{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-15.519","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 15.519","heading":"Definitions -- Officer access to private open land for surveillance prohibited","body":"without search warrant -- Exceptions.\n(1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:\n(a) \"Officer\" means any local, state, or federal offic er who is employed or\ncontracted by a governmental agency in Kentucky and includes:\n1. Law enforcement officer as defined in KRS 15.310;\n2. Peace officer as defined in KRS 446.010; and\n3. Police officer as defined in KRS 15.420;\n(b) \"Private open land\" mea ns land, including open fields, but excluding any\nhomes or buildings and the curtilage around them, that is owned, leased, used,\nor lawfully occupied by a person or a nongovernmental entity; and\n(c) \"Search warrant\" means a warrant that is supported by ind ividualized\nprobable cause and issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.\n(2) An officer shall not enter or access private open land for any covert surveillance or\ninstallation of surveillance devices without a search warrant unless the officer:\n(a) Has received the permission of the property owner, lessee, or lawful occupant;\n(b) Upon probable cause, is responding to an exigent circumstance, including a\nlife-threatening emergency or another immediate threat to public safety that\nwas either reported to or personally observed by the officer;\n(c) Is dispatching crippled, distressed, dangerous, or invasive wildlife that the\nofficer has personally observed; or\n(d) Is unable to reasonably identify the unmarked and unfenced boundaries and\nownership of unimproved, uninhabited rural land.\n(3) (a) Upon entering private open land, the officer shall immediately notify the\nlandowner, lessee, or lawful occupant, if notice can reasonably be made,\nunless the officer is in possession of a search warrant allowing survei llance or\nsurveillance-related activities.\n(b) If an officer is equipped with a body -worn camera or other audio -visual or\naudio recording device while entering private open land, the body -worn\ncamera or other audio -visual or audio recording device shall be  activated and\nrecording in accordance with the standard policy of the officer's agency.\n(4) Subsections (2) and (3) of this section do not apply to a game warden executing\nduties described in KRS 150.090, who shall have the authority to enter upon, cross\nover, be upon, or access private open lands for the purpose of conducting\ncompliance checks or surveillance based upon a reasonable suspicion, and shall not\nbe required to notify the landowner, lessee, or lawful occupant.","path":["KRS Chapter 15"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=55352","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:34Z","sha256":"e4f5c572caa19fa5bd394a8cd8cb34a0bb22e0524792d1e87e151e45186e1e75","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-15.518","next":"us-ky/krs-15.520"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}