Suggestions for Catching Ding Dong Ditch Teen

[SteveJ34]

I have an elderly friend of the family that is fairly certain that the teen who lives next door to her is the guilty party that keeps calling at odd hours and also sneaking out to ring her door bell at odd hours.

She has spoken to the parents but they do not believe he is guilty.

I have been searching for a clever way to "catch the thief" or otherwise mark him in some way with some hard to detect method for marking the trail he leaves after ditching.

I know, we've probably all done it ourselves in our childish history but I would welcome any ideas for how to catch this 'ding dong ditch" sleep thief.

[paigeoliver]

Find an old webcam and point it out the window at the porch. Make it really easy to see, that way you don't even have to plug it in to anything.

[saint]

Caller ID?

[saint]

Contact the phone company and ask to speak to them about nuisance calls. They can find who is calling. There may be hoops to jump through. In our neck of the woods we have to get the police involved and fill out a form authorizing the phone company to monitor calls and release that information to the police.

[mpm32]

Trap door in the porch for the bell ringing.

[Ed_McCarron]

Ever see Monster House?

Seriously, do the USB cam and laptop thing.

[FrizzleFried]

The cocking sound of a shotgun tends to get the point across...

 

[Ginsu Victim]

Ding Dong Ditch?
That's too politically correct.
Not what we called it growing up....

[Lutus]

wire the doorbell to a camera camera, with a flash right in the window and when they push the button it takes a picture.



OR even easier, wire the doorbell to just a bulb, and when they press the doorbell a flood light comes on like it is taking thier picture.

Will probably only happen once after that.

[HaRuMaN]

Even better, wire the doorbell to the 220 V mains, and let their finger complete the circuit...   

[lanman31337]

Use that UV stuff on the door bell that they use on fire alarms.  They press the button, get it on their finger, fire up the black light, and voila, culprit.

[shardian]

In school, I remember being told that when you pulled the alarm that your fingers went into some crap that basically made an imprint of your fingerprints.

I still don't know for sure, but I never wanted to find out.

[Samstag]

In school, I remember being told that when you pulled the alarm that your fingers went into some crap that basically made an imprint of your fingerprints.

I still don't know for sure, but I never wanted to find out.

Snopes says the dye on the fire alarms is an urban legend, but as usual they don't substantiate their claims.

http://www.snopes.com/science/poolpiss.asp

I'm not sure how you think it's possible to prove that it never happened.  Can you prove that it wasn't you who didn't put invisible ink on the fire alarms?

Edit:  Fixed misplaced quote.

[solorbob]

I think everyone is being too nice.  Hook up the doorbell to some juice to get a good shock, then just follow the wet trail to the perp.   

[RayB]

Urban legend or not, "invisible" ink that only shows up under a blacklight EXISTS, so it's a valid suggestion. Problem is, anyone else pressing the doorbell will also get ink.

Camera is the best option though. It's hard evidence.

[Dartful Dodger]

If it was your house(or mine) I’d say do it.  We’ll see it as a game we can win.  Your neighbor just wants it to end. 

Next time it happens have them call the police.  The parents of the kid will put an end to it if they know the police are involved.  Plus it could be more than a teen prank.  Someone really could be testing your neighbor’s defenses.

[SithMaster]

Trap door in the porch for the bell ringing.

A trap door that leads to a pit containing a rancor.  seriously.

Get some donuts and start a stakeout.  Scare the kid by using a laser pointer (or a few) and see if they think a sniper is aiming for them.  Otherwise i think the rancor is the best bet.  sure someone innocent might fall in but thats a risk he is going to have to take.

[geomartin]

For one of us, it would probably be more of a game to catch the culprit, but for an elderly neighbor I would recommend the use of a security camera placed in plain site to thwart the ditcher.  Let's face it, he/she will likely see any other method of prevention as merely a challenge to be overcome.  Also, turn of the phone ringer at night or program the phone to have seperate ringtones that your neighor can either choose to answer or let go to voicemail. 

[shardian]

In my experience, the phone company is not helpful at all with a frequent prankster or harrassing calls. They will simply tell you that they will let you switch your phone number. Wow, thanks for giving me the opportunity to go thru the massively time consuming task of changing my number and updating all of my contacts and paperwork because of one damn number you could block.

[lanman31337]

Use that UV stuff on the door bell that they use on fire alarms.  They press the button, get it on their finger, fire up the black light, and voila, culprit.

Does that even exist or is it an urban legend?  I remember hearing that the school fire alarms sprayed indelible ink on your hands, but I never believed it.

It does exist.  That's how they caught kids pulling the alarms at our school.  They put it on the inside of the fire alarm handle, and it doesn't wash off very easily.  Any time maintenance or a janitor would set it off they'd always have gloves on, and you could see the ink on the tips.  It's like an off-white color. 

This is the stuff they probably used - http://starlight.com/blksupplies.html

This easy to use gel can be applied to any surface and is virtually invisible! When contact is made it begins to dye the skin BRIGHT BLUE immediately. Even if wiped off quickly it is very tough to remove. Can only be seen under  UV/Blacklight. Great in situations where immediate apprehension cannot be made.  Can remain on skin for several days even after washing! Tough Stuff!

