apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Call me paranoid, but I'd call the police and at least start a paper trail. Sorry to say, but you never know these days.

Plain privacy window film can be purchased for less than $30 at a hardware store (I got the Gila brand at OSH.) Can be installed in 5-10 minutes. You get privacy without sacrificing light.

I completely agree. I would have called the police the second I saw that creep. Also, I can understand being broke, but IKEA offers very inexpensive window cover options. Hopefully, she can afford those soon.

BB: I don't think that's paranoid...it's a good idea! She's already made a report out with management, and I'll mention she immediately call the police if she see the perpetrator again.

also note things like sheets may not help when you have your lights on. You can still see the outline of a person especially if your nude. There are also paper blinds sold at Home Depot. The look (from outside) like real blinds but are use when people first move and havent had time to decide what to put on the windows.

Move. To a place that includes window coverings.

Otherwise -

Have an alarm installed and pay for monitoring. There are renter friendly alarms out there.

Buy a gun and register it. The problem with baseball bats is the perp has to be within arm's length.

Unfortunately my coworker can't break her year's lease, and she can't move because she lives in the particular neighborhood to take care of her handicapped family member who lives in a care home nearby. She's on a limited and strict budget, thus the question about affordable solutions.

Guns are not an option. She detests guns and has children in the apartment regularly.

That is really creepy. If you can't actually afford an alarm you might want to at least get the sticker that says you have one. Tell the cops and neighbors so that they know to be on the look out too.

If she can't afford an alarm then she needs to borrow money and get one.

The guy will probably be back. Bet on it.

I would have her get some legal advice and see what her options are for breaking the lease.

Boomer: she can't move because she is taking care of a family member with a medical condition who lives nearby, as noted above. Borrowing more money for an alarm isn't an option right now; her financial options are limited.

Well if you're going to argue with every suggestion people give you why do even bother to post this. This isn't the place either.

I have a crazier story...with an acquantiance catching the guy filming outside her window. He lived across from her and by the time the police came he had erased his camera and his hard drive.

The police tried to talk her out of filing a report because he was very young 19 or something and he would have been arrested with a "sexual offender"/requirement to register with the state. She filed anyway and then had to live across the hall from the creep. A year later when she went back to check on the report she realized the cops never submitted it. They dismissed it as a childish prank.

It should have been documented...people going to that length don't "just stop".

file a report. get it on paper. get a record for yourself.
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90% of weapons are turned around and used on the victim anyway. Just Keep your speed dial handy. If she can call 911 while he's at it and not get too spooked she might have a chance of getting him caught.

wow. i don't think i'd ever expect to see the word "gun" (ie firearm as opposed to glue) on the AT boards. Boomer, put away that NRA member card, you're scaring us. Although I agree with the legal advice bit--usually lease-breaking on the grounds of personal safety is acceptable. (ie. one of my co-workers used to live in the Rancho Los Feliz Apts in Atwater and his neighbor shot herself about 3 months into his lease. He hightailed it outta there the next week, and the leasing office was perfectly OK with it).

Anyway, something similar happened to a friend of mine up in SF--And she ended up calling the cops, calling the building manager, alerting the neighbors, and putting up IKEA shades. The cops began patrolling the area nightly for about three weeks, and the manager actually installed an alarm system for the entire building.

I'm not arguing with you Boomer. I'm telling you what her situation is; you keep ignoring these because you're so hell-bent on being right. In fact, I love all the other poster's recommendations...they seem to be within the realm of reason and accommodate to the situation she's in. If she doesn't want a gun and can't afford to move, that's not me arguing with her. That's just you arguing with yourself...again.

In addition to the reporting the peeping tom to police and placing the privacy film on the window, Gregory's initial suggestion to notify apartment management is a very good one. Have her do the notice in writing, to at least put the legal burden on the apartment management, and have her say she's afraid of a potential assault on her and maybe have other tenants sign on with her, especially the females. Hopefully management will immediately respond with the motion detector sensors or maybe trim the plants he may be using as hiding places.

Hopefully the guy just never comes back but it's wise to take the appropriate steps in case anything further happens.

