A Look At Law Enforcement At Burning Man

It’s a hot afternoon on the Playa, the winds have been kicking up large dust devils all day, and many Burners have begun the daily ritual of seeking a shady place to wait out the heat. In the middle of it all sits a small trailer emblazoned with the Bureau of Land Management logo. The “Mobile Command Station” serves as a way for law officers to meet with Burners, but it’s also a reminder to passersby that law enforcement is on patrol. “For the most part, what we do here is public safety,” says Patrick Brasington, a BLM ranger from Phoenix. A veteran, this is his ninth burn. “The agency issues the permit to allow the Burning Man event to occur here, so we’re an integrated part of the event.” It’s almost shocking to see law enforcement so highly visible at a festival with Burning Man’s reputation. Nudity is common, public drunkenness is celebrated and no one bats an eye at the use of cannabis or psychedelic drugs like mushrooms or LSD. But Burning Man takes place on BLM land, and most of those things are illegal, which leaves many law officers walking a narrow line between allowing participants to have a good time and enforcing either federal or civil laws. “We’re not going out and stopping every single vehicle or adamantly running every person through a search. It just occurs, based on a legal violation, that we stop and check on the vehicle,” Brasington explains, “and if there’s something there in plain view, then we address it and take care of it.” But BLM is not alone out here, they only have between 50 and 80 officers on duty during the event, leaving quite a bit of slack that needs to be picked up by more local agencies, like the Washoe and Pershing County Sheriff’s Offices. There are even some officers here from as far away as Elko, and having that high visibility helps some, like Michelle Moscove from Reno, feel safe...more