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Trouble with Police!

J

JohnNZ

New member
Hello All

A quick question.
A friend of mine was hunting for old coins in a public school ground. He has been to this school about 6 times already, over weekends when school is quiet.
This time a chap came up to him ranting and raving, and eventually called the police, who asked him to leave. He did not have permission to hunt. He was not making a mess. The first guy would not give his name etc.
My friend is afraid he will be charged.
What is the best approach for schools
 
Hello John, this is the first time reading into this forum. I saw your question and thought I'd answer it. They can only say no! If I was your friend, tell him to ask the principal if he could have permission to detect on weekends, or out of school hours, and show him the tools and detector he uses, with a promise that nothing will change to the ground itself. Then if the principal agrees, tell him to ask for a contact phone number, or a brief note signed stating he has permission. Then he can carry it in his pocket, for moments when he's likely to be questioned by the public. That usually shuts them up! There's gotta be a lot of schools around, so if one says no, another may say yes. Buy doing it this way, he'll have peace of mind. I've gotten permissions to detect places, you normally wouldn't be allowed to, just by asking!
Cheers Angela:detecting::)
 
Well for one thing the schools are public property and ABSENT some written law prohibiting detecting or closing them completely, it is still open to the public for activities (I'm talking about outside school hours - like now when it's closed for the summer).

Problem is if they tell one guy he can't do something like this (assuming he is digging and replacing plugs properly) they also can't allow all the kids on the playground equipment, the couple walking the dogs on the track, and the group on the ball field. It's either public for all or none (absent a specific law prohibiting detection or digging, or closing the grounds to the public). Usually the reason they ask someone to leave is just to shut the guy complaining up.

A lot of officers are into Geocaching, Detecting, and other hobbies and will understand what you are doing, but you do get the occasional jerk in any profession (trust me, I'm a 28+ year law enforcement supervisor). I seriously doubt there is any chance of him being charged unless he was doing damage. Cops do not by their nature go out of their way to create paperwork (ie, lock people up or write reports), and it has been my experience that most line officers will go out of their way to avoid paperwork as much as possible (especially on the weekends when it's nice and quiet). Asking the guy to leave was the simple no paperwork solution.

I would get to know some of the local officers. After you have talked with them and they know who you are and what you are doing, they will be a whole lot less concerned when they see your car at a school at 7am on a Saturday or Sunday morning (before it gets too hot). I always have a small cooler of sodas with me and when they see me a lot of them come up just to chat and see what I've found. Of course I offer a soda as we chat.

PS. Cops can also be a good lead for new places to hunt!!! They usually know stuff the general public does not.
 
You can safely bet that if you detect regularly on parks , schools, sport fields and other recreational type sites then now and again the police or parky will be talking to you!, some stupid old fart who has nothing better to do will phone the police because for whatever reason they don't like the idea of you digging, I personally don't do parks anymore as i started to get paranoid about it all , lets face it if your only finding loose change and pull tabs you don't need some cop or parky or dog walker breathing down your face. Even getting permission to detect on a site and this includes school fields etc does not guarantee you wont get hassled by some jerk, i have had permission to detect on sites but have still been hassled by folk asking me what i am doing and threatening to "report me". Yep if you metal detect then you have to accept now and again you will be hassled.
 
This is all true from my experiences in my 33 years of detecting. Public schools are public and if you are not doing any damage and not detecting during school hours you have every reason to be there, but what is happening is someone will call in a report complaining either they think you are doing damage, or maybe you are a stranger and they are worried about the children. In this case the police have to check this out and may ask you to leave so whoever called in will be satisfied. I find in most cases after I tell them this is public property and give them my name and I do this as a hobby plus pick up many broken pieces of glass plus a lot of trash I am doing my part to keep it clean. 99% of the time I am told not to leave any holes when I am done which i show them my digging tool I use. I had one lady cop coming flying down the street and pulled up to me and said someone called in and said I was destroying the front lawn and wanted to know who told me I could do this. I told her to look at the grass where I was at and see if I was doing any damage plus told her this was public property my tax dollars was paying for. Showed her my trash bag full of trash and a few coins I was finding. Next thing I know I had her talked into a birthday present for her husband as she thought it was a great hobby for her husband instead of the bars. I got a deputy Sheriff that way too as he too now swings a metal detector and now know what is all right and what is not.
I have been ask by the cops on boulevards too to move down a little or try the next street to keep peace with some homeowners even though I am in the right which I do so.
A good friend and hunting Buddie has a good come back to many that question him on public property like schools and parks and some churches. He tells them to "Have a good day and may God Bless you" and most will walk away as they don't know what to think.
Most cases it is better to leave than to argue with someone that don't know anything.

