Interesting encounter with a conservation officer

The fact the CO drove onto private property (not a short driveway, but a km long), and met with the owner while, apparently, on duty suggests he was using his authority to nudge the owner to comply with his request. It is out of line, and I would refuse on principal; it's not like the CO wasn't aware of the subtle leverage he was applying to the owner (a key so I can come and go as I please ... seriously?).

On this point, what can land owners do to keep hunters off their land? Does reporting vehicles (plate #) for illegal hunting to the authoritie produce results?
 
Sounds like folks are of varying opinions:
1) It's just a guy asking for permission to hunt
2) It's good to have a CO on the property to keep trespassers away
3) It's shady to show up on duty and ask for personal favours

A few more details - this happened in the morning so the officer wasn't on his way home or at the end of his shift. The conversation did not start with "I wanted to ask you permission to hunt" but "how is it going, what are you up to" etc. In other words he didn't make it clear from the jump he was on non-official business. This is what threw my friend off since it really wasn't clear why the CO had driven in to their particular property.

If you're doing laundry in the basement of your house and you turn around and a cop is standing there your first thought is not that they stopped to personally borrow a cup of sugar. More likely you're trying to figure out why they're there and what in the world did they think you did. It's off-putting. I guess if he said he was just interested in hunting the property and left his contact info it would be different but the way I hear the story it sounded like he wanted to leave with a key so he could come back later.
 
steamy teabag said:
A guy stopped by and asked for permission to hunt on the property is what I got out of this.
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Exactly what I got out of this, who cares if he is uniform, I would love to have a Fish and Wildlife truck parked on the property. It would keep the other non-asking dirt bags away.
 
Well - Life is a two way street. As a CO, he probably doesn't have very many friends, and doesn't get invited to camps. And, he has to work during hunting season. So he is reduced to asking strangers for permission to hunt, at times that suit his schedule.
I've let CO's hunt my property - they are courteous and know the rules. In return, they've helped me find local hot spots for duck hunting. And we don't get any awkward visits during the hunt.
 
I guess it would have been better if he asked when he was off duty and not in uniform... that said, he is allowed to ask, would be easy to politely say "Sorry, no".
 
Grock-co said:
Exactly what I got out of this, who cares if he is uniform, I would love to have a Fish and Wildlife truck parked on the property. It would keep the other non-asking dirt bags away.
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Exactly, unless your up to nefarious things on your property, what do you have to worry about? Haveing a CO there a couple of times during hunting season would help keep poaching and trespassing to a minimum.
Who cares if he showed in his work vehicle. I'm don't work for the government but I travel a lot around Ontario and often use my travel home to take the 'scenic route'.
As for giving him a key, a lock can be changed.
 
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It is sad that this is where things have devolved to in our Liberal re-engineered society. Thanks to the political idiots in charge (both in the Govt and in Police Dept's), people are now overly suspicious and untrusting of the police, or law enforcement in general. The majority of the frontline LEO are hardworking, good people, not looking to screw others over. That is what management is for.
Do I think he should have asked in uniform? Probably not. But I am sure he was thinking that it would show the landowner what he did for a living, and that he was law abiding and responsible - ie he wouldnt try drinking and hunting, or leave the property a mess, or treat it disrespectfully.
It is sad that the first place people go nowadays is thinking the police/LEO show up for nefarious purposes.
 
fleabaggins said:
It is sad that this is where things have devolved to in our Liberal re-engineered society. Thanks to the political idiots in charge (both in the Govt and in Police Dept's), people are now overly suspicious and untrusting of the police, or law enforcement in general. The majority of the frontline LEO are hardworking, good people, not looking to screw others over. That is what management is for.
Do I think he should have asked in uniform? Probably not. But I am sure he was thinking that it would show the landowner what he did for a living, and that he was law abiding and responsible - ie he wouldnt try drinking and hunting, or leave the property a mess, or treat it disrespectfully.
It is sad that the first place people go nowadays is thinking the police/LEO show up for nefarious purposes.
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yup sign of the times unfortunately...
 
I would bet that if he had been wearing a Canada Post, Fed-X, Military, Highways, Hydro or any other uniform this would never have been an issue...
 
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I don't know how it works in Ontario, but here a CO can go onto private property in pursuance of
his duties. In other words if he's there he's on official business or he's trespassing. Two options; knowingly using his official position to gain access or trespassing. Neither is exactly great.
 
Law enforcement drive around vehicles all day, they do have to take breaks. I don't see any problems here, he is allowed to go on private property as a CO and is allowed to have non-work related discussion.

At most, this guy used a gov't vehicle during work hours for personal business, but it's easy to argue that he was also doing his duty to patrol...
 
Tell your pal to file a detailed official complaint against this power tripping nuisance !

Seriously, I spent most of my career in leo uniform and to preclude someone from conducting non-official business/human interaction is ridiculous.
Then again, some people need to be wary of law enforcement.
 
Maybe if you treat the guy like a possible new friend..... valuable hunting areas he knows of may get shared with you..... ya never know.
it is wierd though and the situation how it went down would creep me out a bit too .... but again, good friendships have spawned from wierd situations over the years so I dunno.
 
He is asking for a personal favor (to use someones land for hunting).
He should have come in civvies.
There's no way he should be displaying or operating under 'the color of state authority' to request (implied coercion) a favor by wearing his COs uniform under such circumstances.
The silent implication is 'let me hunt here or else' even if it is not intended.
You think he'd know better.
The optics aren't good.
 
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