Police frequently slinking around one of my sleeping spots

[gkb2016]

Disclaimer: My van is by no means stealth to anyone who has a clue … solar panels and a Maxx Air fan easily visible. Multiple times have had people ask me about it in parking lots.

Recently in one of my favorite sleeping spots the police have been there or driving by every night around dusk. Today had a cruiser do 2 passes while I was sitting in the front seat (in a nearby lot to my sleeping spot). Going to stop using this spot obviously … just wondering if anyone else has experienced this or similar?

 

[bullfrog !]

A lot depends on local laws and regulations. It definitely sounds like something has attracted law enforcement’s attention so time to abandon the area til whatever has their attention has been resolved without your involvement. If you think you are doing something illegal then find out and stop doing it. Find a better way. You can simply introduce yourself and ask for recommendations on where you can park but be prepared to leave the area if it turns out it is not allowed. A lot of times officer discretion allows some time to see if the problem resolves itself before they ticket you, so yes you probably have gotten your warning and it is time to move on or make sure what you are doing is not causing a problem for them.

 

[maki2]

Most urban boondockers make a habit of rotating between 7 to 10 different camping spots to avoid attracting attention from the local property owners and neighborhood patrol cars. So yes you should move to not just one new spot but to many new spots.

 

[gkb2016]

It’s pretty easy to rotate where I’m at (and I do) but usually between only 3-4 spots and never the same spot 2 nights in a row.

Picking at least one new place in light of the recent events.

Mostly just curious if anyone has had this situation happen and ended up using the spot anyway, did anything ever happen?

 

[bullfrog !]

Most of us take the hint and move on! Lol!!!

 

[user 37446]

Even us part timers get "visits".

I've had 2, one was while parked overnight in a commercial office complex lot cause' the adjoining hotel lot was too well lit up. I pulled in at about 10 pm and was visited at about midnight. Was allowed to depart without incident.

The second was parked in what I thought was an apartment complex (unmarked) visitors spot, turns out it was a condo and that was someone's (unmarked) favorite spot. That was a private security knock. Same thing, just leave and don't return.

 

[elisa7joy]

Disclaimer: My van is by no means stealth to anyone who has a clue … solar panels and a Maxx Air fan easily visible. Multiple times have had people ask me about it in parking lots.

Recently in one of my favorite sleeping spots the police have been there or driving by every night around dusk. Today had a cruiser do 2 passes while I was sitting in the front seat (in a nearby lot to my sleeping spot). Going to stop using this spot obviously … just wondering if anyone else has experienced this or similar?

Disclaimer: My van is by no means stealth to anyone who has a clue … solar panels and a Maxx Air fan easily visible. Multiple times have had people ask me about it in parking lots.

Recently in one of my favorite sleeping spots the police have been there or driving by every night around dusk. Today had a cruiser do 2 passes while I was sitting in the front seat (in a nearby lot to my sleeping spot). Going to stop using this spot obviously … just wondering if anyone else has experienced this or similar?

I recently commented on a post like this on Reddit but I'll be a bit more in depth here. Personally I ended up in a van cuz of money issues. I have two dogs and I'm a widow in her 30s. Having a very complicated history with police officers(not good) I was very thrown when they would stop and "see if I'm okay". After a while I've learned it's no big deal, as long as my insurance and registration is good I'm good.
One thing I've found to help big time with phones is wearing a sleep mask when I'm sleeping. It shows intent to sleep vs nodding off drunk or on drugs. That's really what they care about.
If your drink or on drugs, I'm sorry. I've been there. I quit long before I wound up living in a van oddly enough!
Yes police are creepy yes they can be stressful but the worst thing you can do is be worried by them. They work on instinct. Too often they see anxiety as a sign off wrong doing. I literally had to give myself pep talks trying to not freak out when I see them trolling, sometimes I still do. The other thing is if they don't want you to park where you are parking ask them where to park!
I stress to them I don't have money for a campground, but I also don't want to create any trouble by being in the wrong areas. I've had police recommend some of my favorite parking spots.....

 

[nicklee]

If you don't do anything against the laws and regulations, don't panic, or go somewhere else for a while.

 

[NctryBen]

Think of it as your own personal security guard… they are just regular people, most times your parking spot could be their stake out spot… funny how we often assume things and invent a situation in our heads and it’s actually not the case at all…

 

[Gr8ful]

If it were me & I was all legal I'd introduce myself, explain why I was there & ask if he had any better places to suggest. They're just doing their job. I'm 64 & never lived where I couldn't just step outside, light the fire pit, take a leak or target shoot & can't imagine living in a town or city. There are 4 farms on our road, 3 were built for 3 sisters. Our house was the biggest with 10 bedrooms built in 1890 & they had no kids. They had gas lights before electricity, gas was made by a carbide generator in the basement. We still don't have natural gas available. I think you'll be fine or they would have talked to you by now as I'm sure they've run your tag. Good luck!

 

[Ballenxj]

If it were me & I was all legal I'd introduce myself, explain why I was there & ask if he had any better places to suggest. They're just doing their job. I'm 64 & never lived where I couldn't just step outside, light the fire pit, take a leak or target shoot & can't imagine living in a town or city. There are 4 farms on our road, 3 were built for 3 sisters. Our house was the biggest with 10 bedrooms built in 1890 & they had no kids. They had gas lights before electricity, gas was made by a carbide generator in the basement. We still don't have natural gas available. I think you'll be fine or they would have talked to you by now as I'm sure they've run your tag. Good luck!

This would be your best advice in my opinion.

 

[beachy]

Don’t park anywhere near a bank or ATM. There is a lot of crime happening that has crooks following people from banks and robbing them. So cops are on the lookout for vehicles stopped near banks and ATMs.

 

[Happy Camper]

The one thing that kept popping into my head after reading the title was the song for the slinky. Now it's stuck in there.