+lookin4busstop Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 I was in the process of finding a cache, hidden behind a large van. The owner of the van was returning from a store, so I got in my car. When the van pulled away, behind it was a cop car parked diagonally across some parking spaces. Inside were two cops looking right at me. New to geocaching and scared half to death, I got out of there. Anyone else have any experiences like this or have any suggestions about what to do if questioned by the police? Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 If questioned, tell them what you are doing. Simple as that. Geocaching has indicators that hit several points on what suspicous behavor looks like. So do a lot of other things in life. Since you are caching and having a good time doing a family acitivty, there is no reason not to say "I'm caching". Quote Link to comment
+NorthWes Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 Who knows, they may have been waiting for the muggle (you) to leave! Renegade Knight says it right - if you're doing something legitimate, it's a great time to meet local law enforcement. You might be the first geocacher they meet... and you get to enlighten them! Been there & done that a few times, now... Quote Link to comment
+StarBrand Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 (edited) Always behave as though you were doing nothing wrong - mostly because you aren't. (or shouldn't be anyway) If questioned - always tell the truth. Carry a Geocaching Brochure with you: http://www.gpsmaze.com/uploads/files/GEOCACH_F2.pdf it helps to explains things. Finally - do what they tell you to do because no sense in causing trouble over a smiley. Edited February 11, 2008 by StarBrand Quote Link to comment
+JacobBarlow Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 I've had countless police/caching encounters and none have turned out bad, just be honest and all is well, many of those were while hiding caches and many more were while finding, one was me asking them to stop because the box they were about to blow up was my Geocache Quote Link to comment
+heebinator Posted February 11, 2008 Share Posted February 11, 2008 I was caching last year in Folly Beach,SC. There was a cache a a boat beside the road that the locals regularly paint. The current paint job was for the firemen that were killed last year in Charleston. There was a news crew filming it and I just told them that I was geocaching, so they wanted to know what it was. I was pulled off the the side of the road looking for the cache and a county Sheriff's Deputy pulled in behind me. Turns out he is a local geocacher too! So I got to talk to the deputy and the news crew for about 45 minutes. Quite a memorable cache! Quote Link to comment
+Langly Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Only three police stops caching in the last two months. The funniest one was when Dallas, TX PD told me to go cache in another city Mesquite, TX. The ironic part was I had been detained and patted down in Mesquite, TX a few weeks prior to that stop.. My favorite bonehead excuse for a police stop is we thought you were stealing copper from light poles. Quote Link to comment
+ArcherDragoon Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I had one drive by while I was searching in the countryside... ...He asked me if I found it yet...and if I wanted him to come back in 10 minutes in case I didn't find the cache!!! Quote Link to comment
WashoeZephyr Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Only three police stops caching in the last two months. The funniest one was when Dallas, TX PD told me to go cache in another city Mesquite, TX. The ironic part was I had been detained and patted down in Mesquite, TX a few weeks prior to that stop.. My favorite bonehead excuse for a police stop is we thought you were stealing copper from light poles. Hey, stealing copper must be the big excuse for cops checking out a situation. We had this happen to us recently! Once he saw three middle aged women and we described what we were doing, he was very nice. However, he wouldn't let us take our picture with him I thought for sure the cache would be gone soon after but its still there. Here is the link to the log. It was funny stuff! Quote Link to comment
+webscouter. Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I had a police officer pull behind my car and light up his lights while I was climbing a tree to retrieve a cache. When I got back to my car I started to explain to him about caching. After about 5 minutes he laughed and said he knew all about caching. I was signing the log for his cache. Turns out he is our reviewers brother. Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I have had two LEO encounters You night try running and screaming like a girl Quote Link to comment
+89SC Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 With 600 finds, I've only had one run in and that was with a prison guard. I've been questioned twice while hunting benchmarks, once with a deputy and the other was the FBI Police. All were very nice and let me continue after explaining what I was doing. I make sure I have paperwork and I keep a picture of a benchmark disk on my PDA. Quote Link to comment
+Phipps Family Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 My favorite bonehead excuse for a police stop is we thought you were stealing copper from light poles. I am a LEO, and geocacher, in a rural county in Ohio. Copper theft is not a "bonehead excuse." We have a large amount of that around here, and yes, they will take it off a live pole!! Quote Link to comment
