Great, It's The Cops...What Am I Going To Do Now?

[Critterhunter]

Twice in the last few weeks I've had cops sneak up and park at a strategic location where they can see what I'm up to. I always take a healthy look around before bending down to dig in order to watch out for this sort of thing. And while I'm down digging I always take a quick peak around to make sure the cost is still clear. Doing this helped me to spot cops two different times recently who had snuck up to keep an eye on what I was doing.

I'm of course not going to pull out my digger, let alone start digging holes while they are watching. It also wouldn't be a good idea to just pack up and leave right away, because that would give them the suspicion I was up to no good and give them further reason to watch out for me in the future. Instead, my strategy is to wait them out. I continue to hunt, but the only thing I do is every once in a while kick the grass to the side a little with my foot, or bend down and act like I'm picking something up and placing it in my apron. I want to make it look like I'm only hunting things on the surface and there is no digging involved.

The other day this worked and they eventually left, but I was sure to keep a good eye out for them sneaking back my way from different directions. They're sneaky that way. Today I was all in the mood to hunt a spot that has been producing silver for us lately. I was in one of those excited moods where I was in the zone to just be happy to dig anything, and my game plane was to dig anything above iron that was deeper than the known depth of round pull tabs in that area to avoid digging a ton of those and in the hopes for a gold ring or some other good find that reads lower on the scale. Not to mention the odd silver coin that reads lower for some weird reason, even without any iron or other trash in the hole with it.

While the cops were watching today I got two really sweet deep coin signals that could very well be silver. Luckily the spot I was hunting has some white sports field lines 8 feet apart from each other to give me good reference as to where to go back and dig those up at a later day. About about 30 minutes of this cat and mouse game they still weren't leaving, so I decided to pack it up and fight the good fight another day with less chance of blowing my access to this park.

Just wondering if you guys play the same game when you spot cops around? Another trick I use is to keep my back to the road when digging in case a cop happens to cruise by.

 

[plidn1]

In 35 years of Gold dredging, metal detecting and general treasure hunting, I have only been asked to leave a spot once and that was at the point of a shotgun. And he was worng, but had the gun.
Never have I had law enforcement, including forest rangers, ask me to leave anyplace. Once in a while they will get curious as to if I am finding anything, but never deny me access to parks, schools etc.
Cops are not dumb. They know what you are doing and why. Many of them are avid detector users themselves.
If you are being careful and respectful of the area and any people around you, you will be left alone.
There are any number of reasons why a cop would take a break at a nice park. They are human too.

Maybe they are looking for a good spot to detect?

 

[bootyhoundpa]

if they are watching you more than 5 minutes they arent watching for professional reasons....probably one of the cops is jealous or watching you to gain knowledge of the hobby.....i hunted a park today directly across from a police station and didnt even draw there attention once,,however i have in the past had to play the same cat and mouse game acting like im only digging suface targets and acting like i dont notice them watching me....but i also make sure that if im ever approached they will not be able to tell where i have dug as im sure you do too.... never have been asked to leave yet ....i did one time have a cop approach me while i was digging in a drained out swimming hole in a park only to find out it wasnt a cop at all but a fireman who was very interested in the hobby and wished me well.....

 

[Hank68]

I'm lucky in that department my bother is in law enforcement and I have serveral good friends in law enforcement, no one has ever gave me a problem of course it not a huge town so I know most everyone.

 

[Larry (IL)]

I don't understand, if you are hunting and digging where it is legal, why are you worried about the police? If you are doing something that is illegal, you should not be doing it!

 

[Bucksport]

I am curious as to why you don't want to dig in front of them? Is digging not permitted?

 

[bob.oz]

If your not doing anything illegal ,whats your concerns?Acting in a suspicious manner will draw more attention than just doing" The Hobby of Metal Detecting"and not being paranoid that every body's watching you..Enjoy yourself...cops are your friend....HH.bob.oz

 

[Dude]

If I where as worried as you about the cops I would go somewhere else.

 

[Critterhunter]

No, there are no laws restricting metal detecting this park. However, why risk showing them the act of digging a target just in case it's a slow day and they are looking for something to throw their weight around about, or at least enter into their log book to show they've done something for the day. My motto is everybody picks their nose, they just have enough courtesy not to do it in front of other people. I figure the best way to avoid conflict is by not giving somebody a reason to have a problem. That's also why I don't detect near other people in a park, but rather make my way off in the distance where I can have a bit of privacy...To dig, not to pick my nose.

