Yes — and don't talk yourself out of it because it "might be nothing." Police will tell you the same thing: they would far rather log ten harmless reports than miss the one that was a burglary crew doing homework. Vehicle-theft rings case neighborhoods before they hit, and the reports that seem trivial on their own — a slow-rolling car, a stranger photographing driveways — are exactly how detectives connect a pattern across a neighborhood after the fact.
How to do it well:
- Use the non-emergency line for suspicious-but-not-active situations. Call 911 only if a crime looks like it's happening right now.
- Give specifics: plate number, vehicle make and color, direction of travel, clothing, time. A plate is gold; "a sketchy guy" is nearly useless.
- Save your camera clips and mention you have them — doorbell footage of a scout car has broken real cases.
- Share with neighbors so multiple households report the same pattern; that's what gets patrols added.
- Never confront anyone yourself. Observe, record, report. That's the whole job.
And while police handle the street, harden your own driveway: lights, locks, and a hidden motion-alert tracker on the bike or trailer. If the crew you reported comes back anyway, you'll know the moment your machine moves — and you'll have a live location to hand the officers who already know about the pattern.
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