# Cops Running Radar From Private Property - Legal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 2, 2006, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-running-radar-from-private-property-legal/355047 "2006-05-02T03:13:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RogueRacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RogueRacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogueRacer)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-running-radar-from-private-property-legal/355047/21 "2006-05-03T20:44:34Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I’m pretty sure that’s what I said. But apparantly not that well. > > In New Jersey the following statutes can be enforced on private property: > > … > 39:4-96 - Reckless Driving > 39:4-97 - Careless Driving > … > 39:4-129 - Leaving the scene of an accident > 39:4-130 - Failure to report an accident Apparently there are no auto race tracks in New Jersey or these laws are often ignored. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2006, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-running-radar-from-private-property-legal/355047/22 "2006-05-03T21:07:41Z")
> [@groman](#): > > How could those possibly be enforceabel on private property? You need a license to drive on private property? How are they going to pull you over? Breathalyze you? Sounds like these are just waiting for a court challenge… I think the ‘private property’ **Loach** refers to are parking lots, etc. ---
**Author:** ![groman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@groman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groman)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-running-radar-from-private-property-legal/355047/23 "2006-05-04T00:07:13Z")
> [@Si Amigo](#): > > If they observe you drinking while working on your car all day in the driveway and then watch you get into your car they can come onto your property because they saw a crime commited. > > If you get into a wreck and an ambulance is called they can come onto your property as well and test you for DUI. > > I’ve seen people in private campgrounds get the law called on them by the property owners for driving thier car on the bike ways. > > You are not invisible just because you are on private property, espicially if the property in question is not yours. :rolleyes: Well all this kind of involves either driving on a public road before or intent to do so after. If I buy a 300 mile stretch of land and build my own freeway on it, I don’t feel the government should have any say as to the traffic rules on my own damn freeway. Liability questions aside, I really don’t feel it would be right for the government to regulate it, but I can’t offer up a legal argument as to why they can’t, unless the state constitution forbids it. (It definitely can’t be a federal law) But it just feels _unamerican_ ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-running-radar-from-private-property-legal/355047/24 "2006-05-04T03:05:50Z")
> [@Si Amigo](#): > > If they observe you drinking while working on your car all day in the driveway and then watch you get into your car they can come onto your property because they saw a crime commited. > > If you get into a wreck and an ambulance is called they can come onto your property as well and test you for DUI. I’m assuming you mean that the police observe you driving away from your property, stop you, test you for DUI and arrest you having failed the DUI test. Un;ess you leave your property, what crime have you committed? > [@](#): > > I’ve seen people in private campgrounds get the law called on them by the property owners for driving thier car on the bike ways. In that case the property owner calls the police to report an abuse on their property. My point in my OP was was asking the general legalities of the police running radar from private property. It is my contention the police are trespassing (if they don’t have permission from the property owner), and not being a lawyer just have the notion that the police cannot catch you violating the law if the police at the time are violating the law themselves in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-running-radar-from-private-property-legal/355047/25 "2006-05-04T03:16:30Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > SNIP > The same goes for parking your car overnight on private property, like a Wal-Mart, or gas station. If there is no “Tow Away Zone” sign, then the property owner cannot tow the vehicle! My work has a big private parking lot and absolutely NO signs restricting parking except for the handicapped spots and two rows of assigned parking. If some guy just decides he’s going to park his (street legal, licensed and insured) Pontiac Fiero in our parking lot for the next two months, can we do ANYTHING? Could we at least tow him to the ass end of our parking lot? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-running-radar-from-private-property-legal/355047/26 "2006-05-04T03:24:15Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > SNIP > > My point in my OP was was asking the general legalities of the police running radar from private property. It is my contention the police are trespassing (if they don’t have permission from the property owner), and not being a lawyer just have the notion that the police cannot catch you violating the law if the police at the time are violating the law themselves in the first place. The police and the courts don’t share your notion on this matter. It’s not a bad idea, I mean it seems fair, but the closest the real-life law comes to making it true is the concept of entrapment and the concept of unlawfully searched or seized evidence being “poison fruit” and thus inadmissable. And, of course, trespassing only applies if there’s a sign or the property owner has told the cops to stay off that lot. I can see that sign. “No Police Parking Here For Traffic Enforcement” My inclination would be more along the lines of selling them the rights to park there, but that’s 'cuz I’m greedy. _visions of parking meter next to speed trap_ A lot of businesses would be GRATEFUL to have a cop parked in their lot for several hours. At a used car dealer or towing lot, you know that’s going to keep the car thieves away. Back when I worked in a convenience store, it was great having cops around… I knew that if a local drug addict was going to aerate my lungs with a shotgun, it wouldn’t be 'til AFTER the fuzz left. My boss would have been quite happy with the cop sitting in the corner of our parking lot clocking traffic a couple hours a day. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-running-radar-from-private-property-legal/355047/27 "2006-05-04T04:18:40Z")
