Originally posted by sherrvonne In a conversation with a police officer he stated that trespassing is defined as "Entering onto a property with the intent of doing harm".
First of all never take legal advice from a police officer. They are not lawyers. besides that, They have a good reason why they don't want to mess with certain matters, It's called paperwork. they have to file a report on everything. so they will sometimes purposely and knowingly mislead you about the law. Trespassing is encroaching on anyone's property without permission, A sign is preferable. But if there's a fence with a latched gate, that is all that is necessary, And if the gate is locked, and they damage the fence to gain entry, It can be considered breaking and entering. At least in my state. even if there is not a fence, if you feel threatened by the intruder, or if you feel that the intruder is trying to vandalize your property in some way, they can be arrested for trespassing. Even if they have not done any damage.
As far as being harmed, You can be harmed physically or financially. Vandalism of property is considered harming someone financially.
I suggest you look up the laws in your state/country, and see how your laws are written. And don't take legal advice from police officers. Technically they're not supposed to give it. They are supposed to ticket or arrest individuals based on their understanding of the law, Then turn it over to the lawyers/Judge.