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AA County MD.

mdtrapper

Elite Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2011
Messages
1,906
Location
Maryland.
All AA. county school ground's and parks are part of the dpt. rec and parks. and all are off limit's to MDing :mad: So say's the nice police lady who told me to leave.:(
 
I'm sure she referenced the AA County code that covers metal detecting? If she knew that it was prohibited, I'm sure it was at the tip of her tongue.
 
All AA. county school ground's and parks are part of the dpt. rec and parks. and all are off limit's to MDing :mad: So say's the nice police lady who told me to leave.:(

Hey there Md Trapper - I'm from the Annapolis area - and looking to get into metal detecting - Have a note up in the 'find a buddy section'.. are there any local Maryland forums for metal detecting? I want to find someone local, hopefully in AA County. Thanks, Karen
 
All AA. county school ground's and parks are part of the dpt. rec and parks. and all are off limit's to MDing :mad: So say's the nice police lady who told me to leave.:(

in the rules and regs of your park the only reference to MDing is that its off limits IN THE PARK nothing about schools, and besides the county doesn't own public schools, the tax payers/school district does, you have two options, just go and detect it(legal from what im told) or to cover your ass talk to the principal or someone for permission.
 
I hate to break it to you, but it does say metal detectors are prohibited. So, if what she said is true about the parks and rec controlling the schools, your only option is to go to the parks director and ask for permission. Legal like.
 
Old thread, I know. Metal Detecting isn't prohibited in County Code, it's listed in the Park use Guidelines, which isn't law.

I've detected almost every Park in Anne Arundel county the past 4 years. In front of police, in front of Parks employees. Even pulled my director out at Kinder Farm Park right in front of the Directors office, who asked me what I was up to. I told him I was looking for a ring, which was true, was looking for a ring from a Craigslist ad from someone who lost one while visiting out of state. No issues.

Parks employees ask me all the time if I've found anything good.
 
Yes. This is an old post indeed. But isn't this just so classic . We have one poor fellow who got a "scram":

All AA. county school ground's and parks are part of the dpt. rec and parks. and all are off limit's to MDing :mad: So say's the nice police lady who told me to leave.:(

And while I have NOT looked into the nuances of whether an actual true law truly says this, about this singular geographic location , yet .... then along comes someone else who says :

.... I've detected almost every Park in Anne Arundel county the past 4 years. In front of police, in front of Parks employees. Even pulled my director out at Kinder Farm Park right in front of the Directors office, who asked me what I was up to. I told him I was looking for a ring, which was true, was looking for a ring from a Craigslist ad from someone who lost one while visiting out of state. No issues.

Parks employees ask me all the time if I've found anything good.

I've seen this happen many times. At similar places that ... someone thinks there's a law, or someone got a scram 10 yrs. ago, etc....

As I say, I have not looked up this individual geographic. As to whether a true & specific law exists. But if it does , then someone could say that "ChrisMD is skating on thin ice". But to me, his situation described, makes it look like PRETTY DARNED THICK ICE TO ME. If it were really all hot & bothered disallowed, someone would have said something to him by now.
 
...the cop gave you some BS .

Sounds like that to me too. I would lump that into the "isolated fluke scram" category. Where , sure, you give lip service at the time, and avoid that singular lookie-lou in the future. And as history shows 10 yrs. later, it was indeed an isolated fluke. Perhaps she was responding to a call out, and had to justify her trip there ?

I similarly got "scrammed" from a park, 15-ish yrs. ago, from a park that I like to hit whenever I'm in a certain part of CA. We were just about done, so we just gave lip service to the lady cop, and called it a day.

Shortly thereafter, I began exchanging PM's with a local hunter in that town. Told him of my experience. It was news to him, as he also had never had any problems either. His family had some relative inlaws connections to city hall somehow (member of the council or whatever). And my new friend said "I'll get to the bottom of this". But I discouraged him from doing so, afraid that it might open up a can of worms. So he agreed, and we just let the matter die.