> [@Mr. Slant](#): > > My work has a big private parking lot and absolutely NO signs restricting parking except for the handicapped spots and two rows of assigned parking. > If some guy just decides he’s going to park his (street legal, licensed and insured) Pontiac Fiero in our parking lot for the next two months, can we do ANYTHING? > Could we at least tow him to the ass end of our parking lot? Yes. It’s called “trespass parking” and I call for a hook about once a week for it. No “tow away” signage is needed. Once a car has been on private property for (usually) 24+ hours this ordinance applies. Hell, back in January I had my own vehicle towed out of an office building parking lot because it was there for 2 days. Lucky I knew the tow boys personally and wasn’t charged the $60 towing/impound fee when I went to get my car! But I still had to pay the parking violation ticket. $45! ☹ See your local DA/city attorney for laws in your area. As for running radar on private property, there is private property and then there is PRIVATE PROPERTY. Property that is privately owned, but open to the general public (like store parking lots) are usually perfectly ok for setting up radar. The courts have also ruled, consistantly, that such “open to general public” private properties are fair game to enforce traffic laws in, such as DWI. So it’s not ok to drive drunk through the Walmart lot. Running radar in someones private residential drive way? Some years ago I parked in the lot of a condo complex and ran laser. The association prez complained and I got my wee wee slapped. So the answer be no. At least where I work. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-running-radar-from-private-property-legal/355047/28 "2006-05-04T11:30:59Z")
For commercial properties, it turns out that the owner may refuse the police when they request his permission to operate there. My former employer had a restaurant about 100 feet into a 35-mph zone (down from 55 or 60) and the cops would have made a ton of money if he had allowed them to work from his lot – but he also would have ticked off potential customers, who can only get to the restaurant from two directions. To have police targetting half of his customer base on a restaurant-dense strip of beach highway was _not_ conducive to friendly customers. So he told them to buzz off. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-running-radar-from-private-property-legal/355047/29 "2006-05-04T16:37:53Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > I’m assuming you mean that the police observe you driving away from your property, stop you, test you for DUI and arrest you having failed the DUI test. Un;ess you leave your property, what crime have you committed? > > In that case the property owner calls the police to report an abuse on their property. > My point in my OP was was asking the general legalities of the police running radar from private property. It is my contention the police are trespassing (if they don’t have permission from the property owner), and not being a lawyer just have the notion that the police cannot catch you violating the law if the police at the time are violating the law themselves in the first place. Many states have provisions that clearly define that operating a motorized vehicle under the influance is a punishable offence ANYWHERE inside of the states borders. You cannot buy a strech of land and declare your own state and laws. If you where operating a 4 wheeler drunk on your own property and injured someone else by driving reckless they could aresst you as well. What is unAmerican about being responsible for your actions? (BTW,that’s referring to the other post, not yours.) ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-running-radar-from-private-property-legal/355047/30 "2006-05-04T18:07:17Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > My point in my OP was was asking the general legalities of the police running radar from private property. It is my contention the police are trespassing (if they don’t have permission from the property owner), and not being a lawyer just have the notion that the police cannot catch you violating the law if the police at the time are violating the law themselves in the first place. As for the OP. How can you know whether or not they have the property owners permission to be there or not? I know of a local deputy sheriff that will sometimes sit in his dad’s driveway and run a speed trap. Often times local businesses incourage the police to hang out on there property. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-running-radar-from-private-property-legal/355047/31 "2006-05-04T18:13:07Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > just have the notion that the police cannot catch you violating the law if the police at the time are violating the law themselves in the first place. That notion is incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-running-radar-from-private-property-legal/355047/32 "2006-05-04T19:42:25Z")
> [@Gfactor](#): > > That notion is incorrect. Maybe he’s thinking of entrapment, or of illegal arrest procedures, in which case, they might not be able to touch you. For the purposes of this thread though, yes it is incorrect. For the tresspassing sign, I seem to remember that, at least in my part of the world, you have certain rights on another person’s property if there is no signage. Mainly, you have the right to enter the property to walk directly to the front door for the purposes of making yourself known (this is to cover hawkers and people just asking directions, etc), however you are obliged to leave as soon as the property owner or tenant tells you to. You also can’t go deeper into the property than an imaginary line which is aligned with the front of the house (so no going down the side driveway). I think it’s called ‘courtesy of the property’ or somesuch. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-running-radar-from-private-property-legal/355047/33 "2006-05-04T20:01:13Z")
> [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > Maybe he’s thinking of entrapment Maybe, although that’s a different idea. > [@](#): > > or of illegal arrest procedures, in which case, they might not be able to touch you. Illegal arrest procedures will not prevent prosecution for a crime. They might result in exclusion of evidence, But they don’t effect the merits of the case. [http://starbulletin.com/2005/03/16/news/story11.html](http://starbulletin.com/2005/03/16/news/story11.html) (despite fact that police needed warrant to arrest dancer 20 days after she performed lapdance for undercover officer, case could go to trial; remedy was exclusion of evidence resulting from illegal arrest); [http://www.lawskills.com/case/ga/id/21191/](http://www.lawskills.com/case/ga/id/21191/) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cops-running-radar-from-private-property-legal/355047.md?page=1)