+ventura_kids Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 With over 13000 finds, we've had many encounters. One of my favorites was in a college parking lot. As we entered the lot, we noticed a LEO parked about 50 yards from the cache site. We continued. The cache was hidden inside a parking lot sign, and was hooked to a string pulley system attached to a nice apple-sized rock. I picked up the rock and lifted it to about waist level, allowing the cache to be opened. After what seemed like eternity (remember....I'm standing 50 yards from the LEO with a big rock in my hand), the LEO yells over to me "Are we about to have a big problem?" Quote Link to comment
+tokencollector Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 My favorite bonehead excuse for a police stop is we thought you were stealing copper from light poles. I am a LEO, and geocacher, in a rural county in Ohio. Copper theft is not a "bonehead excuse." We have a large amount of that around here, and yes, they will take it off a live pole!! A friend who does utility electric work has related the same problem. It used to be that the ground wire was stapled every three feet. Now it is standard practice to staple it to the pole every 6" to 1'. People will still make the effort to cut the pieces off between the staples. Due to the rising cost of copper, people will steal it from almost anywhere. It's a problem that has been around for a while. About 20 years ago, the copper roof was stolen off a bank under construction nest to my wife's church! But, back to LEO encounters. I've had two. In the first case, I suspected that I'd get a visit from a cop cruising the neighborhood where I was cacheing. I did. As he pulled up, I waited in my car (it was winter) and explained to him what I was doing. He had heard of geocaching, asked if I found the cache (I did), then rolled off. The other encounter was more recent and slightly less pleasent but still not too bad. My son and I were hunting a cache near the enterance to a park at night. The LEO pulled up and asked to see the (nonexistant) pill bottle my son had stuffed in his pants pocket. While she was ordering him to empty his pockets and then reaching her hands into his pockets (without permission) he was explaining geocaching to her. When she figured out that she hadn't wandered up on a drug deal, she lost interest and told us to move along. My son, and I, were cooperative and told a consistent story which probably went a ways toward making the encounter smoother. Quote Link to comment
+PyrateWench Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Are there any rules/laws associated with Geocaching? Besides tresspassing on private property or some sort... I can see why a LEO would stop you for looking werid - but is there anything you can get arrested for? I don't see why there'd be anything wrong with geocaching - but some cop in a bad mood get you for leaving boxes unattended (it's not really littering) or suspicious mischief... etc.. etc? I can't think of good things - but I'm sure they can! I'd just like to know if you can get in trouble. I don't mind getting asked questions and then left alone - but I'm worried there's some hidden law that we could get in trouble while having harmless fun. Quote Link to comment
+Team Cotati Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 As a kid, like lots of guys, I wanted to be a cop. As an adult I had never had serious thoughts in that regard, up until right now. Quote Link to comment
+PhxChem Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) I'm just waiting for the news story (or movie plot line) where someone is using geocaching to cover up a crime or deflect attention from illegal activities. Not to give anyone any ideas.....or anything. Hey maybe THAT topic deserves it's own thread (without a proper search before hand). Just kidding, of course. Geocaching....you look like a crack dealer stealing copper wire!!! Edited February 12, 2008 by PhxChem Quote Link to comment
+Peconic Bay Sailors Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 We went down a dirt road one time... Found a cache that was by an old, but still active hunting cabin... Continued down the dirt road for next cache... about 2 miles... and came upon a gated fence... parked and went for the cache... when we got back to the car, there was a Park Police Car there waiting for us on the other side of the fence... apparently we had entered a park (there were no signs)... He said "you are on the wrong side of the fence and not allowed to be there"... We explained what we had done, and he issued us a warning... No ticket... but a slap on the wrist... BTW... this was before we had good mapping software available... now it is easier to see the boundaries.... Quote Link to comment
+PyrateWench Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 "I'd rather be in a boat with a drink on the rocks, than on the rocks with a boat down the drink." - Me I like your quote! Quote Link to comment
+Peconic Bay Sailors Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) We do have one cache that apparently is in a popular drinking & party spot for HS students... A few cachers have said they get stopped by the local Police asking why they were there... (it's also a popular fishing sopt, so I don't understand the scrutany)... BUT... a couple (of finders) have said that they have a natural compulsion to "lie" about why they were there? rather than explain that they are Geocaching... We have since called the local Police and told them there is a cache there... No logs concerning Police since then... (it's a small town)... Edited February 12, 2008 by Peconic Bay Sailors Quote Link to comment
