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I understand that in most jurisdictions, it is illegal to place booby traps, even on one's own property. What about leaving signs indicating that booby traps have been placed, without any actual traps? For example, would it be legal to put a sign on a door that says "If this door is opened, a bomb will detonate," with no actual bomb?

Oliphaunt
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Someone
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    "Danger - Minefield" where there is no minefield... – nick012000 Jan 17 '24 at 12:38
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    A lesser version is the "Beware the dog" sign when there is none. An even lesser version is the reported habit of women who travel alone to put a large pair of men's boots in front of their RV entrance. – Peter - Reinstate Monica Jan 17 '24 at 22:25
  • @Peter-ReinstateMonica Similar to this: "Attention Management: Disable Alarm before Entry" – Andy Jan 18 '24 at 15:45
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    @Peter-ReinstateMonica, no, because it is legal to keep a dog. The OP is asking about "booby traps" that are always illegal to set. He asks, is it legal to declare that you have set an illegal trap - presumably to frighten - when in fact you have not set any such trap? – Steve Jan 18 '24 at 15:53
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    @Steve I think it is not anymore legal to have a deadly dog unleashed on your property than it is to have a (that is, any other) booby trap. You basically cannot expose incidental or even intentional trespassers to mortal danger. Whether you can have a deadly man around probably depends on the jurisdiction (Saudi Arabia anyone? Utah? Just kiddin'.) It's probably legal when he is on a leash. – Peter - Reinstate Monica Jan 18 '24 at 16:06
  • @Peter-ReinstateMonica, it's not illegal (at least in the UK) to have a vicious dog secured behind closed doors. There doesn't need to be additional muzzling or leashing. If someone breaks into that enclosed area past a warning sign, and is mauled by the dog, that's their problem. People keep dogs partly because they risk mauling intruders. But with so-called mantraps, the law is clear - it is unlawful to set them even on your own property. – Steve Jan 18 '24 at 16:51

2 Answers2

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Even if it isn't a crime, it might give rise to civil liability in various ways.

For example, it might invalidate your homeowner's insurance coverage if the sign caused the fire department to delay their response to a fire on your property.

It might give rise to personal injury liability if it prevented emergency services from making a timely response to an injured persons condition.

It might result in you being charged for the cost of federal agents at whatever the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) is called these days, or a local bomb squad responds, since having a bomb on your property is illegal without a proper demolitions license.

The sign would also, no doubt, provide probable cause to arrest you for illegally possessing a bomb without a license, or using a bomb in an illegal manner, even if those charges ultimately get dismissed when the facts come out.

It might aggravate criminal charges if it was used with an intent to slow down a police response to other crimes on the premises (e.g. drug dealing).

ohwilleke
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  • Comments have been moved to chat; please do not continue the discussion here. Before posting a comment below this one, please review the purposes of comments. Comments that do not request clarification or suggest improvements usually belong as an answer, on [meta], or in [chat]. Comments continuing discussion may be removed. – Dale M Jan 18 '24 at 09:51
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    This is a very good answer (+1) - it would be even better if split in two pieces: general consequences of threats (not necessarily a bomb - it could be a trap, spikes etc) with the part about delaying the action of emergency services, and a second one specifically about the bomb (and the part where a bomb is not something you are permitted to have at home) – WoJ Jan 19 '24 at 13:54
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In most jurisdictions, bomb threats are a crime even on the own property, not just in airports or similar places.

o.m.
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    I'm not sure that this counts as a bomb threat, especially if it purports to be by the property owner and to only detonate if triggered in a disclosed manner. – ohwilleke Jan 16 '24 at 19:34
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    I fail to see how "there is a bomb here" could not be interpreted as a bomb threat. – nuggethead Jan 17 '24 at 01:37
  • @nuggethead, would you trust someone who is setting booby traps to be competent enough to do so safely? At the very least, the fire marshal would have words to say ... – o.m. Jan 17 '24 at 05:18
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    @nuggethead If I discover a WW II-era bomb under my property (not that unusual in Germany) and put a sign "there is a bomb here" until the relevant authorities have arrived, I don't think that's a bomb threat ;) – gerrit Jan 17 '24 at 08:11
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    The point of the question is not specific to bombs though. What if the sign just mentions a booby trap without specifying what type it is? – nasch Jan 17 '24 at 16:15
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    @gerrit: Sure — but that same “gotcha” would apply to any other bomb threat. Announcing a bomb somewhere is a bomb threat unless you genuinely have good reason to believe there’s a bomb there that you’re not responsible for. – Peter LeFanu Lumsdaine Jan 18 '24 at 23:23
  • @gerrit: It is not the existence of the bomb that is the crime, it is the procurement, placement and intent of the bomb that is the crime (or the claim of doing so to cause panic). The original sign as phrased by OP claims that a bomb was willfully placed in a way to cause harm. Your sign does not convey intent on your part. Theirs is a threat, yours is a warning. The difference between the two is that it's a warning if issuer of the warning is not the willful source of the subsequent danger. It is a threat if the issuer of the threat is the willful source of the subsequent danger. – Flater Jan 19 '24 at 00:29
  • @gerrit, that is clearly a completely different case. OP is talking about putting up a sign with the clear intent to make people not open the door in the fear of setting off a booby trap, without an actual booby trap. Your case is the existence of an actual bomb (not a booby trap) and a warning sign pointing that out, with the side aspect of you probably already having informed the authorities long before putting up that sign. – AnoE Jan 19 '24 at 09:49
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    @AnoE I know. I was responding to nuggetheads comment by describing a context in which "there is a bomb here" is not a bomb threat. – gerrit Jan 19 '24 at 12:34
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    It does not have to be a bomb. It could be traps, spikes, nets that jump on trees and whatever else if found in a Rambo movie – WoJ Jan 19 '24 at 13:52