… in my street. loud multiple voices from the flats opposite, music blasting, the sweet smell of marijuana drifts in the spring air. So what do I do.
(a) nothing; for fear of infringing said party goers human rights
(b) call the cops
My inclination is (a) because I am a nicey nicey liberal who is disinclined to rock the boat, but I may be wrong …
What would you do ?
(b) because lives are at stake, and the police are rightfully cracking down at the moment
Option c) - quick poll on a local forum?
0 voters
What address is this? Asking for a bored friend…
(b) Call the cops. People are dying from this virus and what they’re doing is totally irresponsible. You can bet if the people there are happy to go to a party right now, they’re ignoring social distancing most of the rest of the time. Also from a more selfish point of view, the longer people like that ignore the rules, the longer the rest of us will be in lockdown!
Let’s not be so hasty. They could be partying alone or with flatmates. So, (B) call the police and let them find out.
Exactly. Report them. Although are you sure there are people visiting - some flats could have up to 4-5 occupants (flatshares or a large family) and I imagine they could make a lot of noise.
Actually… I would feel bad calling the police given the smell and the fact it might well be just flatmates. Do you have access to a drone?
Well, I called 101 ( given that it was not an actual crime as such) to being the matter to the attention of the authorities as per the majority view here. I was careful to make sure the operator at the call centre understood that there was no disturbance or rowdiness as such, and that I was if anything seeking guidance. He said that he would ask about sending ‘a unit’ to have a look. I think that was about 2 hours ago. Between 10 and 20 people now spilling out into the street, and the music plays on. No sign of any ‘unit’. I did this as a sort of experiment. I suspected nothing would happen. I suppose if I reported a ‘hate crime’ or if I drove half for an hour to go on country walk there would be blue lights everywhere. Good night all ( as Dixon of Dock Green used to say)
Right that definitely isn’t flatmates listening to loud music. What is wrong with some people? They are going to get us all locked down for the summer.
They were probably out there on Thursday night, banging their saucepans in a “look at me, I really care” bit of grandstanding. When in reality they don’t give a fig for other people’s lives. Will be interesting to see if I’m proved right next Thursday.
I fear we will be locked down for the summer. How to move away from lockdown is a question? Take the Brockley Jack (pub and theatre). You could say restricted opening, pub open 2 nights a week for 2 hrs. But guess what - it will be rammed. So in a sense - you lockdown or you don’t, a halfway position is difficult to see. I do actually feel a level of sympathy for any government, because lockdown too long - you screw the economy, and yes probably increase deaths through suicides etc; move from lockdown too early - and you risk flare ups and increased death rate from sickness. One for another thread I suspect.
If we are going to have a poll can we dispense with the loaded options!
It would have been simple enough to have Call the cops and Don’t call the cops…
I mean we could have Call the fascist state protectors and Let the mellow weed smokers chill in peace - 
Yep, it was a poorly constructed poll also without an “Other” option at least 
Still it was faithful to the question posed by @Thewrongtrousers and the result is pretty conclusive!
It does raise interesting questions at a time like this (and I was sorta joking) about where ones personal and social responsibilities lie and where the intersection is between them. I have just seen they have shut Brockwell Park because of attendance yesterday - not that it looked very busy in some pics I have seen.
I can understand some confusion over the parks if you are there alone and not meeting up with anyone. Does sitting outside on the grass for an hour, assuming you maintain a 2m zone around you, present more of a risk than walking around for an hour as exercise and passing multiple people?
In pre-virus days, I spent many a sunny afternoon sat in the Horniman Gardens and other than the odd occasion where a kid’s ball or frisbee encroached, had far more than 2m of space.
A friend lives on a new build estate where they all have small gardens but won’t be much further apart. But they can presumably sunbathe, jog, do yoga or bbq without restriction.
Trouble is, if you close the parks then people in flats without balconies have nowhere to go for air. No sunlight = no vitamin D absorbtion = depression and loss of resilience in fighting illness.
Surely people can keep their distance in a park more easily than on pavements?
There will always be selfish morons who lack either the imagination or compassion to forsee or care about the results of their actions. But they’re the ones who should face penalties; not the majority who are trying to do the right thing.
I read somewhere of a police officer saying that if people didn’t look to their habits as a result of >600 deaths a day, but would pay attention to a £60 fine, then they should be asking serious questions of themselves. But sadly, something like that could be what we need for those types that gather in groups.
I think closing the parks is dead wrong because it penalises people who use them responsibly which I suspect is most people. It would be better to police the parks and single out and speak to those who are not doing it right. But, naturally this is unfeasible because the police like most public services have been deliberately reduced to next to nothing. We all know how this happened, and its not the virus.
What happened to all those Community Support Officers? Just a couple of weeks ago my husband was wondering had they been disbanded? Have they? We’ve not seen one since I can’t remember when. This seems to me the sort of policing they could be tasked with.
And what about all those civilians with speed guns who lie in wait with a police officer on our streets? Surely they are organized and vetted and could transfer their attentions to this and potentially save a lot more lives?
totally agree!