Now here it is, 15 yrs. later, and any time I'm going through this part of CA, I can stop and hunt there, and be totally ignored. Even cop cars pass us right by, and never slow down.

So as you can see, not every last "scram" constitutes gospel law that you must now fight and get clarified.
 
well well well, if you do "control F", and then enter the search term "metal", on this link, it does indeed appear that the AA county parks are a no no for metal detectors :

https://www.aacounty.org/department...-and-publications/ParkRulesandRegulations.pdf

However, that would not apply to other forms of county land, nor city land, nor state land, etc... And yes, "schools" are not part of "parks", are they ? The O.P's lady cop seemed to indicate that they ARE under the same jurisdiction. If so, that's strange. I know at least in CA, that all the schools are NOT "parks", nor administered by the same agency.

But assuming for the moment that in AA county they are administered by the same dept, and therefore, "no md'ing at schools in AA county". Ok then, what are we to make of surfmaster & ChrisMD that have apparently discovered that it's a non-issue ?

The quickest way for someone to MAKE IT AN ISSUE, is to rush to the powers-that-be and "seek clarification".

For me, personally speaking, I go by the test of reality. Ie.: if no one cares, then no one cares. But to each his own! Follow your own caution level & risk assessment when & if there is true verbiage like this.
 
well well well, if you do "control F", and then enter the search term "metal", on this link, it does indeed appear that the AA county parks are a no no for metal detectors :

https://www.aacounty.org/department...-and-publications/ParkRulesandRegulations.pdf

However, that would not apply to other forms of county land, nor city land, nor state land, etc... And yes, "schools" are not part of "parks", are they ? The O.P's lady cop seemed to indicate that they ARE under the same jurisdiction. If so, that's strange. I know at least in CA, that all the schools are NOT "parks", nor administered by the same agency.

But assuming for the moment that in AA county they are administered by the same dept, and therefore, "no md'ing at schools in AA county". Ok then, what are we to make of surfmaster & ChrisMD that have apparently discovered that it's a non-issue ?

The quickest way for someone to MAKE IT AN ISSUE, is to rush to the powers-that-be and "seek clarification".

For me, personally speaking, I go by the test of reality. Ie.: if no one cares, then no one cares. But to each his own! Follow your own caution level & risk assessment when & if there is true verbiage like this.

Where it says metal detectors isn't in the County Code Tom, which is the the first part of the document. The no metal detectors is found in the facility user rules and guidelines, which isn't county code or law. Already spoke to a county police officer on this, and they can't enforce the facility user rules and guidelines. They could cite me for destruction of property if I did indeed destroy property and had evidence, but not for having a metal detector.

EDIT: Here is a cut and paste from your recent post which more succinctly outlines my take and thoughts on the issue:

My county, Anne Arundel County, MD, doesn't prohibit metal detecting in the County Code, but they do in a document titled "Facility User Rules and Guidelines".

The County Code specifically says:

§ 14-2-104. Destruction of property.
(a) Applicability. This subsection does not apply to construction projects or maintenance
performed on park land or structures.
(b) Prohibitions. A person may not:
(1) tamper with, mar, deface, remove, or destroy an official sign;
(2) damage, use without authority, or remove an installation, fixture, equipment, or vehicle in or
from the park;
(3) cut, pull up, burn, carve, or in any manner mutilate, misuse, or damage any tree, shrub, plant,
grass, or flower on park grounds; or
(4) intentionally destroy, injure, deface, remove, or disturb soil, rocks, or mineral formations
unless incidental to a permitted activity.
(1985 Code, Art. 19, § 2-104)

For me personally, whenever I see language like that, which doesn't specifically mention metal detectors, I have at it. And I don't take the Facility user rules and guidelines as law, or else it would be written into County Code. If it was specifically mentioned in County Code, then it would be a red light for me.

I've detected almost every Park in Anne Arundel county the past 4 years. In front of police, in front of Parks employees, in front of LOPs, soccer moms, etc. Even pulled my director out at Kinder Farm Park right in front of the Park Directors office, who asked me what I was up to. I told him I was looking for a ring, which was true, I was looking for a ring from a Craigslist ad from someone who lost one while visiting out of state. No issues.

