Private property

[Placid]

When do Police have authority to come onto your private property? Long story short I have a guard dog who barks when someone walks by the house, got a citation for noise hung on my door while I wasn't at home and my wife and newborn baby were. The animal services people are not actually cops, but they are a branch of the police department. Our dog is well trained to only bark at close proximity people so we encourage him to bark at anytime when someone is close to our property. background - 2 lawnmowers stolen out of my yard one on a 1/4 inch thick chain and master lock they cut. so here we are being fined for protecting our property and the guy I called was super rude and he told me the constitution gave him authority to come onto my propperty for an ordanance violation...just wondering if you guys knew what kind of authority they actually have to come onto the property uninvited.



thanks,



-PLacid

 

[craigp]

Law enforcement and emergency services are permitted to come on your property in the execution of their duties. A simple No Trespassing sign is not applicable. There is however a sign that can be posted that has specific wording which explicitly names those acting on behalf of any government, law enforcement, etc..... as being subject this specific No Trespassing posting. Only problem is, if you post such a sign and you're laying in the yard injured, the EMT or police cannot come on the property, same deal if your house was on fire. So be real careful and think the whole NO TRESPASSING thing through.

If there are ordinances against barking dogs and you're in violation it's the officers job to exectute the complaint.

 

[Parhams0508]

Cities have more strict ordinances than the whole county, so you might want to actually check up on the law to see if you are in violation.

Here's what Greer has to say about dogs barking:

Sec. 10-104. - Habitual and persistent barking dogs.

(a)
No person shall allow a dog to unreasonably disturb any person by habitually and/or persistently barking, howling, yelping, whining or making other noises. It shall constitute a violation of this section if the howling or barking occurs continually and is audible beyond the property line of the premises on which the dog is located.
(b)
The complainant must provide on a barking dog complaint form the dog owner's address; description of the dog; and the dates and duration of the violation. Upon receipt of the complainant's information, the animal control officer will issue a warning notice to the owner of the dog and the dog owner will be allowed three days from issuance of the warning notice to correct the problem before being charged under this section.
(c)
After the issuance of the warning notice and the three-day grace period, a citation may be issued if the complainant is willing to testify at trial as to the persistent, habitual and offensive noise generated by the barking dog.
(d)
A dog owner shall be deemed to have received and been issued a warning under this section if the warning was personally served on the dog owner; posted on the residence where the dog is located; or sent to the residence where the dog is located by certified mail.
(e)
If a second complaint of the dog barking is received within 45 days of issuance of the first citation, a citation may be issued without issuing a warning notice.
(f)
It shall be a defense to such violation of this section if the owner of the dog proves by preponderance of the evidence that the reason the dog was howling or barking was that the dog was being provoked by a person through such activity as entering the property or badgering or teasing the dog.

The dog could have been aggravated unnecessarily, so if you can demonstrate that the dog has been trained as you have said, the charges should be dropped. I know that while I lived in Greer, the ne'er-do-wells who walked our neighborhood's streets would aggravate our dogs if they were outside.

 

[PCShogun]

Animals laws are some of the most interesting on the books.

In Berkeley county, the problem is that the duration of the barking is not defined as part of the complaint process. If the dog barks even once, it technically can be cause for a complaint. They need to define it as 15 minutes of continuous barking, or 30 minutes of barking in a 24 hour period. Dogs bark, its part of what they do! If we are not allowed to have a dog, then put that on the books instead of making laws that are vaguely written.

In Hanahan, it is apparently legal to shoot a dog if it is attacking your neighbors sheep.

SECTION 47-3-220. Dog found in act of worrying or destroying sheep may be killed.

Any person who may find any dog in the act of worrying or destroying any sheep in this State may kill such dog and such person shall not for so doing be held to answer to any action, civil or criminal.

 

[C_Carson]

he told me the constitution gave him authority to come onto my propperty for an ordanance violation...

I'd ask him to underline that particular part of said document...since, y'know, the Constitution is supposed to be about LIMITING the authority of the government, not granting it more. That's Congress's job. :twisted:

 

[melloyello]

In Goose Creek, apparently when they have a compliant, the Police department just shoots the dog.

 

[thehammer69]

he told me the constitution gave him authority to come onto my propperty for an ordanance violation...

I'd ask him to underline that particular part of said document...since, y'know, the Constitution is supposed to be about LIMITING the authority of the government, not granting it more. That's Congress's job. :twisted:

I seem to recall parts of the constitution that have been written to give the government more authority. It's the Bill of Rights portion that is specific to "LIMITING the authority of the government"

 

[melloyello]

The only time I know of when LE can come into your property is when they know or see a crime....

