I installed security cameras to catch my neighbour’s kid wrecking my yard

And now I'm the bad guy???

An Aussie has taken to social media to ask if they really are a bad person after installing security cameras around their home. 

"What's wrong with that?" I hear you ask. "Everyone has them..."

Well, this person has admitted that they have installed the cameras for something other than dangerous intruders. They put them in to catch out their neighbour's kid after months of suspecting that they were wrecking their yard. 

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Security camera installed but not to keep out the intruders. Image: iStock

I put up security cameras to catch my neighbour's kid

The woman, whose location is unknown, shared her dilemma on Reddit, claiming that she's surprised that she has come out as the "bad guy" from all of this. 

"For the past month, weird stuff kept happening around my house. Gnomes knocked over, mailbox dented, flowers pulled out… just random annoying vandalism. I figured it was some local kids, but had no proof," the woman shared online.

But after the third time of noticing damage at the front of her home, this time being her flowers getting destroyed, she decided enough was enough.

"I set up a small cam facing my front yard. It’s on my property, not hidden or anything, just not super obvious. A couple [of] days later, boom — caught my neighbour’s 10 y/o son yanking out my flowers and tossing them in the street. Clear as day," she said. 

Naturally, now with evidence, she went over to the neighbour's home to alert the parents about what their child was doing.

"I went over to their house, calm, showed the vid on my phone. I thought they’d apologise or offer to replace the plants. Nope. They lost it. Accused me of 'spying' on their kid, said I was 'overreacting' to a 'harmless prank,' and even threatened legal action for 'filming their child'.”

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The street is divided

The argument continued with the homeowner explaining that having cameras installed around your property is completely legal and reassured them that they only show what's happening in her own yard, not beyond. 

"They wouldn’t hear it. It turned into a full-blown yelling match," she continued, adding that now other residents in the street have gotten involved. 

"Now they’re telling everyone I’m some creepy neighbour who hates kids. The street’s basically split. Some are on my side, some are giving me dirty looks."

The woman asked members of the social media platform to give her advice: "AITAH for putting up a camera to protect my stuff?" she asked. 

Thankfully for her, many agreed with her solution and claimed they would've done the same thing. 

"Keep recording, if you catch him breaking more stuff, take them to small claims court, see who’s laughing then," one person encouraged. 

"The neighbours who are split are the ones who are raising their kids to be just as destructive. Keep the camera, take evidence of any damage caused to the police, and let them decide if you're 'overreacting'," another agreed. 

Another echoed: "You’ve done nothing wrong the parent’s reaction to this situation really explains the kids behaviour."

What would you do? 

Originally published as I installed security cameras to catch my neighbour’s kid wrecking my yard