RANT – Litter and Sex infront of my house!

Home Forums West Seattle Rants & Raves RANT – Litter and Sex infront of my house!

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  • #587338

    luckycharms
    Member

    About a month ago I moved into a great West Seattle house that has a spectacular view. The block I’m on is a dead end and very frequently, joggers, bird watchers, families and couples come to admire to the view. It’s like a “lovers ridge.”

    My family and I are very frustrated because we, along with the neighbors, pick up used condoms, trash, and beer cans all the time. Sometimes cars will stay for many hours and we’ve actually seen people having sex. We’ve also caught people in the act of emptying trash out of their cars onto the street. We’re not usually confrontational because we don’t know who we’re dealing with. The neighbors report that the police started responding to parties but this other stuff is still going on.

    Questions:

    How could we get the city to put up a “Litter and it Will Hurt” sign, perhaps one that lists the fine? There is a “No Dumping” sign but that does nothing.

    Is it legal for people to engage in sexual activity in their cars? Should we call the police if we suspect that is happening? (What is the local non-emergent phone number, anyway?)

    #629550

    Kayleigh
    Member

    Kayleigh….must….not….post….smartalecky…..

    sign…..ideas….

    #629551

    luckycharms
    Member

    Oh, believe me, I’ve already thought of the home-made signs I’d like to make.

    #629552

    luckycharms
    Member

    I also forgot to mention that I’ve seen about 10 different men take a piss off the cliff at sunset! I’m thinking…”Can’t you see there’s houses right here? I can…see…you…eww.”

    #629553

    herongrrrl
    Participant

    We live by a park and have similar problems with the alley behind our house. Putting up motion-activated lights on your fence and/or a security camera (doesn’t have to be real if it looks convincing!) can help, and you’ll get faster results than trying to get the city to do anything about it.

    Is the area signed for no parking? If it’s not, start with that request, and call every time you see suspicious activity (like a strange car parked for a long time). I don’t think it’s illegal to have sex in a car unless other people see you doing it–so in those cases, yes, definitely call. And the more you call, the more the problem will be on record so you can convince the city no parking signs need to go there.

    #629554

    Anonymous
    Inactive

    My mom lives on a golf course and is continuously dealing with the public urination issue.

    Basically, the cops won’t do anything and she can only take action if she catches them on camera.

    You can be arrested for public urination. Maybe for public sexual activities too, though I’m not sure about that one. I don’t know how close you are to where this is taking place, but you may consider, as has already been suggested, putting up a video camera with a sign that claims “This are is under surveillance”.

    #629555

    Irukandji
    Participant

    Heck, a group of neighbors into the fun of it could just pop on over with flashlights. Just making sure everybody’s okay here!… Along, of course, with the other more community-minded efforts to establish notices and surveillance.

    #629556

    B-squared
    Participant

    Start taking license numbers, and look into electric fencing!

    #629557

    barb
    Member

    or motion detector sprinklers with red food dye

    #629558

    MrJT
    Member

    Oh no barb, not more red food dye….

    #629559

    barb
    Member

    LOL, darn it I’m going to get that red food dye in there somewhere today.

    #629560

    beachdrivegirl
    Participant

    Wow…kind of funny…but i just left a bbq at my friends house down on alki and literallly saw a man and woman smoke crack cocaine in front of their house on a busy street…we tried to get the license to call the cops but only got the make and model…

    #629561

    TheHouse
    Member

    Instructions on how to deal with sexual encounters or public urination:

    1) Grab Video Camera

    2) Record Action…make sure you get the faces for comedy effect and prosecution.

    3) Scare the person by screaming “GOTCHA”.

    4) Inform person that you have them recorded on video and that it will be uploaded to your website in a matter of minutes.

    5) If they call your bluff, play it back for them.

    6) Post it to the Internet for all of us to enjoy.

    #629562

    JanS
    Participant

    and make sure you use a bull horn so you can scare the cr*p out of them at the same time..:)

    #629563

    JoB
    Participant

    EWW

    there are some things that are graphic enough in print.

    #629564

    WSB
    Keymaster

    Once again, may I introduce everyone to the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, which also deals with nuisance properties and nuisance situations – not for you to turn it over to them, but for them to help find the tools to get the help you’re looking for. Please watch the Events page and home page news updates for word of their upcoming meetings. We always give extra shoutouts when the meetings get closer.

    In the shorter run, my best advice is to call the Community Police Team officer for your area. Their names and numbers are all on this page:

    http://www.seattle.gov/police/precincts/southwest/CPT.htm

    as is a map of which officer is assigned to which area. – TR

    #629565

    Bikefor1
    Member

    How long does your garden hose reach? ;-) A little spray can be a big deterrent.

    #629566

    JanS
    Participant

    TR…I love you…ever the cool head :)

    #629567

    Heinz57Mom
    Member

    I am totally incapable of doing this myself…but if you had a sawed off double barrel shotgun I would think the sound of just cocking that puppy would give them quite a start. My hubby threatens to get one when DD starts dating. I guess he plans to move out around that time, but…

    For the litter, there is the litter line. I have that programed into my cell phone speed dial and use the number ALL the time. I call everyone I see throwing anything (esp. ciggy’s) out the window.

    You might also start a neighborhood watch program and then you could put up “This neighborhood is under watch” type of signs. That may be a deterent. Sounds like some brazen behavior out there.

    #629568

    JoB
    Participant

    I would be careful about even an empty shotgun.. that could attract a reaction you don’t want to deal with…

    it pains me to think of great music as a deterrent..

    but i have a friend who played classical music through her open window in the evening.. that worked wonders..

    #629569

    Jiggers
    Member

    Wow!! I wish I was lucky enought to see people having sex in front of my place. What’s your address again?

    #629570

    JoB
    Participant

    Jiggers..

    you never let me down:)

    maybe you could volunteer to do patrols at the end of the street with a flashlight…

    now that sounds like a win win proposition ;->

    #629571

    Ken
    Participant

    Shotgun cock sound effect

    http://www.soundsnap.com/node/12887

    Or maybe this on would be more fun

    http://www.a1freesoundeffects.com/freesounds5/chainsaw.wav

    And if you like to make stuff and can solder…

    http://www.scary-terry.com/dsr/dsr.htm

    Make your own “no parking” sign you can trigger with a relay or attach to a motion detector output circuit.

    Interesting stuff and kits to play with here

    http://www.electrokits.com/motion/detector-sound-alarm

    #629572

    JoB
    Participant

    Ken…

    i love it..

    combining a summer activity for the kids with nuisance deterrence:)

    not the shotgun sound effects part.. that encourages things i don’t want to think about.. but the other more creative ideas…

    sounds like the makings of a great block party to me:)

    #629573

    Sue
    Participant

    Just wanted to let you know I sympathize – I lived on a dead-end street in NYC where we had the littering, urinating and sex going on too. I was able to ignore it all until someone got bored and set a car on fire there. That got me to move. :)

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