Trespassers on Private Property

[gh1950]

G gh1950 & GeauxLSU - Here in Forsyth county back in the 70's & 80's there were plenty of places to hunt around my house, nowadays not so much.

I never understood that if it wasn't posted it was ok to hunt. I guess I never read much past written permission....


Please let me know. Thanks, Biker_Bll

My fault for not giving a complete answer.

You still need permission to hunt (or fish) on land you don't own, but if it is not posted, oral permission is fine. Probably 90 -99% of the deer hunting in Georgia occurs on land where the hunter only has oral permission.

Funny story here about that. We caught a couple of fellows turkey hunting on our deer lease. They claimed they had permission, and I asked them who gave that permission. One of them popped off right away, "gh1950". so I ask him "so what does he look like?" Course he didn't know, and we escorted them off the property. But it was fun moment.

The corollary to this, is that you see questions on interweb forums all the time about " there's this tract of land that is owned by ????. is it o.k. for me to hunt it. The short answer to all those questions, is that if you don't have express permission from the owner, it's not o.k.

 

[BanjoJohn]

My neighbors just called this Friday to tell me that someone was on my property that I just had some stuff stolen from. I called dispatch (around 6pm) to send someone out there. They said "what are we supposed to do if they're just in the woods on your property?"

Maybe some LEOs can chime in, but I get the impression non-threatening trespassers don't mean a lot to them.

Unless you are an off duty cop. Then you can physically detain them, draw your weapon and have an "accidental discharge" and by most of the "LEO can do no wrong" folks on this site, it's totally acceptable, and you should respect them for doing so. lol
Don't take my word, just look at the other threads that involve corrupt/stupid off duty cops and those that run to their defense.

 

[araomd]

2. Simply trespassing on someone's land is not a crime. Hunting or fishing on lands of another without permission is a specific crime. In fact one can be guilty of hunting on lands of another without permission, and not be trespassing. That's why you seldom see a person charged with both crimes.

Seriously? You can hang out on anyone's property you feel like, and it's not illegal?

 

[BobcatMan]

No one is saying that there is "no such thing as criminal trespassing." What I am saying is that driving down a drive way with no gate on it is not "it."

Your right, my "gate" was not closed. Im not sure what the law says, but I'm assuming that 100% of your perimeter ( or the perimeter you want to secure) must be gated/fenced. if there was even 1 foot of fence was down it opens up the entire property for anybody to wander in and not be "trespassing". Signs hold no weight i guess other than a warning. Maybe this is why lots of larger properties have a few strands of barbed wire run around the perimeter around trees, because legally it is fenced, tho it would be easy to step thru, but if you did then you are trespassing? I wonder if i can buy fishing string and just run that around the property and call it a fence,jk. I wonder what the law book says as requirements of a legal fence enclosure so that i can have privacy !!!

 

[gh1950]

Seriously? You can hang out on anyone's property you feel like, and it's not illegal?

yes, Up until the point you are told to leave.

 

[gh1950]

Your right, my "gate" was not closed. Im not sure what the law says, but I'm assuming that 100% of your perimeter ( or the perimeter you want to secure) must be gated/fenced. if there was even 1 foot of fence was down it opens up the entire property for anybody to wander in and not be "trespassing". Signs hold no weight i guess other than a warning. Maybe this is why lots of larger properties have a few strands of barbed wire run around the perimeter around trees, because legally it is fenced, tho it would be easy to step thru, but if you did then you are trespassing? I wonder if i can buy fishing string and just run that around the property and call it a fence,jk. I wonder what the law book says as requirements of a legal fence enclosure so that i can have privacy !!!

The fence is irrelevant. The gate is only relevant if it's locked, so that there has to be some damage to property to gain entrance.

 

[BanjoJohn]

You could always assume that the trespassers were coyotes or deer and shot them by mistake. It seems that people get away with that quite often.

 

[BobcatMan]

The fence is irrelevant. The gate is only relevant if it's locked, so that there has to be some damage to property to gain entrance.

So your saying if you have a locked gate and someone drives around it there in the clear to trespass ? if the fence is irrelevant i dont get what your saying. I guess what i need to know is this.

How can you secure your property in cherokee county so that nobody can enter without be automatically criminally trespassing, therefore giving you the right to hold them until leo arrives ?

 

[Kman]

It's obvious to me from the posts what the general consensus is. You need to lay land minds around your perimeter wall, claymores at all pedestrian entrances and machine gun towers at all perimeter corners. The ODT has sound advice once again!!!!

 

[gh1950]

How can you secure your property in cherokee county so that nobody can enter without be automatically criminally trespassing, therefore giving you the right to hold them until leo arrives ?

You can't.

"Criminal trespass" requires another element other than physical presence on someone's property. The most common element is damage to property, which would be cutting the lock on a gate. (and for the purpose of this discussion, "property" does not include a building or other structure)

Again, "simple trespass" is not a crime in Georgia.