Strange Neighbors

Either ask them about it or plant trees etc.

How do you know their son only leaves the house at 2am? How do you know when they come and go? How do you know they are weird?

I'm sorry, but you sound like the one spying on them.

Their son being gay, which you don't even know if his is, has nothing to do with the cameras or pedophilia. Nor are Homosexuality and Pedophilia the same thing. One has nothing to do with the other.

You had me thinking about it until you made a jackass comment about his being gay and therefore a pedophile. Nope - he's doing nothing illegal. You should move.

eeeeEEEEEeeeeeeeEEEEEEEeeeeeeeEEEEEEE!!!!
can you plant a bamboo forest????
ETA, yes, you kinda creep me out too, equating a gay son with pedophilia.
but i would be SO not down with cameras pointing at my house. as it is, i flip google maps the bird every day when i step outside!
khairete
S.

My solution would be to plant tall trees.

Ok-first if all I do find it disturbing that you're making a leap from "clearly gay" to "pedophile website"!

I do like the idea of ASKING them why the cameras are there.
I also like the suggestions of barriers of some sort--trees, shrubs, high fencing, etc.

Rocky:

The police state they are NOT breaking the law. So you need to check with a lawyer and see if there is anything you ca do from that aspect.

In the meantime, what **I* would do?

Put up a gazebo to block the view of the cameras.
Plant trees that will block the view as well.

Have you knocked on their door and ASKED them to stop?
Do you have an HOA? If you do - check into the rules.

Good luck!

ETA: per your SWH... How the he$$ do you know or can you prove the gay son puts a webcam to the window when you are outside? You're behavior by being Mrs Kravitz is creepy. I'd be reporting YOU to the police for your snooping.

Re-read your post. YES you did equate gay and pedophile.

And you're a freaking professor at college? Please God I hope it's not my child's college!

My advice..... MOVE
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ORIGINAL...... Have you ever introduced yourself to them, communicated with them, got to know them a little in the 5 years they have been there? Maybe if you knew them, you might learn that they have good reason for cameras. What if they were victims of a home invasion or something like that years before and they are just paranoid?

Communication works wonders.. you don't have to be best buddies with neighbors but if you know each other a little, it sure helps to understand some quirks here and there.

I can't make the mental jump from someone being gay in a household to taping your family to put on a pedophile website... that is too far fetched for me. All the while, you seem to know their schedule pretty well for not knowing your neighbors. Are you creeping them out in some way be knowing their every move? Example Mrs. Kravitz?

I don't know of any legal ramifications from having a camera on property. I live in a very nice suburban neighborhood and most all of us have cameras around our homes/yards/garages and monitor them...... NOT for taping other families activities but for security plus we have a lot of wildlife.

If I were as concerned as you are, I would just ask them in a non confrontational way. They don't know you are freaked out by it unless you tell them.

In the meantime, put up shrubs, trees, and do what you can to block the camera view into your area. Ask the police about the laws, etc.

Good luck

The first thing I would have done would be to ask the neighbours why they have cameras pointed at my house. Have you asked the neighbours what the cameras are for and perhaps asked them to take them down? If so, did they have any sort of explanation?

ETA: Gay is not the same as pedophile.

I am thinking the one thing they want is to be anonymous. I'd call your local news and talk to them about the difficulty in getting the cameras off your children.

Okay, so put up something that BLOCKS their camera's view.
Or go over there and tell them WHY are your cameras pointed in MY yard????
Call an Attorney.
Or, also with your camera or phone camera, go out there and take PHOTOS of their house/cameras pointing in your home's direction.
Take PHOTOS of their house.
It will show up on their video feed.

Or put a tarp canopy type thing over your yard where your kids play.

I was reading this with the intent of giving helpful advice until you tried to make the gay=pedophile comparison. That is such a bigoted and backwards myth. Gay men like other men, not children. A male pedophile who likes male children in not gay, he is a pedophile, and there is a HUGE difference. The fact that you say that his being gay makes you more suspicious of the house makes it impossible for me to take any of the rest of your "concerns" seriously.

