Reporting Loud Noise from Neighbour to Police

Taro Milk Tea on 29/03/2019 - 15:57

Just another casual topic that I would love to discuss with my fellow Ozbargainers…its almost 4pm Friday…struggling to keep my eyes awake, can't it be beer o'clock soon?

During lunch time, my colleague shared her story where her neighbour had a party last night and put a very loud music that she can hear it from her room. She mentioned that she believed her room is 'connected' to her neighbour's living room, so yes, the noise was so loud especially with that sub woofer thing.

First time this happened around 12:30am, she banged the wall couple of times and the music stopped. Then she mentioned, music started again at 3am and she got frustrated and went out knocking the neighbour's unit (she lives in an apartment)

When the neighbour opened the door, apparently the guy looked so pale and confused. She told him that if this happens again, she will report this to police.

Now, I am very curious about 'reporting the police' part that she did to her neighbour.
I understand the 'noise rule' here in Australia, but my questions will be:

Can she report this to police straightaway? I thought this thing should go to council first to get reported?
If yes, how can the police enter the apartment anyway? They can't have access to it right? or do they?

I think her action was a bit too extreme for first warning, if it was me, I would have just told them first and not involve mentioning police at all..though I understand some people are light sleeper.

What do you think about this guys? Can police just enter any reported unit inside an apartment and charge them on the spot? Do you have similar experience like this?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Baysew on 29/03/2019 - 16:02
    +9

    What can I do about noise from a loud party?

    Contact the local police or council

    • Ten on 29/03/2019 - 16:07

      Case closed. Nothing a simple google search wouldn't have uncovered.

      • Taro Milk Tea on 29/03/2019 - 16:17

        haha relax, I was just curious too if anyone has ever done something like this or not and what's the outcome.

        I don't know how the police going to act it anyway if this happens in an apartment.

        • try2bhelpful on 30/03/2019 - 07:18
          +1

          Yup, did this when a party across the way went until 5 am. Frankly the cope did f-all despite repeated calls. However, if it happens a lot they might. The cops might be more interested if they think he has drugs.

  • [Deactivated] on 29/03/2019 - 16:09
    +1

    Completely reasonable to contact police.

    Her soft touch, demonstrated by her going in guns blazing on first contact, isn't going to get her far in life.

    She's going to be that 60 year old neighbour that complains about everything and knocks on everyone's door that we sometimes hear about.

    • kolorijo on 29/03/2019 - 16:13

      The crazy cat lady? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2Xg7QUXiDA

    • Taro Milk Tea on 29/03/2019 - 16:21
      -3

      Then what would the police do? Do they even bother to handle 'small' thing like this?

      She's going to be that 60 year old neighbour that complains about everything and knocks on everyone's door that we sometimes hear about.

      haha! she has the potential to be one i guess :p

      • [Deactivated] on 29/03/2019 - 16:26

        I've had police knock at my parties.

        They do come around if there is a valid complaint.

        • Nalar on 29/03/2019 - 16:38

          …and there is literally nothing better going on.

          • [Deactivated] on 29/03/2019 - 16:42

            @Nalar: Most of the time, police on patrol are waiting to respond. It makes no difference if they're waiting from a car hiding in the bushes or knocking on a door.

            • Nalar on 29/03/2019 - 16:43
              +1

              @[Deactivated]: Maybe Vic police are less flat out, in QLD there's never enough cars on the road for the amount of jobs logged.

              • [Deactivated] on 29/03/2019 - 16:48

                @Nalar: That simply cannot be true. Imagine every police vehicle just going from one call to another.

                I mean… Maybe it is true. If it is, we should divorce QLD.

        • Taro Milk Tea on 29/03/2019 - 16:48
          -1

          Did you get a warning or straight away charges?

          And..can I join your next party?

          • [Deactivated] on 29/03/2019 - 16:51

            @Taro Milk Tea: Nothing.

            Party with majority well establish lawyers.

            Invited cops in, they chilled for a bit, agreed that although it is loud, every attempt to make it quieter has been made and it wasn't unreasonably loud considering it was Friday night.

            We were very familiar with public disturbance laws.

            I don't throw big parties anymore. Old AF.

            • Taro Milk Tea on 29/03/2019 - 16:57

              @[Deactivated]:

              Party with majority well establish lawyers.

              Sounds like the good old days, I know many lawyers who are great with parties.

              • Diji1 on 29/03/2019 - 17:03

                @Taro Milk Tea: High rates of substance abuse and mental illness in the legal profession.

                • [Deactivated] on 29/03/2019 - 17:12

                  @Diji1: As compared to?

