Trespassing

[massdog1976]

I’ve got a person on my trail camera that’s trespassing and not wearing hunters orange the day after opening day of firearm season. I’ve contacted a CO in my area and haven’t heard anything back from him yet. In the picture the trespasser is wearing a face mask so it’s hard to tell face recognition but I’ve had 2 guys give me a name and 1 of them ran him off his property earlier in the week. Property is in Dearborn County and I was wondering who to contact and if anything can be done?

[morrison]

I know our officers have been extremely busy over the past few weeks. Please contact our Central Dispatch as a follow up to have the officer contact you. To shed light on how our Division works a large volume of complaints in a small window of time, please read the following. This is not to downplay any complaint but to provide a glimpse into the methods used to prioritize calls to maximize the potential to have the greatest impact and catch the individuals committing hunting violations against the citizens of Indiana and the natural resources of the state.

While your issue is important, it is something that would not be considered "on-going" unless you have it occur again. In your situation, the act has been committed and the evidence is gathered (the picture from your camera). The investigation will work to identify the individual. Time will not impact the outcome, unless the person returns to your property. Other violations may not be as complete and requiring the officer to attempt to gather what you already have with your complaint. All complaints of violations are important to our officers and the DNR. However, time management is a critical area where our officers must make judgement decisions as to what they can work later or what has a more pressing response due to the possibility of evidence being destroyed, likelihood of identifying the suspect, and the danger or safety risk to the public and the natural resource.

All violations are important to us. I would recommend you call into our Central Dispatch 812-837-9536, if you feel the officer has overlooked your complaint.