Maybe the reason they have the cameras there are because they think you are up to no good, and are "suspicious". Maybe they have had damage done' to their yard, property, or fence and they think your family or other kids you have over may be to blame. Maybe they are simply ensuring their protected and feel safer with all the security. Maybe they have seen you spying on them and it makes them feel uncomfortable? (how else would you know when they leave the house, especially at 2am?) I know one guy who put up a camera aimed at a neighbor because they suspected they were selling drugs, and another who feared a child was being left alone and neglected. In the end, as long as the cameras are on their property and are not filming in places where one has an expectations of privacy (like looking into your windows into your actual home) then they do have the right to have them.

Are the children in your backyard engaging in sexual activity and/or running around naked? Unless they are, I don't see how your backyard would be a target for pedophiles.
I won't even comment on your gay = more suspicious remark.
The cameras are another thing. Find out EXACTLY what the law is and proceed from there. Contact an attorney if you can't figure it out on your own.

If you look at it from their perspective you could be considered strange neighbors too.

You're very aware of their comings and goings yet don't have a relationship with them. You're sure their son is gay even though you only see him leaving @ 2am (what are you doing watching their door in the middle of the night?). They have cameras pointed into your yard but you call the police instead of asking them what's up.

Develop a relationship with all close neighbors. You don't have to be besties but knowing who they are and whether or not you can trust them in case of emergency is important. There may be explanations for your concerns, even things about your neighborhood you should know to keep your own family safe. Go introduce yourself and find out for yourself.

From what I remember a person can tape anyone else they want in any way they want as long as they aren't putting vocals with it....no sound basically.

I'd ask them why they're pointing them at my house. Then I think I'd plant some very very very tall trees that are pretty dense.

You don't know if they are recording you or your kids or birds (and other wildlife) or stars.
Maybe all the kids that come to your backyard are throwing things into their yard?
If you are nervous about the safety of the kids, then be out in the yard with them.
Instead of being a nervous Nelly, take a batch of cookies over to your neighbors and ask them about all the cameras - it can be an expensive hobby.
You can always get a few cameras of your own and point them at your neighbors yard - then you'll see when they come and go.
If my husband were near you he'd be asking them about lenses and other camera features.
You can always plant a line of tall growing arborvitae or pine trees.
They grow fairly quickly and can make for more back yard privacy within a few years.

Your neighbors might not be typical but it could be worse.
Where we use to live we had a house down the block that was an illegal immigrant flop house.
The 3 bedroom house typically slept 20-36 men - the house had nothing in it but sheets over the windows for curtains and wall to wall mattresses.
It was a source of many beer bottles thrown all over the neighborhood and since their plumbing was always backing up it was common to wake up early in the morning to find some man peeing in your rose garden.
Police and immigration raided it regularly but that didn't slow them down much until the building was condemned.

I don't blame you for not liking their cameras pointed at your back yard. You have no idea if they are taping your lives and those of your children's friends or what they are doing with the tapes.

Have you actually asked them why? If you haven't, you should.

I think that after you talk to them, you should talk to a lawyer and find out what your rights are. I wouldn't count on the police to tell you that.

If the cameras are too high for trees right now, consider getting an awning and install it to block the cameras.

I do wonder how it is that you know the comings and goings of your neighbors. You make a lot of assumptions that aren't actually based in fact. I do think that it's bizarre that they are doing this, though. You should find out why.

Good fences make good neighbors. Put up a privacy fence or plant trees. You can also buy a type of lamp (from an online "spy shop") that will create a glare to ruin whatever they are taping.

Cameras are a little creepy. I would check to be sure there are no adults in the home that are on the sex offender list-cameras/children..... Also, would you feel comfortable asking them about the cameras as in a safety issue..."I noticed you have quite a few cameras in your back yard....should I feel safe or are you aware of recent break ins". It's tough when you can't pick your neighbors:)

You should not have to barricade yourself from the neighbors. But you should not have to be on their cameras either. Have you confronted them? "Hi, Fred and Lola, We really do not feel comfortable with all these cameras you guys have pointed at our yard. How can we resolve this?." You could do this verbally or with a letter. Or lots of letters.