Btw, as for reporting to the cops, she might discover that the same prowler has been reported by others so even if they never do anything about it, she should report anyway.

we've got a peeper in our neighborhood. window coverings -- curtains, privacy film, screens -- is one deterrent; alerting the police is another (not only so they can keep watch but also to keep track of crimes in the neighborhood so that the right number of police are alloted the neighborhood); yelling go away is another; communicating with the neighbors so that everyone is aware & looking out for each other is also good. ikea has inexpensive rods & you can make something serviceable with a couple of cup hoods, a wooden dowel from home depot & inexpensive sheets or fabric. another good thing is alerting the landlord to put in motion lights which are a very effective deterrent and putting in in or cutting back shrubbery.

I wholeheartedly agree with RJD's suggestions particularly about contacting the apartment management.

I discovered a peeping tom in our backyard a few years back and immediately alerted the police. They told us that there had been similar complaints in the area and began regularly patrolling the neighborhood at night. We never saw him again.

Here's hoping that everything turns out as well as it did for steenk's friend in SF.

I think it's notable what can be accomplished when community and neighbors work together, especially when it comes to crime. And it doesn't cost a dime to talk to our neighbors :)

This is such a scary situation, and so sad. Everyone wants to feel safe in their home.

We had a situation a few years ago with a guy who lived opposite us - he'd actually cut a hole in the top of the window blinds and had mounted a video camera that was pointed at my apartment. He would yell degrading things out of his windowsat both my teenaged son and myself, or make kissy noises every time I went outside. I wasn't the only target for his abuse, and the entire complex joined together to file complaints to the owner.

He called the sheriff (we're rural) and reported that my son had broken into the apartment directly across from us. They came out and viewed his tape, then went to talk to the person who lives in the 'broken into' apartment. Made quite a fool of himself, as the neighbor (with whom we're very good friends) had given us a key so we could keep an eye on their cat that we had picked up from the vet after some surgery. The sheriff then came to talk to us, and we were surprised to find out that his video taping was not against any laws, as it encompassed 'common areas'. They talked to a few more people in the complex, and after determining that the instigator was an abnoxious idiot (really an oversized schoolyard bully), told us to call them every single time he said anything or did anything to/about us. They gave us the report number so it could all be logged, and they reviewed the report every couple of days trying to determine if/when he crossed any lines into criminal behavior.

He did eventually move, but I had also kept written documentation and made sure the manager had copies in my file in case I reached the point of deciding to move because of the harrassment. To give the owner credit, he had started the legal proceedings to have the guy evicted after he'd been inside the apartment - he came to us to warn us to be extra vigilant about keeping windows covered and going outside if the guy was around - he evidently had stacks and stacks of video tapes - he kept the camera running 24/7.

I feel sorry for those above who had less than stellar reception from the law enforcement officials. I'd tell anyone who'd been asked to not file a report to call again and talk to a different officer, and keep calling until someone comes out and takes the report - and be sure to get a copy of it. Go up the ladder to the top if you have to. You just don't know if the guy is a voyeur or a predator.

call. the. cops.

one other thing to do....tell as many of your neighbors as appropriate. the more people on the lookout, the more protection. i was in l.a. a few weeks ago when that admitted pedophile had turned up in santa monica, having been intimidated out of seattle. the parents there got very organized -- posted flyers locally and more. i know this is different because you don't have a picture, but you can still publicize that a peeping tom has been seen in your neighborhood. put your neigborhood on watch. you never know who these crazies are out there and the more organized a community can become, the more there is a sense of safety and looking out for others well being.

and as i said in my first post -- CALL THE POLICE. and do tell your management.

I don't know what they are called, but your friend should get the "lock" things for windows that keeps someone from opening your window far enough to climb in. I got them at home depot, they are cheap and easy to install. They should be in with the door hardware. Here is one on my window: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1004/1199821428_6215c3bbf8.jpg

I have slide up windows, if you have slide side to side windows, you could try putting a stick (like a broom handle or something) in the window track to keep the window from being slide open far enough for some to climb in.

Also, I have the Ikea window things mention before, the contact papery stuff for windows in my bathroom and it totally rules.