IANAL, but I remember a case that if your front door if not behind a fence, a barrier preventing open access, then you are inheritarantly giving permission for the public to come on your property if they have business pertaining to you. A postal or commercial carrier is granted the right by you when you have a package and you have open access to your front door.

 

[C_Carson]

he told me the constitution gave him authority to come onto my propperty for an ordanance violation...

I'd ask him to underline that particular part of said document...since, y'know, the Constitution is supposed to be about LIMITING the authority of the government, not granting it more. That's Congress's job. :twisted:

I seem to recall parts of the constitution that have been written to give the government more authority. It's the Bill of Rights portion that is specific to "LIMITING the authority of the government"

This is 100% correct. Sadly, some folks have a blind worship of the Constitution without understanding that it really is the most brilliant document ever drafted to enslave a populace. My above quote was actually an attempt at pointing this fallacy out, that it is supposed to 'protect' us from government. I'd still like to know which part of the document this "officer" thinks he was referring to; hence the underline comment.

Have you heard of Lysander Spooner's gem? "But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain - that it has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case, it is unfit to exist."

There is a great deal more I could say, and explain why I feel the way I do, but I don't want to derail a thread where a member is asking for help. So, I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming

 

[urbancommandox]

Virginia decided that the meter leader was at fault for throwing treats at my German shepherd barking at him and when he attempted to cone on the property and he was bit it was his fault. I said he could of called out to see if someone was hone it being a fraternity house and dog was trained to not bother brothers or pledges. I also said they have my billing he could of called. Animal came saw the dog follow basic commands, checked rabies tag. Evaluated for three days end of story.

 

[Placid]

Well I see one answer that says " an officer's duties" but as they are not actually police...idk....their commander did not give me the chain of command authority I requested. INstead insisted that my dog could simply be detered as an alarm dog with a couple of dog biscuits...thought thats probaly true to any dog, its the barking while he gets to the fix that allows me to get out of bed and and them qhat they are doing on my property with my 9mm firmly in my hand as apposed to waking up to shatering glass or another missing item form the yard! I did not explain that part to him, Mentioning guns to police like that just tends to be a bad idea..... oh and to the comment about killing a dog if its harrssing sheep or what not...that law actually applies to any livestock. I once shot 2 dogs who stayed in the fence after they chased down and killed all 6 of my goats, on christmas morning horrible year....and my grandfather once got sued for shooting some kind of show dog that went after some of his cows, the case was dropped in a heart beat of course, his right to protect them. I would expect nothing less if my dog were out attacking someone or something. .........anyway back on subject.......Wouldnt they not be allowed on my property if I sent them a letter specifically saying that "animal control" is not allowed on my property? Because I think there is suspose to be some kind of emergency or visual misdemor, or reported felony..... and because an ordinance violation is not any of these...they shouldn't be allowed near right?



-Placid

 

[melloyello]

Well I see one answer that says " an officer's duties" but as they are not actually police...idk....their commander did not give me the chain of command authority I requested. INstead insisted that my dog could simply be detered as an alarm dog with a couple of dog biscuits...thought thats probaly true to any dog, its the barking while he gets to the fix that allows me to get out of bed and and them qhat they are doing on my property with my 9mm firmly in my hand as apposed to waking up to shatering glass or another missing item form the yard! I did not explain that part to him, Mentioning guns to police like that just tends to be a bad idea..... oh and to the comment about killing a dog if its harrssing sheep or what not...that law actually applies to any livestock. I once shot 2 dogs who stayed in the fence after they chased down and killed all 6 of my goats, on christmas morning horrible year....and my grandfather once got sued for shooting some kind of show dog that went after some of his cows, the case was dropped in a heart beat of course, his right to protect them. I would expect nothing less if my dog were out attacking someone or something. .........anyway back on subject.......Wouldnt they not be allowed on my property if I sent them a letter specifically saying that "animal control" is not allowed on my property? Because I think there is suspose to be some kind of emergency or visual misdemor, or reported felony..... and because an ordinance violation is not any of these...they shouldn't be allowed near right?

-Placid

I wouldn't agree unless you have a locked gated entrance but they will just hang it on the gate.
Animal Control isn't LE but do you prohibit postal carriers or delivery people from coming on your property to delivery something meant for you/homeowner?