Harassing Neighbours

[dpirie]

My neighbors have taken a paranoid stance against me in my neighborhood which is entirely unwarranted. They are and old retired couple and they call the cops on me, specifically, whenever there is any kind of vandalism in the area, or whenever I have small social gatherings. The cops have NEVER found any reason to prosecute me. The noise they complain about is never enough for a ticket (me and my friends sitting in the back yard laughing and having a beer). They have never found any reason to associate me with any of the vandalism problems that occured (there was a rash of car break-ins and some front yard decor destroyed, of which I was also a victim). They have frequently called me, yelling violently and threatening to call the "F***ing SWAT team down on my a**". When I have small social gatherings we make a specific effort to not go outside so as not to provoke them, but they still stand outside their house, intimidatingly, counting the 10-15 people as they come in or leave. Their paranoia comes from the fact that for a while now I have been the only young adult within a block (21) and they immediately suspect me for anything that goes wrong. They don't seem to understand there are a vast number of young teenagers and hooligans in the area. I jsut happen to be the closest. I am at the point where I feel straight up harassed. I don't feel comfrtable enjoying my own back yard in the summer just because I don't want to deal with their hugely exaggerated responses. I am scared to invite people to my house to play pool because they'll call in a noise complaint. Is there anything I can do legally to make them back off? I'm pretty sure the cops have straight up stoped responding to their calls, but the phone calls and verbal harassment is still frequent.

 

[dee_dub]

If the cops have recognized their complaints are frivolous, that's 90% of the battle.

As far as them phoning you directly, block their number. If they personally harass you, try calling the cops on THEM. But simply standing around threateningly is no grounds for anything, really. You might try putting up a better fence.