Also, I'm with everyone else, call the police. Call. call. call. thats what they are there for. If they don't come, call again. And tell your building management. You know, the squeaky wheel!!

(I'm in a first floor apartment... not just paranoid.)

I second the home depot paper blind suggestion, I purchased some recently when I moved into a new apartment - I think they cost just over $5 and were super easy to install.

She should also check with her building manager to see if they would consider putting extra lighting around the building and in the area where she saw the peeper. That might make her window a less appealing target.

I thought landlords were required to provide window coverings? Maybe she can ask the management company.

plant poison ivy/poison oak outside.
get a large dog (best alarm).

(on top of everything else).

First of all, do what many of the posters here say and CALL THE POLICE. If no action is taken by them, go to the station and speak to one of the detectives.

If your co-worker is too short of cash, put a taut rope or wire across the top of the window and hang some sheets from it to cover the window. Make them double thickness and shir them over the rope so there are folds, which will confound the silhouette effect, as will the avoidance of lighting between the person and the curtain.

Tell the manager, tell the neighbors--Immediately CALL them AND THE POLICE when you suspect the guy's out there doing his thing. Rather than just cowering in fear, your coworker needs to be proactive.

The vast majority of peeping toms get their jollies from peeping. Some serial killers also observe the habits and schedules of potential victims by staking out their homes. While the chances of this being the case are probably .001%, I think it would be crazy to take even that chance. I used to be a prof, and if a student told me they wanted to kill themself, I took it seriously and got them to a shrink or counselor faster than a speeding bullet. You don't take a chance with someone's life. Same here.

And no more shilly-shallying, say I!

I use the ikea window film and it's perfect since there are two windows in my unit that are across from my neighbors. in the next building. The neighbor on the same floor in that building can look directly at me sleeping in my bed or walking through my hall. I don't really mind as I'm not that shy, but I do "entertain" often in that room, so I like to keep my "guests" comfy.

I can look directly at that neighbor in his livingroom, bathroom and kitchen as well. It seems we both prefer to walk through our homes in the nude :-)

boomer there was a reason you were banned before...
you my friend are way out of line

Redi shades are sold in multi-packs at various hardware stores and run about $5/shade. Security companies will often rent cameras with motion sensors that turn on when people are hanging around the house for pretty low rates. A friend's neighbor was sneaking around tearing up the garden, leaving human feces on the walk, etc., and to this day no one knows why, but once she got him on camera and called the cops back, game over. But note: she had already called the cops (who recommended the camera). Call the cops. And write down every incident with date and time.

Everyone I know who's had a peeping tom issue has been able to break a lease without consequence. Landlords don't want to be sued. At some point it's a good idea regardless of cost and inconvenience (example: in one incident friends with a peeping tom found makeshift weapons left under their windows). And I am also surprised that the landlord is not required to provide window coverings; it's the law here.

My friend had to break a lease after finding a peeping tom watching her, but the management company still made her pay a huge fee for doing so. She was in a first floor apartment so it made an easy target for the peeper.

If you friend cannot break the lease is there another apartment available on an upper floor in the same complex? This would at least not allow someone to stand at her window. At the very least maybe the manager could trim the bushes outside the window providing less "coverage" for the peeper.

The paper blinds that others have mentioned are really easy to install and hold up really well. This same friend purchased them for her house when she moved from the peeping tom apartment and she had them up for years. The only reason they came down was because she ended up moving again.

Good luck! It's a scary world out there...

If it's not too late to add here...

If she hasn't done so already, she must inform her apartment manager and call the police right away to report this. Design aesthetics are not the concern here, but safety is, so she should get whatever window coverings she can for the time being, ideally something that doesn't even show silhouettes and shadows from the outside and that stays against the window so there are no gaps either.

My sister, back when she lived on the 1st floor of a house, realized she had a peeping tom when she discovered a small bench below her bedroom window outside. The police did catch the guy who'd been reported doing this elsewhere, but she never really felt comfortable there again. It's a very unsettling experience, no matter what happens.

I now have 2 big dogs that growl or bark whenever they hear a noise outside, so this makes me feel somewhat safer (but may not please the neighbors too much!) Also, it doesn't prevent anyone, if they really want to, from seeing in my windows from afar.