Looking for a little bit of direction here. I've been recently assigned to
my department's Marine Unit. I've been a cop for 15 years. I lived in NJ at
the shore around boats most of my life, but never owned one. I rarely even
went out on boats except for fishing or waterskiing. I moved to Florida in
late 2000, and I'm still working as a cop (just in a nicer place). As a
result of some administrative changes in my department, I was assigned to
the Marine Unit. I've completed the necessary training and such, but one
thing is lacking: experience. I'll try to get to the point - I'm open for
comments and opinions. I know what the law says, and I know what my job is,
but I try to use more common sense than what the law may actually say in
black & white. What do you (as boaters) feel the most important issues are
for the Police to deal with on the water? Would you like to see more O.U.I.
enforcement? More vessel stops for no wake zone infractions? More safety
inspections? More after dark patrols of inlets, channels, and harbor areas?
You tell me. I'm asking for your honest opinions here. As a rule I use more
common sense than anything on the job. I treat people fairly, and as a
result I rarely ever have to appear in court. I would like to do the same on
the water. Here's your chance to make a difference, because I will take
every opinion into consideration. Thanks for your help.

swatcop wrote:

Looking for a little bit of direction here. I've been recently assigned to
my department's Marine Unit. I've been a cop for 15 years. I lived in NJ at
the shore around boats most of my life, but never owned one. I rarely even
went out on boats except for fishing or waterskiing. I moved to Florida in
late 2000, and I'm still working as a cop (just in a nicer place). As a
result of some administrative changes in my department, I was assigned to
the Marine Unit. I've completed the necessary training and such, but one
thing is lacking: experience. I'll try to get to the point - I'm open for
comments and opinions. I know what the law says, and I know what my job is,
but I try to use more common sense than what the law may actually say in
black & white. What do you (as boaters) feel the most important issues are
for the Police to deal with on the water? Would you like to see more O.U.I.
enforcement? More vessel stops for no wake zone infractions? More safety
inspections? More after dark patrols of inlets, channels, and harbor areas?
You tell me. I'm asking for your honest opinions here. As a rule I use more
common sense than anything on the job. I treat people fairly, and as a
result I rarely ever have to appear in court. I would like to do the same on
the water. Here's your chance to make a difference, because I will take
every opinion into consideration. Thanks for your help.

More DUI enforcement, more anti-noise enforcement, more "reckless
boater" enforcement. Most folks I know who enjoy the water don't want to
be annoyed or put at risk by idiots who do not behave decently.

Good luck and be very careful. Most of the boaters you encounter will
treat you decently and with respect, but a couple years ago out in the
Chesapeake Bay, some unknowns assaulted a woman DNR watercop and it was
damned serious. I seemed to recall the assailants were druggies, and
they either beat or shot the officer.

I'm not sure, but I think I knew the watercop in question. She had
frequently checked out boats in our area for proper registration and
fishing licenses, and was very pleasant about it, so much so that one of
my fishing buddies tried to ask her out on a date (she was very pretty).
I've not seen the woman since I heard about the incident. This was, oh,
probably three years ago.









--
Email sent to is never read.

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
swatcop wrote:

Looking for a little bit of direction here. I've been recently assigned
to
my department's Marine Unit. I've been a cop for 15 years. I lived in NJ
at
the shore around boats most of my life, but never owned one. I rarely
even
went out on boats except for fishing or waterskiing. I moved to Florida
in
late 2000, and I'm still working as a cop (just in a nicer place). As a
result of some administrative changes in my department, I was assigned
to
the Marine Unit. I've completed the necessary training and such, but one
thing is lacking: experience. I'll try to get to the point - I'm open
for
comments and opinions. I know what the law says, and I know what my job
is,
but I try to use more common sense than what the law may actually say in
black & white. What do you (as boaters) feel the most important issues
are
for the Police to deal with on the water? Would you like to see more
O.U.I.
enforcement? More vessel stops for no wake zone infractions? More safety
inspections? More after dark patrols of inlets, channels, and harbor
areas?
You tell me. I'm asking for your honest opinions here. As a rule I use
more
common sense than anything on the job. I treat people fairly, and as a
result I rarely ever have to appear in court. I would like to do the
same on
the water. Here's your chance to make a difference, because I will take
every opinion into consideration. Thanks for your help.

More DUI enforcement, more anti-noise enforcement, more "reckless
boater" enforcement. Most folks I know who enjoy the water don't want to
be annoyed or put at risk by idiots who do not behave decently.

