If you find someone entering your property (house, offices, owned land, or shed) without permission, it is totally trespassing. However, not all actions entering your property can be said to be trespassing. If someone enters your property by accident while traveling or exploring around your property and has no intention of causing damage, that is not trespassing but rather an accident.
Of course, there are specific reasons to charge someone with trespassing, such as if he or she intentionally enters your property, intends to cause damage to your property, or poses a minor threat to you and your family.
When this occurs, you have two options: ask the person to leave your property or report him or her to the police, who will file trespassing charges in civil court if he or she does it again. To charge someone with trespassing, you have to meet the specifications above.
If you decide to charge someone with trespassing, you can take the following steps:
Step 1: Make a Report with the Police
Making a police report means that someone who enters your property and refuses to leave, or who performs the act of repeatedly entering your property, warrants a police investigation. In this situation, you have the right to report it to the police department.
The police may ask you to explain:
- The chronology of the incident
- The specific time (date, day, and time)
- The characteristics of the trespasser include height, gender, race, weight, clothing, and car (make, model, and license plate)
- Personal information you might have about the trespasser (name or address)
You will also be required to provide any evidence associated with the criminal trespass. The police will then identify the trespasser by specifying the characteristics of the trespasser you’ve explained. Afterwards, the police will review your report to determine whether there is enough evidence to support an official charge of trespassing.
Before making a report with the police, you’re not required to confront a trespasser by yourself or even wait at the gate since some trespassers have some criminal intent. If you do it, it will put you in additional danger.
Step 2: Receive Information about the Case
After filing a report with the police regarding the trespassing, you will then receive some ongoing information from the police, such as a no-trespass citation or order and additional information about the case.
The law enforcement agents will then provide you with information regarding the case, including whether the trespasser enters an appeal, gets fined, receives a trespass warning, or even goes for a jail sentence in more extreme cases.
Step 3: Know Penalty for Trespasser
Depending on whether the crime is a misdemeanor trespass or a felony, the penalties for trespassing will vary. The penalty is really based on what transpires during the criminal trespass. For examples:
- If someone only harasses your dog for a few minutes, it will likely be a minor incident, and it is often just a monetary fine of a few hundred dollars.
- If someone interferes in your daily life or your business without posing any threat to your safety, it typically results in up to six months in county jail and a fine.
- If someone enters your property and makes threats and dangers to you and your family, it is trespassing as well as direct harm or threats, and it could result in multiple years in prison.
If the trespasser is apprehended and detained, you can file trespassing charges in civil court, where the trespasser may be sentenced to “time served.” That means the court will impose a fine either in addition to or in lieu of any jail sentence.
Fines are commonly determined by state criminal statutes, and they may be as steep as several thousand dollars or as little as a few hundred dollars. In most cases, judges have broad discretion in imposing criminal fines for trespass and other offenses. Further, defendants may also be required to pay court costs of $100 or more.
Step 4: File a Lawsuit in Civil Court for Trespassing
If someone is charged with trespassing, he or she really interferes with your rights to enjoy your property. If so, you have the right to file a civil charge against the trespasser. If there are any damages, a civil lawsuit will take care of them.
However, a civil lawsuit is a great way for you to get compensation for any damages the trespasser causes. This is something you have to do in addition to filing charges against someone for criminal trespassing.
To successfully file a lawsuit for trespassing, you have to consider getting legal advice from an attorney to verify the following things:
- You have made it clear to the trespasser that he or she is not allowed to enter your property.
- A trespasser intentionally entered your property despite receiving warnings and knowledge.
- A trespasser damaged your property and harmed you and your family as a result of entering your property.
Thus, filing a civil lawsuit for trespassing is highly recommended. As the owner of property, however, you have the right to file a case against a trespasser because they do not have authorization to enter or even damage your property. Filing a civil lawsuit not only for the sake of your property but for your overall safety.
Okay, so that’s how you charge someone with trespassing, step by step. If the case of trespassing occurs to you someday, you will really understand what you should and shouldn’t do to confront the trespasser that enters your property. However, there’s nothing more important than the safety of your home or business.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
