On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 6:27 PM, Peter Beckman <beck...@angryox.com> wrote: > On Wed, 11 Mar 2009, Joe Greco wrote: > >> In our neighbourhood, we don't have a high crime rate. Despite that, >> if we saw someone walking from house to house, trying doorknobs, we'd >> call the cops. The fact that everyone has locks on their doors does >> not make it all right for someone to go around from house to house to >> see if they're all locked. > > However, it's not illegal, AFAIK. It's only illegal if you enter. Either > that, or I'm gonna go prosecute some Girl Scouts.
Actually, in most jurisdictions trying strangers' doorknobs is probably misdemeanor disorderly conduct, typically punishable by fines of a few hundred dollars and jail for a few months. More often than not used as a threat: "Sir, you need to leave the neighborhood or you'll be arrested and charged with disorderly conduct." That's what "disorderly conduct" is for: folks who are obviously doing something they ought not be doing but for which an explicit law has not been written. Regards, Bill Herrin -- William D. Herrin ................ her...@dirtside.com b...@herrin.us 3005 Crane Dr. ...................... Web: <http://bill.herrin.us/> Falls Church, VA 22042-3004