[Samstag]

Well, Snopes says common sense dictates that they don't leave that stuff on there permanently and only use it when someone has been pulling the alarms frequently. 

Which is why you should always do a statistical analysis of recent incidents to determine your relative risk prior to pulling an alarm.

Or wear gloves.

[shardian]

Or wear gloves.

That would require thinking. Not something a dumbass high schooler who pulls fire alarms is much good at.

[Samstag]

In school, I remember being told that when you pulled the alarm that your fingers went into some crap that basically made an imprint of your fingerprints.

My first thought would have been:  "I need to get a good pair of gloves and convince somebody to try it."

[vidmouse]

Something more passive...
Hook up the doorbell button to a light instead of a bell,
it'll be less of a disturbance that way... or just disconnect
it altogether for a few days.

Then when the prankster resorts to calling at odd hours
do the other phone things already mentioned (*69,
caller ID, whatever)

[btp2k2]

just camp out in the bushes and when the little turd comes to ring the bell at 2 in the morning, you jump out of the bushes and kick him in the crotch.

[shmokes]

If you have the money (pretty cheap these days) I'd recommend the camera option.  You can get wireless video cameras dirt cheap these days.  Unlike what other people have suggested, I recommend NOT putting it in plain sight.  Maybe the camera will deter the kid, maybe it won't.  Maybe he'll just start doing something else annoying instead, like screen screeching the window or something.  Give him a challenge and he'll outsmart it.  Covertly take his picture and he's done for.  You show his parents the proof, tell them you'll call the cops if you get one more phone call or late night knocker, and it's over.

[Jdurg]

A bit of Uranyl Nitrate powder on your doorbell.  Then, using a Geiger Counter, you can see if the perpetraitor had touched your doorbell.  (as his hand would be above background levels in terms of radioactivity).  Of course, Uranyl Nitrate is incredibly chemically toxic, not to mention radioactive, so it might not be too good of an idea.  :p

[paigeoliver]

Also, I doubt the phone call person and door knocker are the same person and I doubt EITHER one of them is the TEENAGER next door (by the way, am I the only one here who knew ding dong ditch by a much less politically correct term).

Knocking and running is a grade school prank. I remember lots of kids doing it in grade school, and I think I even did it myself once. However no one was doing that by the time I was a teenager, it is just such a lame prank.

That makes me clear the teenager in question based on the fact that a teenager doesn't fit the psychological profile of who would do something like that.  (My guess would be a boy of about 11, he is probably skinny, as fat kids can't run away reliably. Anyone on the street fit that description?) In fact, it is probably a trio of boys around that age (boys tend to get in trouble in groups of three).

As for the phone calling, that is the domain of 13-15 year old boys, although I severely doubt they would target (or even have) the telephone number of their elderly neighbor. Why hang up on grandma jones when you could hang up on Samantha from homeroom? Is there any talking with these phone calls or are they just hangups or beeping?

[Ed_McCarron]

(by the way, am I the only one here who knew ding dong ditch by a much less politically correct term).

No.  You refer to the alliterative version?

[quarterback]

(by the way, am I the only one here who knew ding dong ditch by a much less politically correct term).

No.  You refer to the alliterative version?

Ding Dong Ditch isn't alliterative?

[Dartful Dodger]

I grew up calling it knicker knocking and had never even heard of the other version until I was 16 or so.

I never heard that term.  It sounds more like an alternative to pantsing.

Which is also very uncool to do to the elderly, on many levels.

[SteveJ34]

All suggestions have been along the right lines and have been suggested.

The elderly friend has a history with this neighbor teen which is what has led her to suspect him.

Installing cameras is the right option but this person lives in another city and I am not able to directly help them which is what led me to seeking alternative suggestions.

Apparently the number is being blocked and the local authorities and phone company to date have not been very helpful.

I have passed along some ideas and encouraged them to escalate if it does not subside

Thanks again for all the constructive concepts including our having the chance to relive some of our younger years.

[SirPeale]

I grew up calling it knicker knocking and had never even heard of the other version until I was 16 or so.

I never heard that term.  It sounds more like an alternative to pantsing.

Which is also very uncool to do to the elderly, on many levels.

It was called "Ring and Run" where I lived.  Don't know a "bad version".

[quarterback]

I grew up calling it knicker knocking and had never even heard of the other version until I was 16 or so.

I never heard that term.  It sounds more like an alternative to pantsing.

Which is also very uncool to do to the elderly, on many levels.

It was called "Ring and Run" where I lived.  Don't know a "bad version".

It has to do with a certain ethnic group doing the "knocking".  And that group is not called "Knickers"

[HaRuMaN]

Gah...  I've got some punks doing this to me, now.

Anyone have a good suggestion?

[opt2not]

Bear trap on the porch. That'll learn her.

[yotsuya]

Borrow a big dog and chain it to a tree in your front lawn.

[HaRuMaN]

Well, I have a laptop running linux, so I think I'll throw zonealarm on it, hook up the webcam, and try to get some good pictures, and go from there...

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

In addition to a camera, you really should wire in a nice loud klaxon at about ear level pointing toward the door, and perhaps a strong strobe light. Probably invest in an new welcome mat as well, for afterwards.

[HaRuMaN]

Or you could just like ignore it for a couple more days until they get bored?

I've been ignoring it, they keep going...