                  There was an expose a while back where more than half (from memory, they said 2/3) of random drug test on tradies on-site came back positive. More than half (this one I'm pretty sure is half) was on hard drugs and not just a bit of grass.

                  Mental illness is very broad. Excessive stress is also a mental illness.

                  Ps. There was coke lying around but we know who it belongs to. It's a non judgemental group (not the snowflake type of safe space phenomenon) so I doubt anyone was keeping anything on the down low. It was the small minority that partook.

        • [Deactivated] on 29/03/2019 - 18:06

          I've had police knock at my parties.

          Were they strippers? Been there. I would ask for IDs first before letting them in.

          • [Deactivated] on 29/03/2019 - 18:10
            +1

            @[Deactivated]: I recall it was a male and female of roughly my own age back then.

            No, I wouldn't have hired strippers for the night. We were all pretty inebriated. We would have DIY. We have all the ingredients to a male and female stripper of roughly my own age.

            This is applicable to parties I am involved in.

            Liver mutilation at its best.

    • kiitos on 30/03/2019 - 16:39
      +3

      Guns blazing when it's loud music at 3am? Sounds like a reasonable response?

      • [Deactivated] on 30/03/2019 - 17:06
        -2

        As I said, reasonable to contact the police but it is the hallmark of a person that will fight the uphill battle in life.

        • try2bhelpful on 30/03/2019 - 17:09
          +1

          Better that than the person who has no teeth because they tried to talk to the obnoxious neighbour who has, already, demonstrated the don’t give a fig about others.

          • [Deactivated] on 30/03/2019 - 17:38

            @try2bhelpful: That reminds me of an old saying in my neck of the woods.

            "Don't get punched in the face."

            • [Deactivated] on 30/03/2019 - 17:48
              -1

              @[Deactivated]: Nvm my grammar is way off today.

  • kolorijo on 29/03/2019 - 16:09

    Can police just enter any reported unit inside an apartment and charge them on the spot?

    Maybe a warning, not a charge.

  • whooah1979 on 29/03/2019 - 16:10

    the guy looked so pale and confused

    He could have been high or drunk or both. Best to not get engaged.

    • Ten on 29/03/2019 - 16:18
      +4

      But what if they love each other very much? Can they get engaged then?

    • Taro Milk Tea on 29/03/2019 - 16:18

      Exactly what I told her..need to observe the situation first and decide how to act.

  • AustriaBargain on 29/03/2019 - 17:18
    +1

    You can report anything to the police. there's no police reporting police waiting to tell you off.

    • iforgotmysocks on 29/03/2019 - 19:43
      -1

      If there were, who would police them?

  • WreckTangle on 29/03/2019 - 17:33
    -1

    Why was the guy confused? Was it the wrong apartment…

  • Toons on 29/03/2019 - 17:41
    -2

    The police will go and investigate but if it's just a little petty someone being cranky for the sake of it they can be worse with the person reporting, they will dish please turn it down to holder make sure they aren't on the gear and that's about it. Attitude can be everything if it's a one off reasonably good humoured fun, no agro and you have notified everyone around they know you have a regard for the neighbours. So if they can have a decent coherent conversation with someone they can be good. If they think your trouble they say we will be coming past again in an hour if it's still going on we will shut it down, there has to be some major things going on for them to charge someone.

    The crap thing for the person reporting it is the police actually come to their place to gauge the disturbance so they automatically get white anted so you know who it was.

    That can actually cause more issues long term, with the neighbours and quite frankly once in a blue moon who cares, everyone is entitled to some latitude.

    If it's an issue constantly raise it with the strata they then contact the owner or the real estate agent who leased it and they are renting I think there is more latitude for action.

    Or rather than smashing on their door leave a note in letter box or talk to them in a better frame of mind.

    I've had them turn up one at ours, it was a bucks party that was a little out hand earlier started at lunch time, it had calmed down a lot by the time they turned up around 11:30 and asked if we could turn the music down by 1 at the latest "wasn't a school night" they were more concerned about the fire works "what fireworks" we said as we were trying to hide one of our mates that we had just found passed out before they arrived so a few of us were just having a chilled out conversation out the front while we made sure nothing happened to him.

    So while we were having a decent chat with them and they were just abut to leave one idiot ran out the gate naked with one of the fireworks, that kinda shoots out a shot every 20 seconds strapped to his ass, he had just lost a bet "looks kinda like something from harry potty in the way of special effects" he saw the cops who we were chatting with us, panicked jumped the fence and tried to hide in the bushes but the fireworks were still firing out of his arse.