Parks employees ask me all the time if I've found anything good. Metal Detecting isn't listed in the prohibited activities signs at any of the parks. One local detectorist pitched a royal fit about me detecting on a school yard about 3 years ago, even called the cops (our school properties fall under Parks). Police man came out, was really chill, and agreed with me on the County Code vice an internal document created in a vacuum. This police man stated he viewed metal detectors like tobacco, county parks are full of people smoking and dipping even though it is prohibited in the Facility User Rules and Guidelines, and they don't enforce it unless it is backed up by county code and the mention of tobacco in county code only cites prohibition if there is a fire hazard.

Beyond that I've never had anything even remotely close to a dust up. I'm sure many might not agree with me, but personally I don't believe whoever wrote that in the user rules and guidelines has the right or authority to put it off limits without a code or law to back it up.

And my metal detecting doesn't damage the grass any more than a bunch of kids with soccer cleats on does, or the park employee driving across the fields leaving tire ruts. So I don't take any language stating anything about disturbing grass/dirt/rocks/whatever as a red light. I do know that I'd be willing to get cited over it, and take it to court and fight it that way if it came to that. They'll have to prove I damaged something (which I'm sure no matter what they'd try to come up with something, but I dig perfect plugs or I don't dig in parks). Could someone push the subject and get it written into code/law? Sure, but I'd be a thorn in their side all the way up until it happens at every County meeting and after.

I know this is a sensitive topic, and the only right answer is that individuals do what they are comfortable doing in accordance with how they interpret the laws. I will say, I bet the same people that really pitch a fit against any perceived violations of either written or unwritten metal detecting rules/ordinances/commentary/what have you are the same people that bust the speed limit day in and day out, whether it's 1 over or 10 over or more. But ultimately we all determine our own morality and which way our moral compass points.

EDIT: Here is the link to my Counties' Code, and the document titled "Facility User Rules and Guidelines": https://www.aacounty.org/departments...egulations.pdf
 
..... I don't take the Facility user rules and guidelines as law, or else it would be written into County Code. If it was specifically mentioned in County Code, then it would be a red light for me.....


.... Police man came out, was really chill, and agreed with me on the County Code vice an internal document created in a vacuum. This police man stated he viewed metal detectors like tobacco, county parks are full of people smoking and dipping even though it is prohibited in the Facility User Rules and Guidelines, and they don't enforce it unless it is backed up by county code....

This is very interesting Chris . I am as "brazen as they come" in trying to see through cracks and end-arounds in semantics. But this tops them all. 2nd-only to scuba-diver perhaps, haha. To classify one as "suggestions", or "commentary" or only "guidelines" , but not "law". Even when they are on the exact same page/link here :

https://www.aacounty.org/department...-and-publications/ParkRulesandRegulations.pdf

And then to say you've prevailed with a visiting cop who agreed with you on that. And to say you go out md'ing ad-nauseum and never had an issue. This is quite revealing to the psychology of this all. Because other md'rs would find some singular dire-sounding thing (or an outright "no") as seen here, and conclude that they can't detect. And then sit around and lament their lack of freedoms.

While this doesn't mean "Let's all go out and throw caution to the wind", it does give food for thought.
 
This is very interesting Chris . I am as "brazen as they come" in trying to see through cracks and end-arounds in semantics. But this tops them all. 2nd-only to scuba-diver perhaps, haha. To classify one as "suggestions", or "commentary" or only "guidelines" , but not "law". Even when they are on the exact same page/link here :

https://www.aacounty.org/department...-and-publications/ParkRulesandRegulations.pdf

And then to say you've prevailed with a visiting cop who agreed with you on that. And to say you go out md'ing ad-nauseum and never had an issue. This is quite revealing to the psychology of this all. Because other md'rs would find some singular dire-sounding thing (or an outright "no") as seen here, and conclude that they can't detect. And then sit around and lament their lack of freedoms.