 

[Critterhunter]

Oh yea, of course I do the best job possible to fix my plugs so they can't even be seen just in case a cop shows up on foot to see if I'm doing any damage. One time at a small old park about the size of a house lot in an old neighborhood a friend and I had been detecting for well over an hour. I had a feeling somebody in the nearby houses might call the cops on us, so I reminded my friend to do his very best to fix and hide his plugs as best as possible. Not that he doesn't always do an excellent job like I try to do, but I wanted to just throw that out there to remind him to be extra careful about it. Sure enough a cop shows up and walks up to us. He instantly looked around the site to see if he could spot any holes. He couldn't see anything but asked if we were digging. I of course said yes since it's hard to lie about that when you've got a digger in a harness on your hip in plain sight. I then explained that we were very carful and told him that if he could spot any of our plugs we'd be happy to leave. He said not at all, and that he just has to do a suspicous person check whenever they get a call so that his boss knows he's doing his job properly. I thanked him and we continued to hunt. Even if a cop says it's OK to hunt and you feel like it's time to go home your best not to leave right away as that will look to whoever called like you were kicked out of there, and next time they'll be sure to call again thinking you were told no and yet you are still coming back.

 

[John(Tx)]

n/t

 

[TerraDigger]

In my town, its all legal. Responsible digging of holes is ok in parks/schools etc. There is one park where law enforcement parks their cars. They are not being sneaky....the cars are out in the open. They watch what I am doing. They never bother me. Maybe they get bored watching the things they usually watch, and I am a diversion from that.

 

[JOE in MD]

If your aloud to detect there why worry about the Police? I've had them come up to me and talk about detecting.

 

[Ism]

Likely some self-rightous do-gooder called to voice their concerns that you are brandishing a combat knife. Cops have the sense to know if someone is vandalizing the park.

 

[SteveP(NH)]

If I go to a town I haven't been to before and go detecting, the first place I head to is the local police department. I go to the desk and politely ask if metal detecting is allowed on town property. Most of the time the cops say it is ok. I have had the police even tell me where they have seen other people detecting and suggest spots that might be good to detect. Many of them think it is a very interesting looking hobby and ask questions about starting out in it.

Today I went detecting in a park right behind the police station in a small town. A couple times while I was digging a cruiser pulled into the station parking lot and the cop just walked to the station and ignored us.

NO offince digger but you seem to think that you need to hide from member of the public or authorities when you are detecting like you are doing something wrong. I always watch for people walking up while I am detecting and if I see them watching me (from close at hand) I greet them and explain what I am doing. In other words I try to be an active goodwill ambassador for the hobby. I think that if you were more open about detecting you would find you can do some great PR for the hobby too.

 

[Flintstone]

I have had cops watch me befor, i just keep going dig just like i always do. I think they are just wanting to make sure that you are not hiding drugs or anything. They watch for 20 to 30 min. and leave. I think if i was doing something wrong they would not set there they would be on me like flys on poop. Just go as you would if no one was there, have fun.

 

[JimmyCT]

I have had my local police sit in the parking lot of several of the city owned parks and they could care less. Cops look over while having their lunch / dinner or drinking their coffee while they are shooting the "bull" with other co-workers and they don't seem to have a care in the world of what I am doing. I will cut a plug right in front of them, place my dirt on my towel, retrieve my target, pour the dirt back in the hole and stomp on the plug and off I go.... Every town / city is different though and I have read some unfortunate horror stories here on findmall. HH - Jim

 

[hershey1]

Critter if it is a public park why worry? I do use golf tees to mark targets sometimes. Most Police Departments have metal detectors but you might let them know you are available to assist with your detector if they need you. I don't know what you look like but you may need a good watching. HH

 

[Dirtdigger33]

I have only been asked to leave two areas and that was when I was on vacation. I think that both times it was because the people who asked me to leave either thought if they let me detect there everyone would want to detect there and some people might not be as careful digging or treat the area right. The other obvious reason might be that they had obtained permission to detect there or felt a sense of entitlement to detect the area. The weirdest thing happened to one of my family members. He was detecting on a beach in Florida right after he got his first metal detector. He found a silver ring. A cop yelled at him from a boardwalk on the beach along ways off and asked him to come over. The cop asked him what he had found for the day. When he showed him the silver ring the cop confiscated it, had him fill out paperwork and if no one claimed it in so many days he could have it back. He would have to travel an hour and a half to claim it at the lost and found though. I have great respect for the police. They put their lives on the line every day to protect us, but I would be curious if I were him to find out if the ring made it to the lost and found or not. You never know. I had my driver's license run by a cop that stopped to talk to my dad and I when we were detecting once, because they had a problem with teenagers and others vandalizing school property, but that is the only time a cop has talked to me. They usually see me detecting and slow down or wait to turn the corner for a minute to see what I am doing, but I have never had them stop and come over to check the area I had been digging in. The cops in your area must be looking for more to do. You might need to invite them out on your next hunt and let them use a spare detector. Good luck and HH

 

[matthias]

Ive had the police from two different towns drive right up to me to check me out. Its obvious what I am doing and they both had lots of curious questions for me. Now they know who I am and what Im doing. Im also getting to know some of the town workers. So far so good. HH. Matt