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.









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