+BCandMsKitty Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 You need to relax, folks! The police are generally just doing their job! Think about it .. if you weren't a cacher, and someone was prowling around near you, either in the day, or worse, at night, you would certianly be glad for a police officer then! Just be honest and truthful about your activities, and most times you won't come to grief. I know this as a former Ontario Provincial Police Officer, and a current Correctional Officer. Certainly you will sometimes get one that likes to power trip, but they are generally the exception rather than the rule. Look at it from the point of view of the officers. There is someone lurking about, looking over their shoulder to see if anyone is watching them! A police officer will just naturally want to know what they are up to, and so they should! Whatever you do ... don't lie! Quote Link to comment
+Peconic Bay Sailors Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) You need to relax, folks! The police are generally just doing their job! Think about it .. if you weren't a cacher, and someone was prowling around near you, either in the day, or worse, at night, you would certianly be glad for a police officer then! Just be honest and truthful about your activities, and most times you won't come to grief. I know this as a former Ontario Provincial Police Officer, and a current Correctional Officer. Certainly you will sometimes get one that likes to power trip, but they are generally the exception rather than the rule. Look at it from the point of view of the officers. There is someone lurking about, looking over their shoulder to see if anyone is watching them! A police officer will just naturally want to know what they are up to, and so they should! Whatever you do ... don't lie! I have to agree... we have had a few other encounters with Police... They generally understand, after we explained... and a few have either been Geocachers or have become Geocachers after talking to us... even had a couple help to find the cache... One in Upstate NY had already found the cache and watched us find this particularly difficult cache... and laughed at our first attempts and assumptions... His partner had never heard of Geocaching before, but said he & his kids would love to participate... Edited February 12, 2008 by Peconic Bay Sailors Quote Link to comment
+KRnlKilR Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 A buddy and I were once searching bushes and trees around an empty parking lot looking for an urban micro, when a black SUV with dark tinted windows pulled up beside us. The driver rolled the window down about half way, held up a badge, and ask us if we were searching for something his dog could help us find. He was DEA! Explaining to him what we were doing, we did ask if we could borrow his dog, but he declined. The next thing we know, he is out of his vehicle, down on his hands and knees, helping us search for the cache. We really wanted to find this cache so we could verify our story, but we DNF'd. We thanked him for his help, and told him we would be watching for his log on GC, but alas, we've seen nothing yet. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) Most of the time I avoid caches in the kinds of places where the police may be on the prowl. We did have one incident when we were going after a cache in a salt marsh that was adjacent to the Garden State Parkway. It's illegal to walk on the the GSP and we were about 50 yards from the highway. A state trooper rolled up, called us over and warned us not to walk on the highway. Little did he know that we had minutes earlier used the highway bridge to cross a river. He he he he. Another time at a rest stop on Rt 80 I was certain we were going to get questioned. A state trooper pulled up and was watching us intently as we searched in a storm drain and around some nearby picnic tables. Then he just pulled away without saying a thing. Edited February 12, 2008 by briansnat Quote Link to comment
+Knight2000 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 It happens. Nothing to get worried about though. Do what we did, place a cache at the police station. Then more cachers can get hassled by LEO. haha. Be glad that they are watching or asking questions. (I just hope they don't have a problem with my ASP. ) Quote Link to comment
+steve p Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 We went down a dirt road one time...Found a cache that was by an old, but still active hunting cabin... Continued down the dirt road for next cache... about 2 miles... and came upon a gated fence... parked and went for the cache... when we got back to the car, there was a Park Police Car there waiting for us on the other side of the fence... apparently we had entered a park (there were no signs)... He said "you are on the wrong side of the fence and not allowed to be there"... We explained what we had done, and he issued us a warning... No ticket... but a slap on the wrist... Why were people not allowed to enter a park? Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 My favorite bonehead excuse for a police stop is we thought you were stealing copper from light poles. I am a LEO, and geocacher, in a rural county in Ohio. Copper theft is not a "bonehead excuse." We have a large amount of that around here, and yes, they will take it off a live pole!! It's a growing problem and the theives can be quite brazen. Quote Link to comment
