Effectiveness of Patrol Techniques for Apprehending Deer Poachers

Effectiveness of the routine, public cooperation, group, and airplane patrol methods in apprehending closed-season deer violators was determined through questionnaires. Missouri conservation agents submitted 3,551 monthly questionnaires during the 2-year investigation. The mean arrest rates for the public cooperation, group, and airplane patrol methods were not significantly different; however, the mean arrest rate for routine patrols was significantly (P ≤ 0.05) lower than those for the other methods. Public cooperation patrols produced the highest rates of arrests; nearly 55% of the deer violator arrests were the direct result of citizens' complaints about deer violations.