    The cops actually thought it was amusing which to be honest it was and said is that the last of them, we said hope so it's a bucks we were only hoping to see naked chicks. They made sure he hadn't burnt or hurt himself and were actually pretty easy going, once they knew that was the last of them "cough" and there wasn't any agro going on just lads being lads they were happy enough leave. They never even came into the back yard or the house, we turned the music down a bit straight away which helped too then made sure it was pretty much background noise by 1, we didn't see them again even after the jumbo firework went off as they were driving off which was the last one.

    The people around the back didn't know the cops were even there because we happened to be out the front when they turned up.

    I guess the lesson is always gauge the situation, decide if you can live with it as a one off, even the cops don't know what they are in for when they turn up somewhere. a little tolerance will go towards a party you might end up having one day.

  • myusername on 29/03/2019 - 18:58
    +1

    it aint a party until the cops come yo!

  • SnoozeAndLose on 29/03/2019 - 19:06
    +2

    Youbcan contact the police helpline, local police station but not 000.they will@come and buss their door and ask them to let them in and warn them, if it happen more than 3 times i think the owner/managing agent will be contacted.

    I once got an owner put an apartment for AirBnb type and each weekend and Friday will have people celebrating birthday or party. As we are just next door we could clearly hear the conversation like someone talking next to the window. After about 10 police attendant the owner sell the unit.

    • Taro Milk Tea on 29/03/2019 - 22:02

      I once got an owner put an apartment for AirBnb type and each weekend and Friday will have people celebrating birthday or party. As we are just next door we could clearly hear the conversation like someone talking next to the window. After about 10 police attendant the owner sell the unit.

      Wow this clearly sucks, I would be frustrated too to be in your situation.

  • [Deactivated] on 29/03/2019 - 19:12
    -1

    What do you think about this guys?

    I think that guy is you.

    • [Deactivated] on 29/03/2019 - 19:30
      -1

      And the music is actually sex.

    • Taro Milk Tea on 29/03/2019 - 22:01

      '#mylovestory

  • loropy9 on 29/03/2019 - 19:51
    +1

    Your friend has the right to call the police if loud musc persists after midnight. Not the smartest move to knock on someone’s door at 3am though.

    • Taro Milk Tea on 29/03/2019 - 22:05

      Not the smartest move to knock on someone’s door at 3am though.

      I know right, she was kinda regretting it after that!

  • wsthong on 29/03/2019 - 20:25
    -1

    You can contact the police the in NSW.
    This is what I have done.

    • Taro Milk Tea on 29/03/2019 - 22:05

      Did it work?

      • wsthong on 05/04/2019 - 21:48

        Yes, in NSW very efficient. Police came within 10 minutes

  • Some Human on 29/03/2019 - 23:57
    +3

    I wouldn’t bother asking them nicely. If someone plays loud music when people are trying to sleep, they’re likely an unreasonable person who might not react kindly to being told off by a neighbor. I would have called the police first instead of confronting them. That’s just asking for trouble.

  • firebucket on 30/03/2019 - 09:08
    +2

    If you're in NSW, just call the Police and they will attend and tell them to turn the music off. There is no specific time on this. The volume just has to be deemed "offensive". It is not advised to confront intoxicated neighbours. And the Police understand this. It is one of the most common Police calls. And they can issue the resident with a 28 day Noise Abatement Direction. They can also enter the neighbours premises with a warrant and remove whatever device is responsible for making the noise.

  • diddy50 on 30/03/2019 - 17:47

    Out of hours noise, in Victoria. That's my job thingo.

    Breaches of the Residential Noise Regs is investigated by local council and to get action at the time of the noise call 000. This is so the call is logged and a divvy van attends.

  • Lastchancetosee on 31/03/2019 - 12:19

    Our neighbours (renting) consistently put loud music with a super loud doof, got ripped, passed out and left on for up to two days. We rang the police regularly, and they came out regularly, but the problem was never fixed. Thank goodness they moved out. The difficulty can be where there is noise out the back, or between apartments, as the police said they are really only able to act if the noise is going out on the street. Council is an option. Worth getting recordings with decibel level as evidence. Good luck. It's awful and nerve wracking. So great when they moved out.

    • firebucket on 01/04/2019 - 08:02

      What state are you in lastchancetosee? Because there is quite a lot that can be done to frequent offenders in NSW. Fines can be issued to the occupier by Police for non-compliance with a 28 Day Noise Abatement Directions. Noise making devices can and do get seized.

      • Lastchancetosee on 02/04/2019 - 08:53

        SA. The police said the problem was that it could only be heard in the back of the neighbours on each side, not the street, so they were not able to do anything except bang on the front door each time. It drove us crazy.

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