Nebraska Game and Parks (NGP) officers have written a record amount of game violation citations. It has been a decade since this many citations have been issued. There have been about 3,771 citations this year, which is about four hundred more than 2019. The violations were not all the same, however, but quite different. The charges range from typical hunting and fishing violations, to harvesting frogs out of season. Both the Sheriff’s office and NCP officers issued citations for violations. It is possible, however, that officers may just be enforcing game violations more proactively. They may also be less tolerant of minor offenses. This should be taken into account when thinking of why the citations are at a record high.
It is always very important to check the state regulations before hunting. Maybe the hunter who took frogs out of season didn’t know there was a frog season. That could have been avoided, however, if he or she read the regulations. In a lot of cases, game violations are intentional. A lot of people who commit violations know what they are doing is wrong but do it anyway. Thus, it is reasonable for game and fish agencies to have no-tolerance policies against violations. This would serve as a deterrent to others who commit violations. They would know that they would definitely receive punishment if caught. Furthermore, a no-tolerance policy would serve to enforce the reading of hunting regulations. If people knew that any violation will be met with punishment, they may be more likely to read the regulations.
Thus, it makes sense that NGP officers are less lenient today than they were in the past. However, Nebraska has still seen a huge spike in violations, which poses a problem with how to effectively deter such violations.
Do are your thoughts?
