Police: No ghost hunting at Northville

[rashore]

Quote

Ghost hunters beware: Police will arrest anyone trespassing at the abandoned Northville Psychiatric Hospital.

Northville Township police issued a warning today that it has a zero tolerance policy for the property at 41000 Seven Mile Road.

Township police already have made some 400 arrests for trespassing at the property so far this year. The misdemeanor crime is punishable by a $500 fine and/or 90 days in jail if convicted.

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/wayne/2017/10/20/police-no-halloween-ghost-hunting-northville-psychiatric-hospital/784576001/

 

[TheresaHPIR]

400 arrests just this year alone?! Holy cow! 

Obviously, trespassing is something that should be frowned upon, especially at a location that does pose so many health and safety risks. So, in that regard, I am glad that the local police are staying on top of things. I'd be interested to hear, however, just how many of those 400 arrests were for people who were legitimately trying to investigate, how many who were there to see a ghost for a thrill, but not really investigating, how many who used the haunted reputation as an excuse for why they were REALLY there, and how many were arrested for squatting or suspected of being there for nefarious purposes (drug use/selling, etc.) but were given the misdemeanor due to lack of proof. 

Whether the majority of arrests are coming from simple trespass associated with 'ghost hunting' or to help prevent the old hospital for becoming a mecca of violence and drug activity, it seems like this is a major issue. Whether the location was privately or publicly owned, I think if I were a citizen in the area, I'd be demanding that SOMETHING be done to decrease the amount of police resources being spent on having to patrol the area. I never advocate for a historic (and haunted!) building to be torn down unless it absolutely cannot be saved, but if this property isn't redeveloped, cleaned up and opened to the public as a haunted or historic venue, or at the very least, given a security overhaul, then this problem doesn't seem likely to go away any time soon.

[Paulywally]

What a waste of time and resources, for the ghost hunters and the police. 400 arrested looking for evidence that doesn't exist. I welcome anyone to show me some evidence that has come out of this place that might make one believe it is haunted, I doubt it exists.

[Bruce Wade]

This happening more and more. Wannabe, weekend warrior "ghost hunters" trespassing and/or trashing locations.  I know of a few historic locations that at one point in time actually welcomed paranormal research. But because of a select few who turned it into a beer party, getting trashed and leaving their trash, these locations are now shutdown to the research.

Never mind the fact that somebody could get seriously hurt in some of these old locations and then turn around and sue the state or property owner.  It's ridiculous.  What kind of credibility do you expect your research to have when you are breaking laws and showing no respect?

I hate TV for this very reason.  It's turned a bunch of morons into wannabe rock stars. 

[rashore]

Heh, I came across a term recently that I rather like to describe the TV rock stars... Performance Investigators. They perform an investigation rather than conduct investigations.

The plight of the haunt has been going on for quite a while now. A lot of places are restricted, and folks go ahead and get illegal anyway. It does not really matter why or how legit or serious the person is that is trespassing. It's still illegal. For me, willing to do illegal things to get your spooky on kind of shoots your credibility. And also, these kinds of activities give a bad name to folks that would like to hunt legally and responsibly.

There is something to be said for performance investigators, the ones on TV anyway. They do it legally- they have to. And entertainments like these and an increasing amount of amusement haunts like haunted houses and tours have drawn off a lot of people into doing things legally instead of going to the illegal places.

This particular haunt will never be open to the public. Or at least not as it stands. It's slated for demolition in the future. Last year the township closed on a development deal on the old prison site that got demolished and is being developed, and a chunk of the proceeds from that is going to be spent in demolition of the hospital site.

[preacherman76]

Mmm just feeling the need to go against the grain here, but I'm rooting for the trespassers

You'll never catch me alive coppers

[Matt221]

The police once spent about 4 hrs sitting outside an old church we a couple of us were checking out despite us having permission to do so when we finished our investigation they asked us what we were up to we told them,then my mate asked why they didn't come and seek us out they looked a bit sheepish and told us it wasn't their place to ! WTF 2 coppers sitting in a car all that time what a bloody waste.

[TheresaHPIR]

Ha, my favorite personal police/trespassing story happened several years ago. My team was granted permission to investigate the grounds and outside areas of a former orphanage that had been later converted to student housing before falling into disrepair. We hadn't been onsite for probably more than 20 minutes, just walking around and taking some preliminary photographs before it got dark, when I kid you not---7 police cars from 4 different agencies (state, city, county, and campus) raced up to the property, nearly running over one of our members. 

Apparently it was a slow crime day, lol. What had allegedly happened was that a nearby neighbor, sick of people breaking into the building, had noticed a rather large group of people on the property, and called 911. They claimed we were 'armed,' and I guess we were, kinda---with cameras, recorders, etc., lol. 

