Police called multiple times for screaming neighbour but nothing ever changes - what can I do?

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deadeyes1990@reddit

This doesn’t even sound like a “bad neighbour” situation anymore, it sounds like someone is seriously not okay and everyone nearby is just being left to deal with it.

I’d start reporting it as both a welfare issue and an antisocial behaviour issue. Keep a log of dates, times, how long it goes on for, and who you’ve already called. Then go to the council, adult safeguarding, and community safety team rather than just hoping the next police visit will fix it.

Because that’s the maddening part really — people keep turning up, hearing it for themselves, and then nothing actually changes.

You’re not being heartless for wanting peace in your own home. And she clearly needs more help than these random callouts are giving her.

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Tigerbaton@reddit

It’s not a safeguarding issue because you have no victim and no abuser, it’s a mental health issue and an alcohol issue.

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deadeyes1990@reddit

I get what you’re saying, but those things aren’t mutually exclusive. A mental health or alcohol issue can still become a safeguarding concern if someone is self-neglecting and unable to protect themselves properly. It’s also possible for it to be both a welfare issue for her and an antisocial behaviour issue for everyone around her. I wasn’t saying “lock her up”, I was saying repeated police callouts clearly aren’t solving it and a wider multi-agency response is probably needed.

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Tigerbaton@reddit

Thing is, you don’t know if she is self neglecting. Alcohol issues run concurrently with mental health and that isn’t necessarily a social care issue, it’s a mental health and addiction services issue. If she has no care needs, it’s not a social services issue and there’s nothing on this post to say she has.

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deadeyes1990@reddit

That’s kind of my point though — none of us on Reddit can tell from a short post which service “owns” it. I’m not saying we know she definitely meets a safeguarding threshold. I’m saying it sounds serious enough to raise as a welfare concern and let the relevant agencies decide whether it sits with mental health, addiction, adult social care, community safety, or some combination of those.

It’s gone past “annoying neighbour” if multiple callouts are happening and nothing is improving.

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Tigerbaton@reddit

I was responding to a post about an alcoholic woman. Nothing to suggest anything?

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Long-Nose-9535@reddit

Self neglect is a safeguarding issue

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Tigerbaton@reddit

How is she self neglecting?

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Lowermains@reddit

You can call the non emergency police number and request a wellness check. They are duty bound to come and check.

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Taiyella@reddit

Maybe try council social services?

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ToastedCrumpet@reddit

Social services wouldn’t get themselves involved in this

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Tigerbaton@reddit

For what - being drunk? Sounds like she needs mental health support not carers lol

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FitSolution2882@reddit

Perhaps try the community trigger

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Serious-Top9613@reddit

My dad had a situation like this once. Ambulances were called on many occasions (usually at 2am) by various neighbours (one being my dad himself). But the guy would just repeatedly discharge himself from hospital. Long story short, he ended up asking my dad and me for help. He knew what he was doing when sober, so there was no actually diminished mental capacity. He also didn’t know anyone in the area, and was going through withdrawal by the time he left (of his own accord). I ended up driving his car down south for him (where the majority of his family lives), because he was in no fit state to get behind the wheel.

That being said, they have to want help for anything to have an effect, if deemed of suitable mental capacity.

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Tigerbaton@reddit

This is the trouble. If they don’t want help, no one can make them. It usually ends up in a crisis of one sort or another.

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MaltedMilkBiscuits10@reddit

You're quite limited, especially if she has 'mental capacity'.

There is no law against being an alcoholic.

There's no law to say you have to accept help unless it's part of a court order etc.

It might be the case she's declined help.

There are laws though on noise and causing fear, alarm and distress.

You make safeguarding concerns to adult social services, though this has to be accepted by her if she has capacity.

You can contact the local authority to register a noise complaint in respect to the screaming. Noise complaints will progress to the point of eviction or prosecution if it does not resolve.

Any concerns for safety, you'll have to ring 101, or 999 if you think there is an emergency situation.

The only other way someone can be forced to accept help is sectioning under the mental health act. The police and other medical services would explore this option though but the state of mental health services in the UK means often enough, there has to be an active risk to life, injury or death to be sectioned.

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iamspamaccount429@reddit (OP)

It doesn’t seem to me as if she is mentally fit to reject help. But if the law is like that then that’s a shame.

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Tigerbaton@reddit

Nobody’s mentally fit when they are drunk, but no one will do an MCA when someone’s drunk either.