Rick
 
Here, in Fla., I must get permission for 'tectin' from the principal of what ever school I want to detect. Often they will not let me as they site damage to school property and liability (insurance) concerns. The ones that have let me detect the school stipulate that I turn in any thing that can be identified to a person or anything that belongs to the school, ie; school items such as maintanince equipment and the like. Coins and unmarked jewlery are, finders-keepers,...So Far! I have been asked to leave a school by the Police after they were called in by a school employee, even though I had permission from the principal. I didn't get it in writing!!, and the principal had left by then. Also, you are likley to get into trouble if you get on school property after dark! Permission or not. Good luck and always, always ask, for permission. Fred/in Fla.
 
When someone noisey comes up and asks me what I am doing, I say minding my own Bussiness, You should try it sometime. Then they just look at you like they don't know what to think or say and just leave.
 
There are some good replys here. Here's my 2 cents. Sheer opinion. I never ask. Asking usually ends in "NO!". Many of you may be older and more distinguished, but I'm a cocky looking 34 year old with a shaved head, and I just look mean, even when I'm smiling!!! LOL So it never works for me. The only exception to this is if I am in my plumbing van, which is quite professional looking, and has HUGE graphics, I might ask, simply because they see the business graphics, and it increases the trust factor. (It also might lead to a plumbing job!!!) Otherwise, I never ask.
I (as others have stated) keep all the trash, and point out to anyone concerned how dangerous it is to have sharp metal in the ground. I point out that a piece of canslaw could cut a childs finger open if he was making sand piles or digging in the mulch, and this cut could end in a lawsuit. When they realize I'm cleaning their yard for free, its not as bad, but even then, some people will still refuse to let you search. We dug 3 times at a local private playground, before we seen the NO TRESSPASSING sign (honestly; it wasnt in plain view) and when I went and asked for permission, and told the lady we found a 9mm bullet (on a preschool playground!), and various sharp objects, she still demanded no. She hasnt said anything yet to the thugs and teens that hang out there, but then again, THEY didnt ask!!!
Ive never had a problem with police, only with nosy kids throwing trash in my path and asking 10 million questions. We keep a spare elcheapo detector in the trunk for those times. We explain to them that our detectors are VERY expensive and theres no way ANYONE else will use them, but that they can take turns using our spare, allowing us to search in peace while they chase each other around for a turn! haha. Works like a charm! Just gotta remember to get it back before you leave.
 
Some advice and this is true , first of all you say you have a shaved head , now i am all for shaved heads as they look mean and hard BUT people automatically presume someone with a shaved full head of hair is some kind of nut! thug, whatever you wanna call it. Sunglasses don't go down well when asking permission and neither do baseball caps:shrug: ha ha. If i am detecting on a site where i don't have "permission" and someone asks me what i am doing then i will tell them i believe the site has an unexploded ww2 bomb underground and i intend to locate it asi believe it to be highly dangorous!:smoke: Another get out clause when caught on a site without express permission is to say you are looking for a lost ring for an old lady, or sorry mate i was just trying my new christmas toy out and i didnt think i needed permission to use it!. happy hunting.:wiggle:
 
Here in Calif I never get anyone Peeed off. I always dig small plugs and I wear a workers safty vest.
 
John,
In Michigan public schools are public property and can be used by the public. You do not need permission. What we do is dig holes and repair them if you don't repair your holes then that can be viewed as vandalism. If the ground is dry your grass plugs are going to die. If someone alows their dog to pee on the grass that grass is going to die. If someone hits golf balls and does not replace their divots that grass is going to die. The point is you don't need permission on public property to detect unless it is specificly not allowed. Otherwise, you can't get in trouble unless vandalism can be proved.
Rick
 
My wife and I were discussing sneaking onto historic sites wearing all white plastic suits with the big white & clear bubblehead tops like the radioactive guys on E.T. wore, and the white shoe protectors,... LOL Carry around some vials and test gauges and such, and detect our little hearts away... .:nerd: We'll probably ACTUALLY never get around to doing it, but we had fun talking about it.
Sorry to trainrob this thread.
 
:It can be hard to make a recovery when the ground is dry thats why i dont dig dry ground as it usually will make a brown ring of dead grass and could get get you banned off the site because of the mess. Anyway my days have finished on parks and sports fields as i no longer find them interesting as most of the finds are modern or trash. Hassle factor out in open countryside is much less :) zero problems at all from passers by or parkys. Getting permission is easy usually off a farmer and no police will be called by a jerk which is great. happy hunting see you in the deep deep country hunting a bear maybe. maybe even finding buttons with dave z :laugh: Living for the beep.
 
The easiest way I have found to deal with this problem is to go to this website and search the Municipal code for your town concerning public parks and areas. You can search and print the section concerning city parks and public areas. I carry a copy with me since many are specific to the park. I had some RC guys come give me some grief claiming that I was causing interference. :angry: Pulled out the code and found out that they were in violation since the park we were in specifically stated "No radio controlled aircraft, cars or boats allowed to be operated in the park.":rage: It listed a park with a designated area. They moved I stayed.:rofl:
 
Sorry, I forgot to post the link.

http://www.municode.com/

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