After showing our IDs and our written letter of permission, it was obvious that we weren't trying to break in and that we did have permission to be there. Most of the cops apologized for the misunderstanding and left---but not before telling us some of their own ghostly experiences with the building! The campus officer (the property was owned by a local college) stayed for over an hour, telling us personal experiences from that building, as well as other local ghost stories he was familiar with due to his work. It actually turned out to be a fun evening...but yeah. HUGE waste of police resources, lol. 

[Matt221]

On 27/10/2017 at 2:53 PM, TheresaHPIR said:

Ha, my favorite personal police/trespassing story happened several years ago. My team was granted permission to investigate the grounds and outside areas of a former orphanage that had been later converted to student housing before falling into disrepair. We hadn't been onsite for probably more than 20 minutes, just walking around and taking some preliminary photographs before it got dark, when I kid you not---7 police cars from 4 different agencies (state, city, county, and campus) raced up to the property, nearly running over one of our members. 

Apparently it was a slow crime day, lol. What had allegedly happened was that a nearby neighbor, sick of people breaking into the building, had noticed a rather large group of people on the property, and called 911. They claimed we were 'armed,' and I guess we were, kinda---with cameras, recorders, etc., lol. 

After showing our IDs and our written letter of permission, it was obvious that we weren't trying to break in and that we did have permission to be there. Most of the cops apologized for the misunderstanding and left---but not before telling us some of their own ghostly experiences with the building! The campus officer (the property was owned by a local college) stayed for over an hour, telling us personal experiences from that building, as well as other local ghost stories he was familiar with due to his work. It actually turned out to be a fun evening...but yeah. HUGE waste of police resources, lol. 

At least those cops got kid off involved on the plus side you got to hear a few more experiences from professional people

[rashore]

I'm glad to see there's a couple folks around here that seem to be able to keep it legal Unfortunately for you legal folks, it's the illegal ones like the ones in the OP article that make it much harder for you to get your spooky on. And that's a shame. Folks that really want to seriously hunt and investigate already have a lot of hampering in some ways due to the nature of the topic itself- add on to that a lot of folks traipsing around irresponsibly and illegally and that's an extra whammy.

It's not a waste of LEO resources IMO, because in general there's a lot more illegal going on than folks being legal about it. When places do give permission for what is more typically off limits places, and folks do take the time to obtain it- it's usually in places that for every person/group getting permission there's at least a person/group or few who do it illegally. Sometimes even when folks have permission the LEO is still wise to keep an eye out- for safety reasons, and because if other folks who don't have permission come by and see a group in there- they might get the impression it's ok to be there when it's not. A bit of "official presence" can go a long way sometimes for good relations and understandings just as much as they can be a PITA harassment or seem like a waste. And sometimes they turn out to be the source of interesting information

And to touch back onto something Theresa said in post #2:

Quote

I think if I were a citizen in the area, I'd be demanding that SOMETHING be done to decrease the amount of police resources being spent on having to patrol the area.

Here's a thing- there isn't much to demand to be done other than policing the area. As far as a citizen standpoint goes at least. Go to your town hall meeting about it and bring it up, and tell your media about it- and it will make some noise. And that's a good thing. But beyond that, not much the gov can do- they can't make folks not want to go to the haunts, even when things like hundreds of arrests, and fines, and even jail time isn't curbing it like in the OP article.

But folks can call the police, keep an eye out on their neighborhoods for odd traffic, stuff like that. Police can opt to hang out while folks with permission are there to let the locals know the event is sanctioned.

More paranormal community wide. Folks that do do it legally should speak up more about it. And about how to do it legally. I've long been rather outspoken about legalities with spooky. Much like the scientific community demands a basic amount of legal and respect behaviors in the field- paranormal community should demand the same level of legal and respect.

[Frostburn]

On 10/28/2017 at 4:26 PM, rashore said:

More paranormal community wide. Folks that do do it legally should speak up more about it. And about how to do it legally. I've long been rather outspoken about legalities with spooky. Much like the scientific community demands a basic amount of legal and respect behaviors in the field- paranormal community should demand the same level of legal and respect.

Exactly this. The crackpots and weekend warriors who go out with their drunk girlfriends to party should be kept out of these places. They're only going to cause damage to themselves, the location and the legit investigation of spirits there. They also make it difficult for genuine investigators to get permission to investigate. 

The police, sad to say, love to fill their quota with fines from these trespassers, but it doesn't really address the problem of basic security. It should be made clear that permission can be obtained through proper legal channels. Deterrents like electric fences, cams and the like would help filter out the wrong element.

[thatgrimlife]

On 10/24/2017 at 10:31 AM, rashore said:

Heh, I came across a term recently that I rather like to describe the TV rock stars... Performance Investigators. They perform an investigation rather than conduct investigations.

I absolutely adore this term and will be using it in the future. Thanks!