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JeevestheGinger@reddit

She may not be mentally fit to reject help, but the help can only be forced involuntarily unless she's at imminent risk of death or seriously harming someone else. Rejecting help may not be in her best interest and she may be making that decision because of the influence of her MH, but people make poor choices all the time.

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SimplyFootballNet@reddit

Anti-social noise related problems in the UK are a fcking joke. The law is woefully inadequate.

I had to eventually sell my flat because my neighbour was noisy all day. The police, council, housing association - they all did nothing. Advice was to build and keep a fcking diary and update that and report it to authorities. It was on ALL THE TIME mfers and I reported this for 2-years and you still did NOTHING.

Needless to say, extremely stressful and horrible few years. Sleeping with ear plugs and ear defenders. Walking around my home with ear plugs and ear noise defenders / headphones. Effectively becoming deaf when at home because I didn't want to hear my loud fucking rude nasty neighbour 24/7.

I have now moved to Italy. Laws here about noise are strict af. If you make noise after 10pm, the police will come and make you STFU. You need a licence to play loud music or TV.

UK is a joke when it comes to neighbourly noise disturbance.

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DingoBingoWimbo@reddit

Did you tell the person who bought it from U?

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SimplyFootballNet@reddit

Yes, was all declared in the boxes on the property sale forms. I honestly couldn't believe it that the sale went through. They didn't bring it up. I still cannot believe it.

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DingoBingoWimbo@reddit

That's mental

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SimplyFootballNet@reddit

There are 1,000s of pages of information in leasehold sales, do maybe it was never read. I honestly have no idea how it was not raised or queried.

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Jaded_Valuable439@reddit

This happened where my partner works.

One of the residents kept getting reported for noise complaints for the exact same reasons you mentioned.

The police and ambulance service were called a few of times and after the third time he asked why they weren’t doing anything and they basically said - because they’re physically safe and they aren’t in what they’d consider a ‘mental health crisis’ they can’t do anything. They asked if he wanted to go to hospital to be seen and he declined and said he was fine. That’s all they can do.

Ultimately, being super drunk doesn’t equal hospital treatment in all cases. They just needed to make sure he wasn’t harming himself or others.

It’s shit, but it is what it is. My understanding is they’d need some kind of full psychotic break before the police or NHS would actually take them for treatment? As far as they were concerned, nobody was in danger, they were just a piss head who declined treatment and that’s their protocol.

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Appropriate_Bid_9813@reddit

Couldn’t her actions be considered a public order offence? Or a breach of the peace?

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Disco_Pirate@reddit

Doesn’t apply if it’s in a dwelling.

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Jumpy-Jello-@reddit

You could try pushing some AA leaflets through her letterbox.

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L-0-T-H-0-S@reddit

If you and your neighbours have reported this problem multiple times and feel it has not been adequately addressed, you have a legal right to demand a formal review. In most areas, if there have been three qualifying complaints in a six-month period, you can activate what's called the Community Trigger.

This forces the police, council, and health services to meet and create a joint plan to resolve the persistent issue.

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Fine_Analyst_4408@reddit

Unless she is unable to survive as she is, unfortunately there isn't much help unless she accepts it. I had a neighbour in a similar situation when we lived in flats. First time we called for emergency services, we were told there wasn't anything they could do if he refuses help and his condition isn't life threatening to the point where they could intervene. Second time we called was because we heard him crying while coming upstairs and my husband went out to check on him. There were blood smears from his door and all the way down the walls going downstairs. Tried to get a response from him and couldn't, his door was on the chain but ajar. Police came and kicked his door down and carried him out and then we didn't see him again for 6 months. He was totally unrecognisable, clean, well-kempt and sober. He looked about 25 years younger. He has no idea what happened to him that night but he thanked us for calling for help, even though he was angry about it for a while. I hope your neighbour can find peace too.

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Contact your council’s adult social care or safeguarding team and raise a concern about your neighbour’s welfare
Your council should have a community safety team that deal with antisocial behaviour. They are a multidisciplinary team and work with the police, council Housing, social care.

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iamspamaccount429@reddit (OP)

Okay will try this thank you

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LargeLetter1@reddit

Good luck

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GodAtum@reddit

Is she on her own?

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iamspamaccount429@reddit (OP)

Hard to say really. It does seem like she might be shouting AT someone but really just hypothesising. It really is just random noises she’s making

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