BUSTED! "BENNETT SPRING CHECKPOINT:

[fishinwrench]

26 minutes ago, jdmidwest said:

MDC Officers are trained to enforce all the laws of the state, not just game laws.  They are used on multiple scenarios because they operate on a totally different set of rules on search and seizure.  Most law enforcement have to have Probably Cause to Search and find evidence, search can be refused until a warrant arrives.  MDC Game officers are operating on a Seek And Charge search pattern.  They do not need probable cause to search you or a warrant, you are to surrender to them everything since you signed that little piece of paper called a license.  Signing the license gives them permission to validate their search because you gave them permission per the game code rule book.  Anything else found in the search is fair game, drugs, alcohol, illegal anything else.  They carry more power than any other form of law enforcement.

Sounds like a good reason for weed smokers to not buy a fishing license.  

[fishinwrench]

Reminds me of a case I followed awhile back where A guy that had never had a driver's license claimed he was perfectly legal to drive.   Turned out he was right.  If you've ever had a license then you will always need one, but if you have never had one in your entire life then you can't be prosecuted (per the Constitution I suppose) for driving without a license, or even driving an unlicensed vehicle.  When you got your very first drivers license you agreed to it.....and screwed yourself.

Crazy, but apparently true. 

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

1 hour ago, jdmidwest said:

MDC Officers are trained to enforce all the laws of the state, not just game laws.  They are used on multiple scenarios because they operate on a totally different set of rules on search and seizure.  Most law enforcement have to have Probably Cause to Search and find evidence, search can be refused until a warrant arrives.  MDC Game officers are operating on a Seek And Charge search pattern.  They do not need probable cause to search you or a warrant, you are to surrender to them everything since you signed that little piece of paper called a license.  Signing the license gives them permission to validate their search because you gave them permission per the game code rule book.  Anything else found in the search is fair game, drugs, alcohol, illegal anything else.  They carry more power than any other form of law enforcement.

Just for arguments sake.  If I have no fishing license, or claim not to have a license, then could the DMV officers still search with no probable cause?  If I did not sign, then that excludes me from the validation of permission.   I do have fishing and small game with trout stamp, was just using the reference.  

[fishinwrench]

1 hour ago, Daryk Campbell Sr said:

Just for arguments sake.  If I have no fishing license, or claim not to have a license, then could the DMV officers still search with no probable cause?  If I did not sign, then that excludes me from the validation of permission.   I do have fishing and small game with trout stamp, was just using the reference.  

It might be another one of those deals where you would have to of never had a license ever in your life.   I doubt seriously that an expired license exempts you from the warrantless search.  IOW, that they could only search your property if the license was current and valid (not suspended for any reason).

[MOPanfisher]

There are multiple ways they could search.  The signed permit being one, if they are given permission, and probably if they see fishing gear, coolers etc. in the vehicle.  Also I believe the vehicles were still within the state park wich adds another layer of enforcement authority, although he MDC Agents and DNR Rangers have statewide authority I believe.   I am glad they do random checkpoints, and glad that the "violator" ratio was that low, maybe that is evidence that the need for a saturation enforcement just isn't there.  And I am sure the memory of the check point will last a while. 

[fishinwrench]

I got a Dallas county seat belt ticket at Bennett once.  20 mph speed limit headed up the hill to Larry's and I get busted for passing a park ranger with no seatbelt on.  Also prior to that I got my rear end chewed for letting my daughter and her friend ride from the High bank to the park store on the tailgate.   

Never have had my fish checked though. 

[joeD]

Weren't the trout dumped into the stream so they could be caught by us? Then we get waylaid on the way out, to check if we have too many or the wrong size trout that were put in there for us to catch in the first place?  I love it!  The irony is just perfect.  What next, county park lake crackdown?

[SpoonDog]

Would you guys rather they didn't spend the day enforcing fishing regs?

 

sheesh, you clamor for more enforcement and then balk when it arrives.  Of course it's low yield, most people follow most of the rules most of the time.  There'll  always be trade offs when enforcement resources are limited- patrolling Bennett means other places aren't.  But it's a high visibility measure that has achieved some results, I wouldn't characterize that as a failure.

I'm not sure how much relevance your convenience has. Its a couple hours from KC or STL to Bennett, if the few minutes it takes to check a cooler is too inconvenient or too emotionally shattering for you to handle, it may be time to investigate different hobbies.

 As far as I know none of you guys were actually stopped.  Consider, then, how lucky you are to be upset at a hypothetical situation.

 

[jdmidwest]

Nobody is against normal enforcement.  Shotgun methods like a checkpoint are just a lazy way for them to do their job.  Had the same officers roamed the park with the same amount of dedication and effort, I am sure they could have doubled the amount of tickets.  Probably more effective too.

If they had made a public display of dealing with violators on the stream bank, it may make more think twice.  At the checkpoint, only people driving thru would be affected.  There would still be game poachers on the stream banks that did not know what was going on, and still violating the law.

I agree with most, checkpoints are a waste of time and effort and only seem to piss law abiding citizens off as harassment.

[MOPanfisher]

Having seen the effect of checkpoints in a remote campground on the lake i will disagree on their effectiveness. We still have people asking about them and they haven't done one for a couple years, the word gets out quickly and stick with them.