We had a friend that had moved to the Cities, and one Halloween was having problems in their neighborhood with punks stealing and smashing Jack-O-Lanterns. We concocted an idea, over a few cocktails, and loaned him a spare electric fencer and wire. Now this ain't 220 volt stuff. This is just the old every farm kid has grabbed on a dare or gotten his cousin to pee on through the brush.
He went home, rigged his kids masterpieces and went on about life. The next weekend rolled around, and he heard a bunch of screaming outside. Upon investigating he found one on the ground with slight damage and one just knocked over, everything else was fine. Shortly there after the cops showed up. After a lot of investigating, questioning and accusing, they left saying they really could not think of what to do. The next week he received a letter from the City Attorney telling him to disconnect everything and turn it in. The attorney's claim was that since he knew that kids were doing this, his set up was a trap intended to cause pain and suffering that was baited with Jack-O-Lanterns that he knew would attract "victims."
He did not turn over the fencer - He mailed it back to us, so that if they came searching for it they would not find it. He left the wire in place, and even tried to make it as obvious as possible, and he decorated an old shoe box to replicate the appearance of the fencer. He has also been known to take an old kitchen broom, paint the bristles brown and the handle black, and sit on the porch with it across his lap. He has received visits from cops about both, but what can they do about him "decorating" for Halloween?