+Driver Carries Cache Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 If you're searching for a roadside cache, you might very well have the Highway Patrol stop to see if you're broke down (at least they do here in California). Once we were stopped in a big pullout on the side of a road in Napa Valley searching a big pile of rocks when a Sheriff pulled up and just sat in his car. We kept looking, and he just sat in the car sipping a cup of coffee. When we finally gave up (DNF) and headed back to our car he finally got out and came over. He said he didn't think we were doing anything wrong, he was just curious why anyone would spend their time sorting through a rockpile on the side of a road. He thought the whole thing was funny. DCC Quote Link to comment
+Peconic Bay Sailors Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) We went down a dirt road one time...Found a cache that was by an old, but still active hunting cabin... Continued down the dirt road for next cache... about 2 miles... and came upon a gated fence... parked and went for the cache... when we got back to the car, there was a Park Police Car there waiting for us on the other side of the fence... apparently we had entered a park (there were no signs)... He said "you are on the wrong side of the fence and not allowed to be there"... We explained what we had done, and he issued us a warning... No ticket... but a slap on the wrist... Why were people not allowed to enter a park? Not allowed in a vehicle in that particular place... we back doored it... and there were no signs saying we were entering the park... on the dirt road we were on... Edited February 13, 2008 by Peconic Bay Sailors Quote Link to comment
+W8TTS Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I've only had two encounters with L.E.O.'s. The first isn't worth mentioning. But, the second was funny. I was out caching with two friends, N8LGP and AK8B, and we were in Berea, Ohio. I was looking for a cache that they had already found and was laying prone on the side walk looking under a traffic light stanchion for the cache. My two "friends" were laughing their heads off. I looked up and there was an officer, in his car, sitting at the traffic light just looking at me. I got up, and said, "I'm geocaching and there's supposed to be a cache under there." He just shook his head and drove away. I guess, since there's a college campus right there, they're use to seeing strange things. Quote Link to comment
+JonInNH1 Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I was in the process of finding a cache, hidden behind a large van. The owner of the van was returning from a store, so I got in my car. When the van pulled away, behind it was a cop car parked diagonally across some parking spaces. Inside were two cops looking right at me. New to geocaching and scared half to death, I got out of there. Anyone else have any experiences like this or have any suggestions about what to do if questioned by the police? One time I had just arrived at a small empty playground at lunch time during the week looking for a nano. I was just sitting on a bench thinking of where to look when I noticed a LEO walking over. Apparently he had just started an assigned walking root next to the park. He asked what I was doing, fair enough, and I explained. He even seemed interested, yet he still asked for ID. That is the part that I don't understand and kind of annoyed me. He was nice enough however and continued on his way. I was totally frazzled by the encounter and had to come back another time. Quote Link to comment
+NYPaddleCacher Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Most of the time I avoid caches in the kinds of places where the police may be on the prowl. I've been stopped twice by a LEO while searching for a cache but I've also given up searching for a cache because it was in an area in which someone wandering around searching for something would just seem too suspicious. In one case, it was near the loading dock (behind the store) of large retail chain. I could just imagine a 'highly trained" security officer at the store monitoring the security cameras and dialing the local police to report someone lurking behind their building. Then there is the puzzle cache very close to where I live for which I knew what I would be searching for. I figured that there could only be so many places where it would be hidden so I went off to find it without solving the puzzle since the listing said the cache was "near" the published coordinates. I soon discovered that the published coordinates were right in the middle of a building which, as it turns out, is a womens residence hall for the local university. It was probably not the best place for a 50 something old man carrying a device that somewhat resembles a digital camera to hang around. The first time I was stopped by a LEO was just after I replaced the cache in a stone park bench and turned around to see a cop car pull in and stop. The first thing he said was "what were you hiding over there?". After explaining geocaching, and showing the icon for the cache that was located under the park bench about 50' away I was good to go. Quote Link to comment
+Shawn&Holly Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 Most recent for myself was at the end of vacation last year while trying for day 27 on a find streak Log for RoadRunner 9:30PM at a Gazebo right beside parking during the President Cup, might not have been the best time to go caching with an 18month old. I actually would have been disappointed if the 2 (cute) officers did not question me, sending 2 officers to my wife's workplace to confirm my story was funny (she has a sense of humor about it, her co-workers were a little more concerned). We did return later that night after my wife was off work and did find where the cache should have been, but someone replaced the cache container with a stick, thus ending our find streak with an interesting story. Quote Link to comment