And then I would look for ways to retaliate if there was no recourse. You may need borrow from friends and aim cameras at them or something. Or get a really bright annoying light for your yard that shines into their house at night. Or an annoying speaker that plays annoying music right by their yard (I used to have neighbors who did "sound performance art" and I wanted to jump off a roof with the constant sound). Borrow dog that barks a lot? Tell them you'll remove the annoyance when they remove cameras....I don't know, get creative and ask friends and neighbors what to do..Can you stick tape over the lenses? Yes it could be trespassing and messing with their property, but doesn't seem like you'd get in too much trouble if you've reported being annoyed with the cameras....This is my favorite written neighbor dispute of all time and may cheer you up:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/1324308_.html

As much as you are keeping up with them (how else would you know that a member of the household is leaving at 2 AM at night?), it sounds like they should be as equally worried as you are of them. Put up a fence.

Gotta say, that is some jacked up logic right there. Being gay isn't the same as being a pedophile, nor does that mean this person is inherently more suspicious or up to no good.

I guess the first thing I'd suggest would be to have your children stop engaging in sex acts and/or posing in pornographic positions in your back yard. That change in behavior should keep them off of any and all pedophilia websites!

Really though, that's the ONLY reasonable way that you would think their images were being posted on a pedophile website.

Separately, the fact that their one son (the one who only goes out around 2 am) is clearly gay should take another load off of your mind since pedophiles almost always present as heterosexual men. Whew! What a relief.

All that being said, it would definitely bother me that my neighbors had cameras trained on my backyard... just because I don't even want my neighbors LOOKING in my yard when I'm out there... it's an extension of my house and I like to feel like I have some privacy.

Plant some shrubs. Get a taller fence. Put up a gazebo... whatever you need to bock their view.

HTH
T.

Talk to a lawyer and try to plant some trees to block the view.

The son might be taking pictures of your husband and posting them on a gay website. But as others have pointed out gay does not equal pedophile. Gay men like other gay men (and possibly like to ogle non-gay men they find attractive).

I would block the cameras with something, tent, canopy, plants, a fence...then you don't have to worry.

Good news though if your house is broken into they could probably have video for the police.

I mean this in a non-sarcastic way - Can you *ask* them about the cameras? Invite them over for dinner one night, and broach the topic over a good meal? You know what they say about catching flies with honey instead of vinegar....

I agree that the cameras are legal. But I agree with *you* that you have to wonder why they are filming!!

If you can't get any answers...start building. High walls, tall trees, etc.

ETA to your SWH: You still have not addressed the issue of *talking* to them. Have you tried to ask them about the cameras? Have them over for dinner? If it feels forced, maybe have a bunch of neighbors over for dinner, including them. (Also, have you asked your other neighbors for their opinion of the situation?)

I would be more worried that they are selling or making drugs. That would be the only reason I could think of for monitoring the area around your house so diligently.

If the going & knocking on their door & asking yields no results I say it's time. For a higher fence (if allowed) or some privacy shrubs a d or trees!!

Can you get your own camera and very deliberately set it up to film them, you wouldn't even need to actually turn it on. just make the point that if they can have what ever they want then so can you?

it's a little juvenile, but I really can't see just walking up and knocking on someone's door and asking them what the heck they are doing.

probably a bad idea, a really really tall fence is probably the best but just trying to give you some options.

For $70 you can get a camera set at Harbour Freight and put it on your house. You will take yours down when they take theirs down.

Since everyone else has commented on the gay/pedophile aspect of it, I'm going to skip that.

I also agree with the others about how over-aware you are of these neighbors, that you seemingly don't even speak to.

That said, what makes you think they are taping the children, specifically? Sometimes you think a camera is pointed at you, and it's not. How can you be sure they are really on your yard and not the space beyond your yard or somewhere slightly different?

Also, you did say it started with one camera, and now there are several. You don't know why they don't have cameras on the front of the house. Maybe they are really paranoid about something, but don't believe the danger will come through the front yard. Maybe they are planning on installing cameras in front, but thought the backyard was more urgent. If you're going to just jump to conclusions and assume the worst, then of course you aren't going to actually just ASK THEM or tell them they make you uncomfortable. Maybe the cameras aren't even on all the time, or are on a rotating frequency for security. And maybe the reason the police didn't do anything is because you sound overly paranoid yourself.

If you decide to still not talk to them and be an adult about the situation, then look up the laws in your area or call a lawyer for a consult to see what legal rights you have, although it might be only small claims and the court costs could add up. I guess you have to weigh the costs of court against your own paranoia to see if it's worth the fight.

Step 1. ask - them and a lawyer
Step 2. block
Step 3. do the same to them (if 1 & 2 have no effect)

Basically supporting what everyone else has said.