I feel there is more to this story.
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 1752472 Agreed.
There may have been recent break-ins or vandalism.
Besides, the "field adjacent to" the OP's house is obviously not the OP's property.
The children were on someone else's property, and the police officer had every right to ask them what they were doing there.
For all we know, the owner of the field may have complained about trespassers. Quoting: goodmockingbird dear God, did you really just say that children playing in the open field are trespassers?
Really. What world did you grow up in. Certainly not the one I grew up in, that I am 100% sure of.
My curfew was the porch light.
My parents called my name, not my cell.
I played outside with friends, not online. And we were allowed out to play without our parents being there. We were even allowed out of their sight from morning till night.
If I didn't eat what was cooked for dinner, then I didn't eat.
Sanitizer didn't exist, but you COULD get your mouth washed out with soap.
I rode a bike without a helmet,
Getting dirty was ok, and
Neighbors LOVED YOU as much as your parents did....and they showed it by reprimanding you just like they would.
You didn't want to go home if you knew the teacher was going to call because your parents were going to punish you much worse than what the school could do. And there were no explanations or excuses.
And we drank water from a garden hose and survived