Thought that might get your attention!  :-)
Now, before you cast me down into the depths of hell and hit me with every curse known to man...and woman, please let me continue.
Nighthawkers deserve every ounce of vitriol, despite and hatred we, the responsible detectorist, can throw at them.  Not only do they knowingly, and without a shred of guilt, trespass and steal, they are dragging the hobby into the gutter and doing all they can to get it banned altogether!!
If you don't know what a nighthawker is, ask any detectorist and they will probably launch into an angry tirade fuming about how those b*!@$%*@s are the scum of the earth, are ruining things for the rest of us etc., etc., etc.  You'll last see them scurrying away, steam billowing from their ears, muttering profanities and striking out at anything that gets in their way!
Basically, a nighthawker will go onto land without first gaining permission, normally undercover of night (hence the name), and dig for treasure which they then sell onto collectors, or on EBay, keeping the profits for themselves.  They generally don't fill in any holes they've dug and destroy sites of archaeological interest.
This has a number of effects :
1. Valuable treasure, and the history associated to it, is lost as it doesn't get to be recorded.
2. We, the responsible detectorist who abides by the rules and search for the right reasons, are being persecuted by a minorities actions.

We are finding far to often that we are being refused permission to detect where we might have been granted it before.  More and more farmers are refusing us because of the damage nighthawkers cause to their land and the way that they are blackening the hobbies good name.  Official bodies like English Heritage here in the UK want the hobby banned.  Archaeologists, or should I say some of them, want it banned.
Measures taken by such bodies have succeeded banning metal detecting in some countries, due in part to nighthawking and jealousy on the part of some archaeologists who don't like the idea that detectorists find more 'treasure' than they do.  All nighthawking does is fan the flames and adds weight to the 'ban metal detectoring' argument.

Here in the UK, at least 90% of finds recorded are found by detectorists.  What many don't realise, or prefer to ignore, is that without metal detectorists, a vast majority of finds would remain in the ground never to be found.  The majority of archaeological digs wouldn't take place if detectorists had not found and recorded an artefact of historical interest.  So why ban us?  You'd think that they would be actively encouraging us to get out and dig more!  But that is the subject of another post.

Back to nighthawkers....some don't get away with it...

WICKFORD: Two arrested in nighthawk investigation.

The men, two of whom are from Wickford, were detained on suspicion of 'nighthawking' or going equipped to steal from an historical site in Rendlesham, Suffolk, on Thursday.
Police were contacted just before midnight with reports of people with metal detectors on private land.
Suffolk County Council's archaeological officer Jude Plouviez said: "This site is in the middle of a very historically interesting area which is particularly rich with Anglo Saxon finds.
"The Deben Valley and its vicinity has produced some astonishing finds including the Sutton Hoo, which is a ship burial and includes lots of precious seventh century artifacts and outstanding art.

"That find was only a couple of miles away from this field.
"When items are removed from an archaeological site without being properly recorded, people are literally ripping the pages from the history books."
Last month English Heritage highlighted massive historical damage caused by nighthawkers pillaging sites before records had been made of finds.
Billericay Archaeological and Historical Society's secretary Doreen Whitaker said: "We've not had a problem with thefts from archaeological sites in this area.
"The society has not been too involved in recent digs.
"Developers and Essex County Council get professionals to carry out digs at newly discovered archaeological sites.
"But in the past we used to get a lot of help from people using metal detectors who would call if they found anything.
"Billericay and the surrounding area is very rich for archaeological artifacts with interesting Roman history.
"The society took part in a fascinating dig at Billericay School when Roman artifacts were found in the 1970s."
Five men, two 39-year-olds from Wickford, two 22-year-olds from the Thurrock area and a 54-year-old man from Barham in Suffolk, have been arrested.

Unfortunately, the punishment for committing such offences does nothing to deter nighthawkers.  We need stiffer penalties but this seems to be low down on the legal systems list of priorities.  In the meantime, we, the responsible detectorist, are the ones getting punished and, wrongly, find ourselves being tarred with the same brush.  For the sake of the hobby, this must change otherwise we will cast out and, quite likely, end up becoming those we hate just to satisfy our desire to unearth the history beneath our feet.