I received an inquiry from a reader that inquired “what are the rules on trespassing on private property?” Over the past few years, this question has arisen with increasing frequency as a result of the activities associated with the natural gas industry – as well as the acts of some citizen “watchdogs” that seem to believe they can roam private property without permission or consent of the landowner. It is an important question and one where there seems to be some level of confusion.
About a year ago, I had someone call me with a question on trespassing, and I simply said “don’t do it.” This aggravated the caller – they wanted to know to what extent they could trespass on another person’s land and still avoid legal ramifications. I reiterated that if it is not your property, then you should not be on it without the consent of the landowner. To me, this is simple common sense born from courtesy and respect for our neighbors. I was always taught that you were not supposed to trespass – it was not a criminal question, it was a moral one.
Apparently, there are folks out there who feel the need to ignore the concept of private property – and they make no qualms about it. In fact, they become indignant when you tell them simply to stay off other people’s property. We live in a country that is founded on the principles of private ownership, private property, and privacy rights, and the law recognizes those rights.
First, the Crimes Code specifically makes trespass a criminal act. In fact, there are four separate levels of trespassers in the Crimes Code. First, there is the offense of Criminal Trespasser, a felony level offense relating to trespassing into buildings belonging to another person. The proof here is pretty simple: (1) you entered a third party’s building; and (2) you knew you were not privileged to do so, i.e., you did not have permission. The grading on this offense can be either a felony of the second degree (up to 10 years in jail) or a felony of the third degree (up to 7 years in jail).
Second, there is the offense of Defiant Trespasser. These people have entered real property of another person without permission and notice against trespass had been given. How is notice of trespass given? It can be through actual communication from the landowner or it can be posted with signage communicating no trespassing. If you disobey actual communication from a landowner to get off (or stay off) his or her property, then an act of Defiant Trespass is a misdemeanor of the third degree, punishable by up one year in jail. If you ignore posted signage and trespass, then you have committed a summary offense punishable by up to 90 days in jail.
Third, there is the offense of Simple Trespasser, which makes it unlawful to enter the real property of another person for the purpose of (1) threatening the owner, (2) starting a fire on the property, or (3) defacing or damaging the property. This is a summary offense as well. Of course, if you actually did any of those three things on the property, there would be other criminal offenses charged in addition to the charge of Simple Trespasser.
Finally, there is the offense of Agricultural Trespasser, which makes it unlawful to enter properly posted “agricultural lands or other open lands” without permission of the landowner. This offense constitutes a misdemeanor of the third degree as well, unless the owner of the property personally communicated notice to the trespasser, at which point the offense becomes a misdemeanor of the second degree, which is punishable by up to 2 years incarceration.
What constitutes “agricultural or other open lands?” The statute defines that term as being “any land on which agricultural activity or farming . . . is conducted or any land populated by forest trees of any size and capable of producing timber or other wood products or other land in an agricultural security area.” In other words, any large tract of land in Susquehanna County would likely qualify as “agricultural or other open lands” under this statute. As I told that caller, if you do not own the property, then stay off of it unless you have permission from the owner.
The owner then asked me about whether they could ask people fishing on their property to leave. There is no exception in the Criminal Trespass statute for fishermen. If they are fishing on a body of water on your property, then you can ask them to leave. If they do not leave, then make a call to the authorities to report them.
Please submit any questions, concerns, or comments to Susquehanna County District Attorney’s Office, P.O. Box 218, Montrose, Pennsylvania 18801 or at our website www.SusquehannaCounty-DA.org or discuss this and all articles at http://dadesk.blogspot.com/.