§ 20-1-8. Enforcement powers of director and conservation officers.
(a) The director and each conservation officer shall have the power:
(1) To enforce all laws, rules, and regulations of this state pertaining to:
(i) Fish, wildlife, and all vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants;
(ii) Freshwater wetlands, dams, and resources;
(iii) Areas and activities subject to the jurisdiction of the coastal resources management
council;
(iv) State parks, reservations, management areas, hatcheries, game preserves, any law of
the state within state parks, lands cooperatively managed, facilities that host official
department events, and properties leased by the department;
(v) Solid and hazardous waste transportation, storage, and disposal and any other laws
of the state regarding solid and/or hazardous wastes;
(vi) Boating safety, water safety, and drowning prevention;
(vii) Water and air pollution and open burning;
(viii) Firearms;
(ix) Littering;
(x) Trees and forests, forestry, and protection of forests from fire hazards and trespass;
(xi) Agriculture, farmland, and pest control; and
(xii) All-terrain vehicles, as defined in § 31-3.2-1(8).
(2) To issue summonses and to execute all warrants and search warrants for the violation
of the laws, rules, and regulations enumerated in subsections (a)(1) or (a)(9);
(3) To serve subpoenas issued for the trial or hearing of all offenses against the law,
rules, and regulations enumerated in subsections (a)(1) or (a)(9);
(4) To arrest, without a warrant, any person found violating any law, rule, or regulation
enumerated in subsection (a)(1), take that person before a court of competent jurisdiction,
and detain that person in custody at the expense of the state until arraignment, except
when a summons can be issued in accordance with § 12-7-11;
(5) To seize and take possession of all fish, shellfish, crustaceans, marine mammals,
amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals in possession, or under control of, any person
or that have been shipped, or are about to be shipped, at any time, in any manner,
or for any purpose contrary to the laws of this state, and dispose of them at the
discretion of the director;
(6) To seize all fishing tackle, firearms, shooting and hunting paraphernalia, hunting,
fishing, or trapping licenses, traps, decoys, tongs, bullrakes, dredges, or other
implements or appliances used in violation of any law, rule, or regulation relating
to fish, shellfish, crustaceans, marine mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and
mammals, or any equipment, materials, tools, implements, samples of substances, or
any other item used in the violation of any other law, rule, or regulation enumerated
in subsection (a)(9), when making an arrest as found in the execution of a search
warrant, and hold the seized item or items at the owner's expense until the fine and
costs imposed for the violation have been paid in full;
(7)(i) To go on board any boat or vessel engaged, or believed to be engaged, in fishing and
examine any fishing, shellfish, scallop, lobster, multipurpose, or other license issued
under this title;
(ii) To go on board any boat or vessel engaged, or believed to be engaged, in fishing and
to inspect that boat or vessel for compliance with the provisions of this title and
any rules relative to the taking of fish, shellfish, crustaceans, marine mammals,
amphibians, and reptiles. In the absence of probable cause to believe that a crime
relative to the taking of these marine species has been, or is being, committed, any
evidence obtained as the result of a boarding (other than for the purpose of examining
a license) or of an inspection may not be used in a criminal prosecution;
(8) To carry firearms or other weapons, concealed or otherwise, in the course of, and
in performance of, the duties of office; and
(9) To arrest without a warrant, to execute all warrants and search warrants, and to make
and execute complaints within any district to the justice or clerk of the district
court without recognizance or surety against any person for the following criminal
offenses:
(i) Assault;
(ii) Assault with a dangerous weapon;
(iii) Larceny;
(iv) Vandalism;
(v) Obstructing officer in execution of duty.
(b) Conservation officers shall be deemed "officerâ€� within the meaning of § 11-32-1.
(c) It shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars
($500) or imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) days, or both, for any person
to refuse to move or to stop on an oral command or order of a conservation officer
when the officer is acting in the performance of the officer's duties.