I can't believe people are saying to snitch just because cars are inconviently parked and traffic has increased.
This kind of thing is not just a question of a few more cars. Its bad people coming and going at odd hours (some desperate for drugs, some already on drugs, some armed, etc) and potentially decreased property values. If someone is running a sell operation, its usually only a question of time before some hopped up crackhead tries to rob them for drugs, money, or guns. Now you have the potential for bullets flying around the neighborhood. With a bunch of addicts coming and going at all times of the night, now YOUR property is at risk for simple burglary, or worse.
Its the "don't crap where you eat" rule, and having once lived in an apt where I could look out the window and watch heroin deals go on in the parking lot in front of me, I can tell you, you don't want these people around where you live if you can help it.
You're going to send somebody to jail and fuck up their life and their fam's life for something so simple, that many of us here have probably at one point done ourselves?
You bet I would. . .and no, I'm betting most of us here have NOT been running conspicuous narcotics sale operations from our homes.
Calling the cops t wouldn't necessarily be my FIRST action, but that's highly situation dependent. If I were sufficiently concerned about the safety of my family or myself, and didn't think the matter would be resolved in a different way, I'd drop that dime that in a heartbeat and not miss a lick of sleep over it.
And if I did, by the way, it would be this idiot sending THEMSELF to jail.
If that's even what they're doing. As someone else has said before me "You do not remove a hangnail with a hammer".
If that ISN'T what's going on, then what difference does it make if someone tips the police? The cops aren't going to bust someone over a non-existent drug operation merely on the word of an anonymous tipster!
You need to talk to him, something along the lines of casually mentioning you've seen some suspicious cars with gov't plates driving and parked about.
That's a perfectly fine approach too.
As an earlier poster mentioned, it comes down to how well you know the person in question, and what your relationship is with them.
If you know them well, and you're on good terms, you can just talk to them, and say "look, I don't know what's going on here, and I don't really care to know, but there are all these cars coming and going all night long, and it looks a little odd. If I've noticed it, I guarantee others have as well. Whatever it is you're doing, you might want to cool it or move it to a more secure place." If they don't heed that advice, whatever may come later is on their head.
If you don't know them, or know that they aren't particularly friendly, there is NO point whatever bringing attention to YOURSELF by talking to them. You can send an anonymous letter stating the above in more forceful terms, and/or notify the cops (or both).
Note that calling the cops does NOT necessarily mean that they're going to come riding in with a SWAT team in and bust this guy. At best, they'd open an investigation, requiring surveillance, development of evidence, etc. At worst, they might do absolutely nothing at all (hell. . .they could even be in on it).
Midway in between (and actually quite a likely possibility), a cop could simply ride by, knock on this guy's door, and say "We know you're dealing drugs out of this place, and if its still happening 24 hours from now, we're going to toss you in jail, AND seize the property in forfeiture". That's a very polite way of asking them to stop, and hearing it put that way, the neighbor would probably heed the request.