Your neighbors might engage in those activities that annoy, bother, or even scare you. Maybe you get home after a long day and you hear noises that will not let you take some rest. So, what can you do about your noisy neighbors?
According to the report of BMC Public Health, neighbor noise annoyance is associated with various mental and physical health symptoms, such as headache, sleeping problems, depression, and anxiety. Also, you might bring your office work home and because of this noise, you can’t even concentrate on that.
And, sometimes you ask them to reduce the noise, but they do not seem to get it and the annoying thing continues. In that case, you need to involve the cops. But you should also know what time can you call the cops for noise.
In this article, we have discussed what time can you call the cops for noise produced by your neighbors. However, you need to know the difference between ordinary annoyances and conduct that justifies calling the police or other authorities.
Because of that, we have also discussed what conditions need to happen to call the cops and how you should report noisy neighbors to the police.
So, let’s get started.
Table of Contents
Should You Call The Cops For Noise Problems
Calling the police for a noise complaint is definitely not an inappropriate thing to do. Sometimes, it becomes our duty to inform the police if the noise is a threatening one.
A threatening noise means continuous screams or a gunshot or something that the cops should know about.
In that case, the right thing to do is to call the cops to file a report. Because if you call the cops, it would put everything in order.
However, if the noise is a non-threatening one, you can still call the cops after several warnings have been passed and after local authorities have been contacted.
So, if you have spoken to your neighbor and he is not complying, then the arrival of the police will put an order to the misbehaving house.
But before that, you should think about what time can you call the cops for noise. And, if your neighbors do not pay attention to the warnings, then a fine can be placed.
Will The Cops Respond To Noise Complaints
The cops will definitely respond to noise complaints. However, your complaint has to be a serious or life-threatening noise complaint at an odd hour. Police usually have so many calls to respond to all day long and their phone never stops ringing.
So, if you call the police for a case of a noise complaint, then they will file your case and measure the severity of the call.
And they will decide if it is a case that requires them to be involved, or if it is a case where the problem can be resolved between you and your neighbor without having to involve the police.
When the police are called and they do not respond to your complaints, mostly it could be that the timing of the calls is within the legal hours for noise. So, you also need to keep those things in mind before calling.
The police would not ignore your calls without genuine reason. However, if the noise complaint is not an emergency or threatening, it can get ignored.
What Condition Need To Happen To Call The Cops
You should not call the cops for any ordinary noise-related issues you are facing. It means that your noise complaint should be serious if you want to contact the police. Because of that, you need to consider a few conditions to decide what time can you call the cops for noise.
1. When The Noise Is Excessive
If the noise is excessive and going on longer than usual, then you can definitely call the cops for noise problems at any time of the day. Unless the law limits the hours, you are eligible to call the cops and also get a quick response to it.
2. When The Local Rules Have Been Intentionally Disobeyed
Before calling the cops, you need to ensure that the local rules have not been obeyed. Most areas have noise ordinances and the local authorities have a specific time when loud noises are strictly prohibited.
The time range is mainly between 11 pm and 7 or 8 am on weekdays and 11 pm to 8 or 10 am on weekends and holidays.
3. If You Have Spoken To Your Neighbor And He Is Not Complying
Another thing you should do before calling the cops is to talk to your neighbor first about your problem. You need to inform them how uncomfortable and disturbing their noise is for you.
If they don’t listen to you after this, then you can call the cops. In most cases, having a police officer show up at the door about a noise complaint is enough to get most people to reduce the noise.
How You Should Report Noisy Neighbors to the Police
In most countries, if you have a noise complaint and you want to report the case, then you should follow a few steps. However, if you want to bring in any law enforcement authorities to solve your issues, then you have to follow some standard procedures. So, here are the steps you should follow.
1. Ensure You Speak To Your Neighbor About The Noise First
In most cases, the police would always suggest you to talk to your neighbor about your problems. Otherwise, you would make a bitter enemy of someone who is literally living in your own backyard.
Many state police departments will also make sure that you speak to your neighbor about the noise first.
Because in some cases, they might not be aware they are creating a problem for the other person. And if you have already spoken to your neighbor and he is not listening to you.
Then you should follow the next step. Also, it may be a good idea to make recordings of the noise as evidence.
2. File A Report
You can file a report for noise problems through your state police website or can also place a call to the state police. However, you need to consider a few things before filing a report.
You can only file a report if the problem is becoming too much, you have spoken with your neighbor and you have other problems also with the noisemaker apart from the noise.
