Nearly every apartment dweller deals with loud neighbors at some point. Apartment-based noise polluters come in many different varieties – partiers, foot stompers and loud music aficionados, to name a few. While it may be tempting to call the police on habitual noise-makers, this isn’t always the wisest course of action. In many cases, appealing to the offending party directly or speaking with your landlord can bring noise levels to acceptable levels. However, this isn’t to say that you should never bring loud noises to the attention of law enforcement. Apartment residents curious about when calls to the police are warranted should consider the following situations.
Excessive Arguing
If an argument in a neighboring apartment gets out of hand, calling the police can be an effective way to calm things down. Excessive shouting, thrown objects and threats of violence should all be regarded with seriousness. Since attempting to involve yourself in such a scuffle could compromise your personal safety, don’t try to step in – just alert law enforcement. Police officers respond to domestic disputes on a daily basis and are well-versed in bringing them to a peaceful end. You, on the other hand, are not and should not try to act as a mediator for feuding neighbors.
When searching for 2 bedroom apartments in Omaha, NE, carefully read each building’s policies on domestic disputes and noise pollution. This will provide you with a good understanding of what does and does not constitute an emergency.
Physical Violence
If you genuinely believe physical violence is occurring in a neighboring apartment, call the police posthaste. The longer you wait, the more violence is likely to occur. Whether it’s a parent abusing a child, an adult abusing a partner, an older child abusing a parent or two acquaintances pummeling one another, law enforcement should be alerted immediately. By calling the police in a timely manner, you may even save a life.
Endless Parties
You’d be hard-pressed to find an apartment building that doesn’t have at least one resident party animal. Luckily, if this person can be reasoned with, noise levels can generally be kept within an acceptable range. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. If a party’s host refuses to decrease the noise levels emanating from their apartment after multiple complaints from neighbors, getting the police involved may be your only viable course of action. Alerting the landlord can also prove helpful, but if the party in question is occurring late at night and/or during the weekend, he or she may not be readily available.
We’ve all wanted to call the police on loud neighbors. After all, it’s easier and considerably less awkward than dealing with these individuals ourselves. However, in many instances, getting the police involved is best viewed as a last resort. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you should rule out calls to the police entirely. If you strongly suspect any of the above scenarios are playing out in your building, you’re well within your rights to alert law enforcement.