Good luck and be very careful. Most of the boaters you encounter will
treat you decently and with respect, but a couple years ago out in the
Chesapeake Bay, some unknowns assaulted a woman DNR watercop and it was
damned serious. I seemed to recall the assailants were druggies, and
they either beat or shot the officer.

I'm not sure, but I think I knew the watercop in question. She had
frequently checked out boats in our area for proper registration and
fishing licenses, and was very pleasant about it, so much so that one of
my fishing buddies tried to ask her out on a date (she was very pretty).
I've not seen the woman since I heard about the incident. This was, oh,
probably three years ago.

Thank you for your input, I'll take all of your points into consideration.
As a rule, I'm a very "officer safety" oriented cop as I'm on the S.W.A.T.
team and other similar functions already, but I certainly appreciate the
concern. Thank you.
--
-= swatcop =-

"If it wasn't for stupid people I'd be unemployed."

Harry Krause wrote:

More DUI enforcement, more anti-noise enforcement, more "reckless
boater" enforcement. Most folks I know who enjoy the water don't want to
be annoyed or put at risk by idiots who do not behave decently.

Don't take anything krause has to say too seriously or you'll be
embarassed sooner or later to have believed him.

He's the resident rec.boats vicarious boater.

-- Charlie


----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups
---= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers - Total Privacy via Encryption =---

"swatcop" wrote in message
...
Here's your chance to make a difference, because I will take
every opinion into consideration. Thanks for your help.

Here in Rochester NY, there's a busy area where the sherrifs behave like
giant mosquitoes, pestering anyone who looks wrong. I think it's a great
idea, even though they've bugged me frequently to check my fishing license.
I have to imagine they nail people for more serious stuff. So, I'd say "Be
the biggest pain in the ass you can".

My pet peeve involves something that happens constantly when I'm fishing.
The bay here is about a mile wide, and from side to side, it's deep enough
for any boat. There's one spot where small fishing boats have been
congregating for years because that's where the perch hang out. The spot's
about an acre in size. Without fail, there's at least one moron per hour who
feels the need to crank past the fishermen at top speed, throwing 3-5 ft
wakes.

I don't know the official legal name of the law covering wakes, but when my
son's in the boat, I call it "attempted murder". One of these days,
someone's gonna get a bullet in their fuel tank.

Do something about that, wherever you work.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"swatcop" wrote in message
...
Here's your chance to make a difference, because I will take
every opinion into consideration. Thanks for your help.

Here in Rochester NY, there's a busy area where the sherrifs behave like
giant mosquitoes, pestering anyone who looks wrong. I think it's a great
idea, even though they've bugged me frequently to check my fishing
license.
I have to imagine they nail people for more serious stuff. So, I'd say "Be
the biggest pain in the ass you can".

My pet peeve involves something that happens constantly when I'm fishing.
The bay here is about a mile wide, and from side to side, it's deep enough
for any boat. There's one spot where small fishing boats have been
congregating for years because that's where the perch hang out. The spot's
about an acre in size. Without fail, there's at least one moron per hour
who
feels the need to crank past the fishermen at top speed, throwing 3-5 ft
wakes.

I don't know the official legal name of the law covering wakes, but when
my
son's in the boat, I call it "attempted murder". One of these days,
someone's gonna get a bullet in their fuel tank.

Do something about that, wherever you work.

I'm not sure of the actual name of the statute (as I said I'm new at this
aspect of policing), but I know it exists. Part of my training was with the
Coast Guard, and I remember the instructor really driving his point home
about boaters being responsible for their wake. One of his examples was a
woman drinking coffee on her husband's boat. Some schmuck flew past them and
she spilled her coffee on her lap resulting in burns. The operator of the
other boat was heavily fined and also came under civil suit. I will
definitely keep an eye on the wakes of vessels. Thank you for your input.
--
-= swatcop =-

"If it wasn't for stupid people I'd be unemployed."

"swatcop" wrote in message
m...


I don't know the official legal name of the law covering wakes, but when
my
son's in the boat, I call it "attempted murder". One of these days,
someone's gonna get a bullet in their fuel tank.

Do something about that, wherever you work.

