important communication. About all I hear on my scanner anymore are “Getting out of the car”,“Back in the car” sort of calls.
Added note: Growing up in NJ I remember a crime blotter section of the local paper which reported all police calls (regardless of arrests). I haven’t seen that in the local paper now that I’m in Maryland, but I’m assuming the information should still be available.
Bear in mind that cops get called for things that don’t affect you or your real estate values, like domestic disturbances.
I just call them or visit them & ask them what’s going on in my neighborhood. They can give you some info. Chances are they are probably just interviewing people to see if they saw anything weird one night.
Sounds like a typical “drug house in the neighborhood” sort of thing. Calling the police may be beneficial to them if you`ve seen any suspicious behavior. They are usually pretty forthcoming with info about local activity, especially if you can offer some input.
If you live in a small town, the local community paper is your best bet for this kind of information. The police blotter will contain most calls of even minor significance as well as any arrests. I just bought a house in a small, quiet town. I hadn’t been there more than a week before I read that the adult son of my next door neighbor had been arrested for carrying a concealed weapon, towit: brass knuckles. :eek: I guess I won’t go over there and ask them when they plan to rake their yard.
If you don’t have a local paper, find out if there’s a neighborhood watch and ask them or call the community liason at the police station.
Particlewill said:
“scanners are rapidly becoming useless in monitoring the police”
This is true to a point. If your area has switched to a digital mode, you will at best need to spend a great deal of money to monitor the local police.
Another item to add is that often the police are dispatched via the MDT (mobile data terminal) computers.
Many local police dept’s are using Nextel phones for communications also. These are about as secure as anything commonly available and you will not be able to listen.
For emergency dispatcing, however, the Nextels and MDT’s are far too slow and unreliable. Thats why the police still use radios at all.
To sum up: If the police activity you are interested in appears to be an emergency, a scanner will often be the key to monitoring.
If the activity is canvassing, questioning, or other non-emergency, there’s a better chance you will need to ask questions to find out what’s going on.
brendan
Oops, forgot the paragraph where I say:
I have found that the large majority of PD’s are not using digital radios and are able to be monitored on a common scanner from RadioShack or a large electronics retail outlet.
Also, local newspapers and other journalism operations make a living monitoring police. Perhaps if the police are uncooperative, you may consider the local news office. Most stuff they hear doesn’t get published and may be just what you need to identify a new crime trend in your area.
brendan