Estonian police: repeated neighbor disturbances warrant a call every time
A representative of Estonia's Police and Border Guard Board says residents should call police every single time neighbors cause repeated disturbances, since all calls to an address are logged and help build a case for the local officer. The topic will be featured on the show "Своя правда" on September 28.
An upcoming episode of the Estonian TV programme "Своя правда", airing Monday, September 28, focuses on conflicts between neighbors and what to do when living next to noisy or difficult neighbors becomes a real strain. Guests and experts in the studio will discuss where to turn for help and whether offenders can be held accountable.
Among the guests was Margarita Savchuk, a patrol officer with Estonia's Police and Border Guard Board. She stressed that when disturbances from neighbors keep recurring, it's important to call the police every single time: every call to a specific address is logged in a database, and patrol officers can pass on information about recurring problems to the local district officer.
Not every situation can be resolved on the spot
Savchuk noted that patrols respond to such calls quite often, both during the day and at night, but outcomes vary. In some cases officers can help, in others they cannot — for instance, if a baby is crying at night, police have no way to make an infant stop, since that's simply not possible. More often than not, though, it is people who have been drinking alcohol who disturb the peace at night.
Don't be afraid to call
Addressing disorderly behavior by neighbors specifically, Savchuk said people should not hesitate to call the police. The more calls logged for a given address, the better, since all of them are recorded in the database. Patrol officers can then forward that information to the district officer responsible for the area, whose contact details can be found by entering one's home address on the police website. The district officer will in turn contact the relevant apartment association to help resolve the issue.
The episode, titled "Здравствуйте, соседи!" ("Hello, neighbors!"), is hosted by Elena Solomina and airs Monday at 20:30 on the ETV+ channel.