+Langly Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 My favorite bonehead excuse for a police stop is we thought you were stealing copper from light poles. I am a LEO, and geocacher, in a rural county in Ohio. Copper theft is not a "bonehead excuse." We have a large amount of that around here, and yes, they will take it off a live pole!! I'm sure copper theft is a real problem in your area. It may be in the Dallas area but how much copper can one get out of live 50KV 4 ton transformer before it knocks a thief into orbit? The other laughable thought was the notion I was going to get a transformer that weighed twice as much as my Honda into my Honda. My point is the police in this area use the copper theft excuse and you looked suspicious for stops even if you are standing a parking lot or driving down the road not even in a park. Really how much copper can one get in a Honda for petes sake? I'm sure I'd rather talk with the Ohio police rather than the rude police I've met in my area. My favorite police quote was from the Coppell police explaining a resident had seen us standing under a lamp post a night in a dark park. Cracked me up. Maybe he meant the rest of the park was dark not under the lamp post? Quote Link to comment
+Team Cotati Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 (edited) Most of the time I avoid caches in the kinds of places where the police may be on the prowl. We did have one incident when we were going after a cache in a salt marsh that was adjacent to the Garden State Parkway. It's illegal to walk on the the GSP and we were about 50 yards from the highway. A state trooper rolled up, called us over and warned us not to walk on the highway. Little did he know that we had minutes earlier used the highway bridge to cross a river. He he he he. Another time at a rest stop on Rt 80 I was certain we were going to get questioned. A state trooper pulled up and was watching us intently as we searched in a storm drain and around some nearby picnic tables. Then he just pulled away without saying a thing. Nothing in life quite as rewarding and exciting as pulling one over, so to speak, on the state cops, is there? I have had a couple of interactions with the cops during my geocaching adventures. They asked me what I was doing, I answered the question. And oh yeah, there was one other interaction. The cops asked me what I was doing. I answered their question. They told me that I should not be in the location. I told them that I was not aware of that. I left the location. Edited February 12, 2008 by Team Cotati Quote Link to comment
+BASSETSLAVE Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 It happens. Nothing to get worried about though. Do what we did, place a cache at the police station. Then more cachers can get hassled by LEO. haha. Be glad that they are watching or asking questions. (I just hope they don't have a problem with my ASP. ) Tried to set one near our local police station, even quoted the Bad Boys Bad Boys song. Local Reviewer said that this cache was a no no. Quote Link to comment
+Merge! Posted February 12, 2008 Share Posted February 12, 2008 I got stopped trying to place a cache late at night, walking home, after hanging out with some friends. I was completely honest, and just told them what I was doing. They were convinced I was trying to urinate! They shined their flashlight, and saw that I wasn't. Strangely, they didn't even check the container that I had to see what was in it. And this was in NYC. Guess I got lucky. Quote Link to comment
+Peconic Bay Sailors Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 (edited) We went down a dirt road one time...Found a cache that was by an old, but still active hunting cabin... Continued down the dirt road for next cache... about 2 miles... and came upon a gated fence... parked and went for the cache... when we got back to the car, there was a Park Police Car there waiting for us on the other side of the fence... apparently we had entered a park (there were no signs)... He said "you are on the wrong side of the fence and not allowed to be there"... We explained what we had done, and he issued us a warning... No ticket... but a slap on the wrist... Why were people not allowed to enter a park? The gate was there to prevent people in the park from driving onto the dirt road... we came in from the opposite direction and had not realized we had entered the park... we thought we were on the edge of the park... it's not marked from the direction we came in... when I say a "dirt road", it is only passable with a 4x4... thru 12-16" of water and mud in a lot of places... more like a logging road... you wouldn't make it any where near as far as we did in an Accord... Edited February 13, 2008 by Peconic Bay Sailors Quote Link to comment
+rhelt100 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I have had too many run-ins with the police to even remember. The most recent one was last week. I was staying in the Philadelphia area on business and managed to get down to the city one night to claim a find in the county. Another cacher and I found that the coordinates were pointing us to a parking garage so, after groaning, we drove to the top to nail down the coordinates. Surprise, right at the top corner of the parking garage were two police cars. What I did (and what I'd suggest everybody should do in this type of situation) is to walk directly over to the closest police car and notify the officer that I was up here to geocache. The first man I talked to had no idea what I was talking about and yelled to the other car "Do you know what a geocaching is?" The second officer had heard of it and he stuck around to watch us hunt for it. He followed us from floor to floor and, strangely enough, he was the one that spotted the cache from his car. LOL. Before we replaced the cache, he asked to see the log and he branded it with "Officer [somebody] - Don't Do Drugs". Quite an interesting encounter. Quote Link to comment
