Thread: Police react to someone shooting on their own property

Originally Posted by ebf

different strokes for different folks.

would you feel the same if it was your neighbor (shooting 80m from your house) doing this i.e. you on the receiving end ?

80m towards my house - yep bugger that

80m away - nope - my hunting mates are closer than that to me when they fire and thats safe - distance isn't really the point - safe direction etc is
I hear the pistol club from my home in the city. Its just 185m till you reach hundreds of houses from the range
They also shoot 223 and similar there from what I know (police use it too)

As for annoying or frightening someone - well he did it in the middle of the day - not the middle of the night; nor does it sound like he was up to their house

More like a waste of police resources - how did the complainant consider themselves or someone to be in danger - love that neighbourhood
As for the Police pointing rifles at him - lay a complaint - gee after they talked to him (15mins) they do this - again on what basis (doubt we'll ever know)

Originally Posted by faregame

As for the Police pointing rifles at him - lay a complaint - gee after they talked to him (15mins) they do this - again on what basis (doubt we'll ever know)

Yup, that was his version, would be interesting to hear the AOS side.

But agreed, unless he was doing something really stupid, does not warrant having rifles pointed at him... If he was walking with his hands in plain view, especially after having spoken to them I would be very surprised in the standard procedures would be to aim rifles directly at the person ?

My nearest neighbour is about 600m-800m away, a retired cop. In the other direction the next nearest is about the same difference, a current cop. I always let them know when there is going to be a big bomb up. Never had any issues

Originally Posted by faregame

More like a waste of police resources - how did the complainant consider themselves or someone to be in danger - love that neighbourhood

Yup, I think that's the real story. Diverting limited resources over a 'panic', hopefully the Police also delivered a message to the complainant to be more intelligent before thinking there's a real problem nearby. Unlikely but I live in hope

Paranoia reins supreme?

There's another thread on the same subject somewhere but it's not an offence to discharge a firearm near a house per se. It's only if the court considers that without reasonable cause you frightened or annoyed someone or that you endangered someone's property that you commit the offence.

If the muppet had just telephoned next door there may not have been a problem?!

Discharging firearm, airgun, pistol, or restricted weapon in or near dwellinghouse or public place

Every person commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to a fine not exceeding $3,000 or to both who, without reasonable cause, discharges a firearm, airgun, pistol, or restricted weapon in or near—

(a) a dwellinghouse; or

(b) a public place,—

so as to endanger property or to endanger, annoy, or frighten any person.

That's a bit wide open

my neighbours live with it thank goodness the old neighbours are gone.100 mtres so we should be rite.

Every where I go I have a weopon,2ks dwn a public road every day no probs

Why is everybody assuming the neighbour "panicked" and he wasnt just pissed off that the annoying twat next door was banging away again - we only have one side of the story

I find it surprising that people think that is is OK to be shooting that close to another persons home while they are in it, or that the rules are somehow different in the country. Walk 80 metres up your street (measure it), look back and think if you would like someone you dont know or trust shooting an SKS or shotgun that close.

We hear shots from people illegally spotlighting in our river boundary every couple of weeks, anwhere up to a km away up the valley is easily loud enough to wake us up - is that OK and we should "expect it" because we live in the country?? Its a cunt of a thing actually, dumb asses obviously havent taken the time to look at a map and realise that there are 5 houses + untold stock units right along the banks where they are shooting centerfire rifles into the dark. I guess Im just a moaner for thinking its a wee bit annoying though?

Originally Posted by Cyclist

Why is everybody assuming the neighbour "panicked" and he wasnt just pissed off that the annoying twat next door was banging away again - we only have one side of the story

I find it surprising that people think that is is OK to be shooting that close to another persons home while they are in it, or that the rules are somehow different in the country. Walk 80 metres up your street (measure it), look back and think if you would like someone you dont know or trust shooting an SKS or shotgun that close.

We hear shots from people illegally spotlighting in our river boundary every couple of weeks, anwhere up to a km away up the valley is easily loud enough to wake us up - is that OK and we should "expect it" because we live in the country?? Its a cunt of a thing actually, dumb asses obviously havent taken the time to look at a map and realise that there are 5 houses + untold stock units right along the banks where they are shooting centerfire rifles into the dark. I guess Im just a moaner for thinking its a wee bit annoying though?

+1, completely agree

Originally Posted by ebf

+1, completely agree

+2

And where a firearm is involved the action generally needs to be decisive, just in case it is a bit more serious.

yep only 1 side of the story -

Complainants still need to have some probable reason to involve the police in some illegal activity - spot lighting, middle of the night - hell that could be me on a farm after possums - but seen to be on your property - very different - or in a area where you know that NO ONE is allowed etc but legally doing so on his property is very different to say poachers or randomly firing a rifle into the air, or worse - this is actually just a noise issue

To take firearms away from it

A few years ago - couple had a house with a very very nice view - .. Lovely couple .. - but the neighbours slightly below them on the hill decided that they liked privacy the most - So they dumped a heap of dirt on their property to "shield" their house from view - in doing so blocked quite a bit of the view of the couple above.
Everyone thought the lower couple were wankers - blocking part of the view etc; even though really to see their house from the upper house you had to make a effort to do so
However it was all legal and their property - they just choose to dump dirt in one place!

Point is - yeah firearms that close to anyones house can be annoying - and to do it regularly maybe anti social to the neighbours - same as that pile of dirt really - but if its legal to do there can be no issue

I know the Pomona Road area where this guy lives. Its pretty built up now days, was orchard country but now houses and lifestyle blocks of 7-10 acres. I would be reluctant to go banging away with a 12g or a 7.62 ,suppressed or not in that area.
There are a few in the area who shoot Rabbits on their propertys but most now use .22`s with suppressors, or the odd shotgun blast is accepted.

bear in mind some yuppies once complained that the nabours cows chewed too loudly
Yuppies dont know about rural life
the cops done as they should have - contained the suituation, no-one was hurt by their actions. job done. Going blind into a unknown suituation involving firearms is a risky game. how were they to know it was all safe and ok? they didnt so in they went
now that cops have sighted the person involved the problem should go away. they know his intentions and who he is

can you internet professionals understand the mindset of an officer expected to go into an unknown suituation to sort out firearms issue?

Sounds like he's in Australia