After filing the report, you will need to wait for the police to respond to your complaint and you also need to be patient in dealing with your noisy neighbor’s persistence in blowing up the surrounding environment with noise.
Why You Should Call The Cops For Neighbor’s Noise Problems
Sometimes you might think that calling the police for a noise complaint is the right thing to do or not. However, in some cases, it becomes your duty to inform the police if you think the noise is a threatening one. Here is why you should call the cops.
1. To Prevent Every Possible Case Of Violence
Sometimes, the noise could be coming from a case of violence or maybe a case of robbery in your neighbor’s house.
So when you call the cops, you have done your part to prevent every possible case of theft or violence. In this case, it becomes your duty to inform the police to help your neighbors.
2. To Give A Warning To Your Offending Neighbor
Sometimes, you might want to serve a warning to your neighbor. And the only way you can do that is by calling the cops.
Because calling them will surely give your neighbors a sense of orderliness so that they can be more careful next time. This should resolve the issue with your noisy neighbor.
Will Your Neighbors Find Out If You Call The Police On Them
If you think about whether your misbehaving neighbors will realize you brought in the police, then your concerns are both understandable and valid.
Also, some police departments allow anonymous tips, however, these will reduce their ability to follow up or ultimately call the witnesses. So, depending on how their tip system is actually set up, even the cops might not know who you are.
So, it is definitely your choice whether you want to report the crime in your name. Also, the police understand that callers would always prefer confidentiality. Because of that, they will often do their best to keep their identity secret.
Sometimes, the police might show up to investigate and tell your neighbors that they have complaints from some nearby homeowners without specifically mentioning your name.
Ultimately you have to decide how to deal with such a situation. Sometimes, you might have to be open that you are calling on law enforcement authorities for help, and you should be ready to go to court to protect your rights.
However, ideally, you should take measures to stop your neighbor’s inappropriate behavior before it reaches this point.
What Are The Other Places To Contact Before The Police
In some cases, your local police might not actually be the right agency to call about your neighbor’s inappropriate or unlawful activities. Also, the local police are always responding to a lot of emergencies every day. So, they might not able to arrive quickly.
You should first consider local support networks to resolve your problem such as your landlord, neighborhood association, building management, or even doorman if you have one.
All of these have some responsibility to maintain a safe and convenient environment in the community or building.
However, if your problems are far more serious and these local authorities could not resolve the issues, then you have no choice but to call the cops. Also, you should know that many larger cities have separate helplines for people to call.
And, if your neighbor is playing music or making other noise in excess of what is allowed under the local ordinance for that time of day, you can definitely contact the cops.
Wrap Up On What Time Can You Call The Cops For Noise
The cops are there to maintain peace and order in our community. If you find out someone is breaking a rule, then you can definitely call the police.
You can also think about why the cops generally take long to respond to calls. But, you should understand that your call is not the only one coming in.
So, you have to keep patience especially if it is not a threatening noise. After your call, police officers will probably come to your neighborhood and start an investigation.
They can also visit your neighbor’s house to obtain more information. Then, the officers might ask your neighbor to stop the behavior or even make an arrest in some cases. You might also be asked to appear as a witness in court if it gets to that point.
I hope you found our detailed article informative and helpful. You should always consider the situation before taking the decision to call the cops.
And you should also try to solve the issue between you and your neighbor without having to involve the police. If you have any doubts or questions related to this topic, please let us know in the comments below.
FAQ: What Time Can You Call The Cops For Noise
Many people are facing these problems in their everyday life and most of them actually do not know how to deal with these problems. Because of that, they have lots of questions related to this topic in their minds. Here I have given answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.
Q1. Can I Call the Police To Report Noise Problems?
Ans: If the noise is a threatening one, then it becomes your duty to inform the police. Because it may be something that the cops should know about. And if the noise is a non-threatening one, then you should talk to your neighbors first and then contact local authorities before calling the police.
Q2. Do Police Respond To Your Noise Complaints?
Ans: Police usually have so many calls to respond to every day and their phone actually never stops ringing. And the police definitely would not ignore your calls without genuine reason. However, if your noise complaint is not an emergency or threatening, sometimes it can get ignored.
Q3. What Time Should You Call The Cops For Noise?
Ans: If the noise is excessive and continues to play longer than usual, then you can call the cops for noise problems at any time of the day. And when you have spoken to your neighbor and he is not listening to you, then you need to contact law enforcement authorities.