+Scooby Westin Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 On a Saturday afternoon, we were caching around a very large church that sits next to a bike path. The entrance to the church parking lot is a wide bridge over the path and a river bed and it appears that the cache could be on or under the bridge. We crossed and intersection 2 or 3 times, trying to get a good reading and ended up looking under a lamp skirt. Finding nothing, we headed back across the intersection to get to the walkway to the bike path. As we rounded the corner, an office drove toward us from the church, exited his car and asked what we were doing. I told him geocaching, which he seemed to recognize. He told us that the president's daughter was speaking at the church and that we had been spotted by snipers. Needless to say, we moved to another cache. Quote Link to comment
+KRnlKilR Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 <SNIP> Before we replaced the cache, he asked to see the log and he branded it with "Officer [somebody] - Don't Do Drugs". Quite an interesting encounter. That's great! I wish all cops were that friendly. Quote Link to comment
+Zop Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 Yup! Just a few days into my being a cahcer I had to explain myself and the sport to a local rookie LEO. She thought I was crazy but came around when her FTO explained the hobby in further detail. Since then, I've had numerous encounters with LEO's and have even cached with one. I think my favorite encounter was when I pulled up to two who were taking a break in a parking lot and explained to them first that I was going to look real suspicious while I searched for a cache. They were very curious as you can imagine! Again though, one of them had heard of caching and even knows another LEO who is a cacher - the same one I have cached with. Personally, I would much rather have a LEO show up and question me than run into some of the gang members who stalk our local parks. Quote Link to comment
+Team Cotati Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 It happens. Nothing to get worried about though. Do what we did, place a cache at the police station. Then more cachers can get hassled by LEO. haha. Be glad that they are watching or asking questions. (I just hope they don't have a problem with my ASP. ) Tried to set one near our local police station, even quoted the Bad Boys Bad Boys song. Local Reviewer said that this cache was a no no. You quoted the bad boys song and they STILL said that your cache was a no no? That right there I can't hardly believe. Quote Link to comment
+The finch farmers Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 IT was getting dark and we were not far from the road when LE showed up. They had a report of some shady looking people in the woods so they stopped by for a chat. All is well after I told him that I was in fact an upstanding citizen and was using multi million dollar military satellites to hunt for plastic army men. He laughed and said ah cachers. He took a quick look at the palm said cool and good luck. Just be truthful and you should not have problems. Quote Link to comment
+JPD252 Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 My favorite bonehead excuse for a police stop is we thought you were stealing copper from light poles. I am a LEO, and geocacher, in a rural county in Ohio. Copper theft is not a "bonehead excuse." We have a large amount of that around here, and yes, they will take it off a live pole!! I'm sure copper theft is a real problem in your area. It may be in the Dallas area but how much copper can one get out of live 50KV 4 ton transformer before it knocks a thief into orbit? The other laughable thought was the notion I was going to get a transformer that weighed twice as much as my Honda into my Honda. My point is the police in this area use the copper theft excuse and you looked suspicious for stops even if you are standing a parking lot or driving down the road not even in a park. Really how much copper can one get in a Honda for petes sake? I'm sure I'd rather talk with the Ohio police rather than the rude police I've met in my area. My favorite police quote was from the Coppell police explaining a resident had seen us standing under a lamp post a night in a dark park. Cracked me up. Maybe he meant the rest of the park was dark not under the lamp post? Just be truthful when approached by police. Most have heard of Geocaching, know somebody that does cache or does it themselves. If not, enlighten them. And as stated above copper theft is a nationwide problem. People will remove copper wire not a 50KV 4 ton transformer while live. A few of the more intelligence lacking thieves have even died while climbing the pole with their saws. And you say about being suspicious standing by a lamp post. The theft of actual light poles are a problem also. Just read this acrticle for instance. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/25/national/25metal.html Just to show how bad copper theft is, read this article. I'm from a city no where near the size of Dallas and look how much value of the copper these people took. http://www.tribune-democrat.com/local/loca..._275214858.html As for looking for any reason to stop you...maybe you're in a high crime area, maybe the parking lot you hang in has a lot of vehicles broken into. I'm sure there are various reasons for the police in you specific area to be aggressive but that's their job. Quote Link to comment
