# A listening device question.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listening-device-question/437005>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 10, 2008, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listening-device-question/437005 "2008-02-10T05:26:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\
**Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listening-device-question/437005/1 "2008-02-10T05:26:38Z")

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If the police obtain a warrant and place a “bug” in my home and I find it, can I be prosecuted for destroying it whether or not I know they have that warrant?  
Peace,  
mangeorge

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**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\
**Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listening-device-question/437005/2 "2008-02-10T07:45:24Z")

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That’s a good question, mangeorge. I got nothing for ya, but I will be fascinated to hear the answer.

You could always tell 'em that you thought the bug was placed by **terrorists** , who were trying to find out what you knew about {insert crackpot theory here}. 🆒

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**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\
**Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listening-device-question/437005/3 "2008-02-10T14:38:57Z")

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[QUOTE=mangeorge]  
If the police obtain a warrant and place a “bug” in my home and I find it, can I be prosecuted for destroying it whether or not I know they have that warrant?  
Peace,  
mangeorge  
[/QUOTE]

Immediately prosecuting you for the destruction of a secret bug would kind of tip their hand. . . but then again, it’s already tipped since you found it. I doubt the bug is of so much value compared to the information it’s delivering to the police.

Or maybe Barney Fife is just planning on the fact you came across it accidentally and didn’t know what it was.

Tripler  
This reminds me, I need to flush out that old, German-whispering guy with the vaccum tube set in the crawlspace downstairs. He’s been there for 2 years now. . .

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**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\
**Post date:** [February 10, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-listening-device-question/437005/4 "2008-02-10T16:46:16Z")

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:dubious:  
Last night, on _48 Hours Mystery_, the FBI placed a bug in the bedroom of parents of a baby who had disappeared because they suspected them of the crime.  
Had the parents found it, they surely would hve known what it was, and who it belonged to.  
Now I would have flushed the thing, then called the FBI and given the old nyah nyah right there on their recorded phone line.  
Value aside, _could_ they prosecute me for destroying government property?  
Now, about **Tripler’s** whispering German guy, I think you need to be very careful not to harm him while doing your flushing operation. His radio, though probably valuable, is fair game.