While this doesn't mean "Let's all go out and throw caution to the wind", it does give food for thought.

They are only on that same page on that website, where someone tacked them on. In the county law compendium that our county officers carry, that second part is nowhere to be found. And to be charged or cited, you have to be cited against a state or county law or code, of which metal detectors is found nowhere for Anne Arundel County.

That isn't to say they wouldn't cite me for digging a plug under § 14-2-104. Destruction of property. But I'm willing to roll that dice, take the ticket, and take it court. Though, with 4 years under my belt and having waved hello to probably most of the cops and park workers in the county, I don't see that happening. Hell, my kid's school falls under Parks, and it was built on the Goshen Historical Farm, and the school has a shadow box of all the historical stuff I found in their display case with a photo next to it of me with my metal detector with some of the school administrators.

I sum it up like this, I don't recognize someone putting metal detectors off limits without any sort of legislation behind it. Without a code or law backing it up, whoever added that second document to the website has zero ability to back it up.

If you really want to see a can of worms opened, I metal detected probably half the Army bases in the U.S., including the NSA side of Ft. Meade, and I'm constantly reading about how you can't metal detect military bases.
 
They are only on that same page on that website, where someone tacked them on. ....

Ok, then that sort of boils down to the "commentary" vs "actual law". A topic that I was claiming there is often a distinction between. Bravo to your post.

.....If you really want to see a can of worms opened, I metal detected probably half the Army bases in the U.S., including the NSA side of Ft. Meade, and I'm constantly reading about how you can't metal detect military bases.

Yes, the notion of "all federal land is off-limits" is a common misconception that gets repeatedly stated on md'ing forums. But this isn't necessarily so. Some forms of federal land even have EXPRESS ALLOWANCES (BLM and NFS for example).

As for federal military bases, I too have md'd them all over my part of CA. It got a little tricky after 9/11 though, as many of them became "closed bases". Where there's a checkpoint charlie, and ... you have to have some legitimate business to be there. (nothing to do with md'ing, of course)

And in the course of my business, I sometimes have legitimate business to be on the bases. So ... after the conclusion of my business, will sometimes take a side-detour and hit the parade grounds, or around the old PT grounds, etc.. And have found that it got "sketchy" after 9/11 as well :

Whereas, prior to 9/11, you were probably ignored, yet now .... after 9/11, there's hysteria and ramped up MP's "looking for things to question", etc...

But prior to 9/11, I hit them all the time. Lots of silver at some of them. They are simply like small communities or cities. Eg.: with schools, parks, stores, homes, etc.... So , as long as you have reason to be there (like if it weren't a "closed base" or you were military, etc....), then something as niche as "metal detectors" was usually simply not addressed. Other than the usual question that might arise like "holes" or whatever. But for simply being on "federal land" ? No, that wasn't an issue.
 
Sort of related, for those of you in AA that didn’t know, the baseball field closest to the dog run at Broadneck Park was a civil war camp. I’ll save you the trouble by informing you that I’ve cleaned it out.

I hit it again with the Equinox and managed to pull 2 masked keepers. Would love to hear if anyone else manages to get something.

Prince George County parks have been giving up sweet finds, especially in Bowie. Pics are from the plantation house at Whitmarsh Park
616f9fefb7da66ecc898e32a24a30394.jpg
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
.......For me, personally speaking, I go by the test of reality. Ie.: if no one cares, then no one cares. But to each his own! Follow your own caution level & risk assessment when & if there is true verbiage like this.



I am sitting here in shock. I have never seen this level of hedging from you.
Congratulations.




.
 
This language exists most places... It is just a matter of how they choose to enforce it and how much you want to risk...


(3) cut, pull up, burn, carve, or in any manner mutilate, misuse, or damage any tree, shrub, plant,
grass, or flower on park grounds; or
(4) intentionally destroy, injure, deface, remove, or disturb soil, rocks, or mineral formations
unless incidental to a permitted activity.


BCD
 
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