+Pudn Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 As a LEOCacher myself, I have to agree with what I've seen. Just be honest. The second thing I can recommend is to have some sort of literature about Geocaching. Dope dealers do some of their "drops" in locations that would be ideal for Geocaches. You can simply print off the Geocaching Brochure and tuck it away with your other cache stuff. I actually have a copy of it, that I carry in my pack. Later, Pudn Quote Link to comment
phantomcachers Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 We're pretty new to caching, just started in December but we did have two encounters in one day actually. The first one a police officer drove by as we were climbing a tree on the side of a relatively busy road. He turned around, pulled up on the curb and called from his car "Get out of the tree before I shoot you down" When he got out of the car and we explained what we were doing he really couldn't care less. He told us to take "whatever it is" with us and make sure to tell everyone on "our little site" that it was gone. Really not a nice guy. (We went back the next night and put the cache back..oops) The next cache we went to I was laying on the ground looking up in bushes and a patrol car pulls up and over the loud speaker I hear "Hey you in the bushes, you ok?" I simply sat up and gave them the thumbs up then got up and went over to the car. I explained what we were doing and they were totally cool about it. They kept going "Did you check the pipe?? Did you check..." and to sum it up they said "So you're looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack?" then they wished us luck and drove off So, we've had both good and not so good experiences but really I just kind of laugh when I see an officer looking at me funny while I'm caching..and we have since started carrying brochures with us Quote Link to comment
+Okiebryan Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 (edited) He turned around, pulled up on the curb and called from his car "Get out of the tree before I shoot you down" When he got out of the car and we explained what we were doing he really couldn't care less. He told us to take "whatever it is" with us and make sure to tell everyone on "our little site" that it was gone. Really not a nice guy. That right there is why I hate cops as a rule. Yes, there ARE exceptions. But most cops seem to think because they don't understand something, then it must be wrong. Or that there is nothing that falls into the category of "none of their business". There is actually quite a bit that falls into that category. I honestly feel that I should not have to talk to anybody who I choose not to. If they have no evidence of wrongdoing, just suspicions, I feel that they should gather evidence and leave me alone in the meantime. But that's just me. I have been so tempted, when questioned by a LEO, to just answer all their questions with a question. "Do you have reasonable suspicion that a crime is being or has been committed?" "Am I lawfully required to answer your questions?" "Am I free to go?" But I don't. I'm afraid of them. So I just bite my lip, say yes, sir, and drive away hating cops more than I did before the encounter. Don't EVEN get me started about cops that stop motorcycles with ZERO probable cause. I knew I should have stayed out of this thread. Edited to add: "Pulled up onto the curb" I just love it when LEOs do things that he would give you a ticket for. Don't they realize that they destroy any respect that civilians have for them when they disregard the laws they are paid to enforce? Yes, I should have stayed out of this thread.... Edited February 13, 2008 by Okiebryan Quote Link to comment
+Okiebryan Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 As a LEOCacher myself, I have to agree with what I've seen. Just be honest. The second thing I can recommend is to have some sort of literature about Geocaching. Dope dealers do some of their "drops" in locations that would be ideal for Geocaches. You can simply print off the Geocaching Brochure and tuck it away with your other cache stuff. I actually have a copy of it, that I carry in my pack. Later, Pudn You should have to PROVE cachers are doing something wrong rather than expecting cachers to PROVE they are not. Saturday night, we were LEGALLY in a public park at 7PM looking over a Korean War Era tracked artillery micro hide. Myself, wife, kids. Up come the cops. I basically ignore them. They ask, is everything ok? I reply "yes" but don't look at them, keep searching this thing. One of them tells me they got a call that there was someone in the park with FLASHLIGHTS! Oh the horror, the terror, what's next? I just said "Nothing wrong going on here" and they left. I don't feel any encounter with LEO is a good one, but that was the best I've had in a long time. I should NOT have to explain to a cop what I'm doing unless he has reasonable belief that a crime is being or has been committed. A happy family in a public park within the posted hours looking over a publicly owned monument may be odd, but it's not reasonable suspicion of a crime. It's actually none of their business. Quote Link to comment
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