What to Do If Someone Keeps Driving by Your House? Our Checklist

DEC 05, 2022 AT 06:18 AM

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A strange vehicle repeatedly driving past your house is not something to ignore. Before you let your imagination spin completely out of control, however, it is important to sit and think clearly for a few minutes provided that you have locked your doors and windows in the meantime. Here are a few questions you should be able to answer first before you call the police.

They are busy with a host of other issues and you don’t want to call them out and waste their time. Don’t jump to conclusions that this car is a sign of a crime about to be committed.

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Have you seen this car before? How many times has it driven past? Is it going slowly as if looking for something? Was it here yesterday or a few days ago? Chances are you may not have noticed it the first few times. Think back.

Has it stopped in front of your or one of your neighbors' houses? Has anyone climbed out of the vehicle? Are you able to identify that person, hair and skin color, clothing worn, and facial features? What did they do? Did they leave something on the roadside or mark a particular house?

Does this car not belong to someone who lives in your neighborhood? Maybe one of them has bought a new car or has someone staying with them. It is just as well to make sure you have the phone numbers of your neighbors so that you can check with them. If it is a car known by one of your neighbors then the problem is solved.

If none of your neighbors know it, then it is time to go on to the next question. Is the car marked in any way? Does it have a business logo on it? Here is the time when you try to identify the vehicle as best you can. Make of vehicle, license plate number, any distinguishing markings, and any signs of an accident.

It may be a delivery vehicle looking for its delivery address, or someone who is lost. This of course is highly unlikely with modern location apps, but there are still people who get lost or don’t use a GPS. Normally though anyone who is looking for a specific address is not going to drive along the same road more than 3 or 4 times before contacting the house and person they are looking for.

Say the car does not seem to be looking for a specific place but keeps driving slowly back and forth past your house. 

Maybe it is being driven by someone who is working in the area, and the road past your house is the quickest or most convenient route to take. It may also be someone who is simply using your road to travel to work and back. Does it go past at specific times? Is the road busy at the time it goes past?

Right, you have ascertained that this vehicle is unlikely a worker contracting in the area or being driven by someone going to work and back, and it seems to be going past at odd hours, midmorning or afternoon when it's quiet in your neighborhood, or at night.

Again, try and check that the car doesn’t belong to a security company or some other service that may need to work during quiet times of the day. If you are still concerned and it really seems like this car is casing the neighborhood, it is time to act. Contact the police or private security company and ask them to investigate. Give them all the information you have been able to collect. You are not being paranoid if you can answer the questions above and not be able to rule them out.

The police or security company will no doubt visit you at your home. You can then show them from which direction this car is coming if it always comes past from the same direction, or If it stops and reverses or turns at a particular spot.

It will be an added bonus if the car happens to pass while the police or security company is there. This has two added benefits other than the authorities being able to see firsthand. The first is that they are then able to stop and question the suspect on the spot, and if that doesn't happen, the driver will see that you have called for assistance and may think better than to continue to stalk you if that is in fact what they are doing.

Unfortunately, though, any perpetrator that is intent on frightening you or breaking in will wait until the police have left. If this is the case, no doubt the police will send an officer to keep an eye on your property, especially during the times when your neighborhood is quiet and at night. It is important, however, that you continue to be security conscious.

Make sure that your doors and windows are kept locked, whether you are in or out of your house. If you do not have an alarm installed, do it, preferably with outside beams that will be activated if they sense movement and heat signatures.

 If you have dogs, keep them inside at night. You can have the additional protection of a security gate installed that separates your bedrooms from the rest of the house. Your protection is much more important than material possessions. If these people are intent on robbing you, they will try by all means. It is your job to make that as difficult as possible for them to enter your premises.

There is also the possibility that anyone who is casing your home, is not doing it for your possessions. If you see the same vehicle following you when you leave your home or waiting outside shops or your office or anywhere else you may be, it is best to contact the police straight away.

Anyone who stalks another person, whether it be a stranger or someone you know, and intent on causing you harm is a criminal offense and therefore punishable by law.