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Originally Posted by Kamper
It doesnt have to. In New Hampshire (and most states), a police officer's authority is not limited by the agency they are assigned to. A state Fire Marshal can arrest you for drug dealing if they see it. A trooper can cite you for for illegal fishing and F&G could pull you over on I-93 for speeding.
Specific agencies may have primary responsibilities but they all have authority of the State to act. Normally the investigation would be turned over to the primary department if it were complex but something like BWI is probably part of Cop101 training.
So behave yourself!
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I have no issue with your post because it is all correct. Any LEO can act if a law is broken in his presence, but most prefer to stay within their normally trained field.
Field sobriety testing on a boat operator is particular to MP. Balance tests on the water are not valid and conventional DWI FSTs are land based balance tests. Shy of a falling down drunk fisherman, an arrest could be made based on observations, but I would bet that most F&G officers would rather not pursue a BWI arrest on a fisherman who is not obviously drunk, but has signs of consumption and perhaps some impairment.
On the same note, I can't imagine a MP officer checking fishing licenses and catch limits because that is the job of F&G, and the MP was not trained in it.
If all laws were enforced by all agencies, then there would only be a need for one mammoth agency with thousands of officers checking everything from amusement rides to axle loading to trout taken in season. I don't think that would be a fun job.