I'm not sure of the actual name of the statute (as I said I'm new at this
aspect of policing), but I know it exists. Part of my training was with
the
Coast Guard, and I remember the instructor really driving his point home
about boaters being responsible for their wake. One of his examples was a
woman drinking coffee on her husband's boat. Some schmuck flew past them
and
she spilled her coffee on her lap resulting in burns. The operator of the
other boat was heavily fined and also came under civil suit. I will
definitely keep an eye on the wakes of vessels. Thank you for your input.

When you stop those people, always begin the conversation with "please kneel
on the deck and keep your hands where I can see them". Fear is good.

This is why I'm not a cop. I'd execute people for allowing their dogs to
roam the neighborhood unsupervised.

But not the innocent dogs, I presume.
"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"swatcop" wrote in message
m...


I don't know the official legal name of the law covering wakes, but when
my
son's in the boat, I call it "attempted murder". One of these days,
someone's gonna get a bullet in their fuel tank.

Do something about that, wherever you work.

I'm not sure of the actual name of the statute (as I said I'm new at this
aspect of policing), but I know it exists. Part of my training was with
the
Coast Guard, and I remember the instructor really driving his point home
about boaters being responsible for their wake. One of his examples was a
woman drinking coffee on her husband's boat. Some schmuck flew past them
and
she spilled her coffee on her lap resulting in burns. The operator of the
other boat was heavily fined and also came under civil suit. I will
definitely keep an eye on the wakes of vessels. Thank you for your input.

When you stop those people, always begin the conversation with "please kneel
on the deck and keep your hands where I can see them". Fear is good.

This is why I'm not a cop. I'd execute people for allowing their dogs to
roam the neighborhood unsupervised.

Also keep an eye out for people shooting at other folks gas tanks...

"swatcop" wrote in message
m...



"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"swatcop" wrote in message
...
Here's your chance to make a difference, because I will take
every opinion into consideration. Thanks for your help.

Here in Rochester NY, there's a busy area where the sherrifs behave like
giant mosquitoes, pestering anyone who looks wrong. I think it's a great
idea, even though they've bugged me frequently to check my fishing
license.
I have to imagine they nail people for more serious stuff. So, I'd say
"Be
the biggest pain in the ass you can".

My pet peeve involves something that happens constantly when I'm
fishing.
The bay here is about a mile wide, and from side to side, it's deep
enough
for any boat. There's one spot where small fishing boats have been
congregating for years because that's where the perch hang out. The
spot's
about an acre in size. Without fail, there's at least one moron per hour
who
feels the need to crank past the fishermen at top speed, throwing 3-5 ft
wakes.

I don't know the official legal name of the law covering wakes, but when
my
son's in the boat, I call it "attempted murder". One of these days,
someone's gonna get a bullet in their fuel tank.

Do something about that, wherever you work.

I'm not sure of the actual name of the statute (as I said I'm new at this
aspect of policing), but I know it exists. Part of my training was with
the
Coast Guard, and I remember the instructor really driving his point home
about boaters being responsible for their wake. One of his examples was a
woman drinking coffee on her husband's boat. Some schmuck flew past them
and
she spilled her coffee on her lap resulting in burns. The operator of the
other boat was heavily fined and also came under civil suit. I will
definitely keep an eye on the wakes of vessels. Thank you for your input.
--
-= swatcop =-

"If it wasn't for stupid people I'd be unemployed."

You can go by the book enforcing any laws at your disposal related to the
operation of jet skis...

"swatcop" wrote in message
...
Looking for a little bit of direction here. I've been recently assigned to
my department's Marine Unit. I've been a cop for 15 years. I lived in NJ
at
the shore around boats most of my life, but never owned one. I rarely even
went out on boats except for fishing or waterskiing. I moved to Florida in
late 2000, and I'm still working as a cop (just in a nicer place). As a
result of some administrative changes in my department, I was assigned to
the Marine Unit. I've completed the necessary training and such, but one
thing is lacking: experience. I'll try to get to the point - I'm open for
comments and opinions. I know what the law says, and I know what my job
is,
but I try to use more common sense than what the law may actually say in
black & white. What do you (as boaters) feel the most important issues are
for the Police to deal with on the water? Would you like to see more
O.U.I.
enforcement? More vessel stops for no wake zone infractions? More safety
inspections? More after dark patrols of inlets, channels, and harbor
areas?
You tell me. I'm asking for your honest opinions here. As a rule I use
more
common sense than anything on the job. I treat people fairly, and as a
result I rarely ever have to appear in court. I would like to do the same
on
the water. Here's your chance to make a difference, because I will take
every opinion into consideration. Thanks for your help.