Can a police officer in Calif. park his vehicle on private property and use his radar gun to catch speeders?

Question

I thought there is a vehicle code on the books that says the police cannot park on private property, like a driveway to catch speeders. I thought they had to be on public land like a street.

Answer 1

They can do any d**n thing that they want to do!  all of our rights are gone

Answer 2

Most property has an easement that belongs to utilities and the county.  They can park there.  

Answer 3

They can if they have the permission of the owner of the private property.  I went to a neighborhood watch meeting and the citizens were complaining about speeders in their neighborhood.  I told them I had no place to sit to run radar, and one man offered his driveway.  I used that private property for a month and no tickets written.  No one was more than 5 miles over the limit.  

Answer 4

No.

Law enforcement tools such as warrants, searches, and occupation of private property are subject to constitutional restraint and are/were enforced strictly by both the executive and congressional branches of government.

Note that I mentioned, "are/were".

The line is so blurred now as to be laughable.

If a police officer chooses your driveway to park in to catch speeders and lawbreakers, you must, if you are the RIGHTFUL owner of the property in question, first be asked for your consent.

If you rent, you are only entitled to the right of the privacy within the domain of the four walls you call home.  The property itself is indeed private, but it is up to the actual property OWNER to protest the use of his/her land for government surveillance and law enforcement without a court order to do so.

You have the right to protest and petition government action using your property for government purposes, but in this day and age, you risk reprisal from the very agents of law enforcement you protest against.

It's pathetic, it's sad but that is the state of our country as it has become in this day and age......

Note:  NO!  Police officers do NOT have the right to enter owned property at their leisure.  That is false.  Unless a police officer has reasonable cause to enter private property in the process of enforcing the law, and providing an illegal act is NOT occuring on that property, they can not just march onto your land at will.

Note 2:  Easements and restrictions on the part of a landowner apply only to those areas of the property of the owner that are commonly used by the general public and necessary for access by utilities or, over time, have become accepted thoroughfares for lack of protest on the part of property owners.

  However, you have to ask yourself, is it that big a deal if the police officer is slowing things down a bit in your neighborhood?  Most police officers, if they know you have to leave your property and thereby making them move out of the way, will quite gladly move so you can get out.

  I myself, welcome the presence of any law enforcement despite the occasional inconvenience.

  It has, unfortunately, become a very crazy world these days...

Answer 5

If the police officer and the owner of the private property have an agreement that he can then yes, he can.

As the fellow earlier wrote, they can do any thing they d**n well please. Read the Patriot Act.

Answer 6

Well, you wouldn't want the police sitting in private driveways if YOU were the one caught while they were sitting there, would you?

I don't know of any vehicle code section that says I can't sit on private property to work radar.  Not saying it doesn't exist, but I've sure never heard of it.

Certainly we can park anywhere we have permission to be.

Easements do exist and are often used.

Some agencies may have policies prohibiting their officers from sitting on private property to work radar.  Such a policy would have no effect in court, however.  

The PATRIOT Act has nothing to do with traffic enforcement.  That's just PATRIOsteria kicking in (unnatural and uneducated fear of the PATRIOT act).

(yes, it's an acronym and yes, it's capitalized accordingly).

Answer 7

yes he can but its illegal

Answer 8

They can do it. They usually get permission from the driveway or private property owner, that they will get in order to get speeders to slow on their road. Plus, Officers have the legal right to access private property.

Answer 9

If the drive way is open it is a public access and, the law using public limits the private property rights of that land. The officer could stand on the side walk which is public or he could use another unit to spot cars. Some areas have sationed radar guns on traffic cameras and, air support. The real issue is obey and, you have nothing to fear.