NP & realize this thread is 2 yrs old but also want to share a recent experience. We live around 14th/U on a nice block with pretty row houses. Last weekend a car's back window was smashed in the middle of the afternoon so I called the non emergency number & the police came out to file a report, call the car owners & get it towed. As they were leaving, the police said they had plain clothes police around the area in general. They asked us to please report any suspicious activity & take pictures of any suspicious looking people.

Well what happened?

Call the police. They are extremely nice. Call the non-emergency number.

Not sure why this thread resurfaced -- but I wanted to share two instances of when I called the police, and it turned out to be a good decision that helped resolve active cases. In both cases, I was glad I went with my gut, despite having been raised "not to make trouble"..... (see below)

1. DH and I were driving and saw a car, parked on a suburban street in Silver Spring, on fire. We also saw a man running from the car. Police called us back subsequently to interview me about the man's appearance, etc., as the car had been stolen. (I realize this parallels some aspects of the tragedy in DC -- that's simply coincidental. This happened over four years ago.)

2. Two years ago, two individuals were parked in a car on our street, for over an hour. One of the them knocked on the door and spoke with our sitter, who kept the glass door locked and didn't go out or ask them to come in. The man told her their car had broken down and they were waiting for a ride and asked to use the phone since theirs had run out of charge. She denied access. Shortly after, the couple left, leaving the car behind as well, but with (ostensibly) their 'ride'. Our sitter said it just 'felt odd' and it 'felt odd' to me, too, so I called the police. They subsequently interviewed both our sitter, myself, and all our neighbors: it turned out that the car's license plate was connected to a series of break ins in the area and helped the police track down the suspects. Again, this was in suburban Maryland (border of CC and Silver Spring).

I know it seems like 'common sense' to call the police and report *any* activity, but some people are almost conditioned to "hate to bother people" or think "I'm taking the police away from their *real* job" or think "I don't want to make trouble" or "What if someone finds out I called and subsequently the 'bad guys' track me down for vengeance'? I get those emotions and have seen them at work time and again, just as I've seen 'I don't want to narc on a friend/relative/colleague/student'. See something, say something: it can make a difference.

Anonymous wrote:Why haven't you talked to the neighbor that found him on your porch? Maybe he knows of the guy?

Please read. Third sentence of OP's post: "My neighbor came out then and made it clear he had no idea who that guy was and asked him to leave."

Who bumps these threads after two years?

Your real risk isn't that you'll be burglarized, it's that they will try to burglarize you when you happen to be home. In that situation they could murder you and flee, especially since they know you've seen what they look like. IMO you would be stupid not to have a gun in the house, don't listen to these limp wristed liberals who would hand their wives and daughters off to violent thugs before using a gun to defend them.