Hey folks.  I’m very thankful to my friend Bill Bertke for writing an awesome guest post regarding metal detecting and public property.  A lot of you may know Bill (Beetle662) from some of the detecting forums.  Well, Bill is also a police sergeant in the great state of Kentucky. 

In his post, Bill presents the topic of metal detecting and “public property” from the perspective of a police officer.    Again, thanks Sgt. Bertke for your time!

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Detecting and “Public Property”

Metal detectorists are always looking for new places to check out.  Private property seems to be the key to good finds, but gaining permission to privately owned property is not always easy, let alone granted.  So, we look for easy spots… spots we take for granted that we can hunt anytime.  School yards, playgrounds, and city and county parks.  But I ask you, have you asked for permission to hunt those? I’d be willing to bet most detectorists haven’t!

Here’s the deal.  All of that publicly owned property is governed.  Not by us, but by those we elect.  And those elected officials enact laws and ordinances that prohibit us from doing things that, in general, are not good for one reason or another.  They may have dedicated a street as being one way, or perhaps they regulate parking to only one side of street.  Those matters concern safety.  Do you know if your local government has enacted any laws or rules regarding detecting on public property?  You had better check, because the repercussions could range from a fine all the up to forfeiting your hunting equipment, and maybe even both!

So, if this is “public property”,  I have a God-given right as a tax-paying citizen to detect on it right?  WRONG!  Think about this.  “Public property” is actually owned by your city, county, state, or even federal government.  The “use” of that land is governed by that agency.  And that governing agency sets into place rules and regulations regarding the use of that land.  You couldn’t go build a new house in the middle of that city park you like so much.  What makes you think that being able to detect on that land should be any different?

Rule of thumb… check the ordinances and laws in your area to see if there are any on the books concerning metal detecting.  If you find out that there are laws, then abide by them.  If you don’t like them, do the right thing and petition the appropriate governing agency for a change.  And if there are no laws on the books about detecting that old 1800’s park you’ve been eyeballing over the winter, then you are free to go detecting!

What if there are laws that say I can’t detect there and I want to anyway? Don’t do it!  Fight for change, but fight in the council chambers.  Do your research.  Find out why there is a law in the first place.  Educate the governing agency about your hobby, stressing the positives as much as you possibly can.  Take some of your finds from other areas and show them how rewarding it can be.  Buddy up with a councilman/woman.  Get them on your side by showing them that when done properly, detecting is fun and brings no harm to the public property. Chances are that if there are laws regarding detecting on public property, they are there because of abuse by previous detectorists.  Don’t be a hindrance to future detectorists and cause laws to written because of your failure to fill your holes or leave your trash behind.  Treat public property as if it is your own.  Yes, you do have a stake in by being a taxpayer!  Don’t ruin it for the other taxpayers that want to hunt it too!

Bill Bertke

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Again, thanks “Beet”!  Comments are more than welcome…they’re encouraged!