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Bomb scare Wetherby over internet treasure hunt box


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I have a few urban hides at interesting sites in Brighton. Makes me wonder if i should archive them...or at least should there be a requirement to get permission from the local police force as well as the land owner??

 

The requirement that you tick when you publish the cache is that the cache has "adequate permission", so if you think that in your case "adequate" includes getting permission from the Police then you should do it without being explicitly told to do so. As for geocaching as a whole, then the Police are soon going to get bored of being asked for permission for a plastic box in the middle of the moors, or half way up mountains so I don't think that's necessary at all.

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Aww i feel for the cacher big time! I remember someone saying you can place a cache almost anyway as long as you have the landowners permission. I believe there shouldnt be a cache anywhere near an airport (most airports have plenty of fields around them so for all the TB hotels id expect them to be the correct distance away! (i no Leeds Bradford has a TB hotel and thats not near the actual airport building or runway!

 

We all have to remember that our Terrorism alert is still at 5 (so i believe) So i can imagin if people still dont no about geocaching then someone looking around and actin with decent stelth it will look abit dodgy to the uneducated eye! I think even if your going to place a cache on the side of the farmers field and he has agreed permission, id say look around....if you do see a coffee shop or a bookies or something just go in and let them know that people over in that direction will be acting strangly and also write down the link to the website just so there up to date with whats going on!

 

I think we should find someone to design a patch or a badge that we can all carry on our rucksacks or maybe just a mini printed out card, if anyone was to come up to me id have no problem showing them my geocaching patches i have on my new rucksack....also i carry information about what geocaching actually is.....I think its better to be safe than sorry (plus ive been bailed out once by my dad and i wouldnt want to see that face again EVER) (Cant even take beer anymore....jade has to go cause a public disturbance by joing a group of ppl on a wheely bin to go through the maccys drive through :S )

 

Well i think ive rambled on enough (dont even no if it makes any sence) I hope it doesnt put the cacher off. I think he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time....I do wonder how the police and bomb squad would have gone about it if itd have been him and his young child.......something to think about?!?!

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Well now i am ashamed to live in Wetherby with its heavy handed police force. I just feel so sorry for the cacher made to feel like a criminal for just finding a cache and replacing where he found it.

To say I am gobsmacked at the Police's reaction is an understatement. I guess theyre not aware that the metropolitan Police allow geocaches in Whitehall, a somewhat higher profile place than sleepy little old Wetherby link

So at the moment it looks like you can hide a cache in London but not in Wetherby.

Yes I know theres always the terrorist threat at the back of peoples minds, but we cant stop doing things just because there may be a remote threat. If we stopped doing things that may be a target (and i still dont see Wetherby being one) then no-one would get on an airplace or a bus or visit london ever again. We have to get on with things.

I have 3 caches in Wetherby and have been asked via the owner of the Wetherby Shambles cache to remove these. I have disabled for now, in the hope we can get things resolved. One of my caches "Trev's cache" was already disabled, having been found for the second time by local kids and trashed! I was in the process of making a new container that doesnt look anything like a cache, so even if they saw people behaving suspiciously and went to look, they wouldnt recognise it for what it is. I guess I'll have to wait now to see whether Wetherby is a no-go area for caching.

my "mind the twigs" cache has been logged 106 times since I placed it. Its hidden down by the river in a very pretty spot. wetherby traders are unhappy at the moment about plans for a new supermarket on the edge of town, which they think will stop people coming into town. I wonder how many of the 106 cachers wouldnt have come into Wetherby without my cache and other caches being here?

Well I guess I need to have a word with the Police, but I think I'll see what wetherby Council's take on this is first.

I wonder whether Harrogate Police have the same view as Wetherby police?. Will they arrest us if we find the elusive caches in the middle of harrogate, that we still havent managed to find yet. Or all the others in every town centre in the Country.

Its a sad day for caching if we run the threat of being arrested for playing the game.

Oh and what happens to the kids at Boston Spa School if they find the caches placed by their teachers (BBS1 "This is one of a range of caches planted by Boston Spa School (PE Staff CL/SS). The caches are used by the school during curriculum time and in the extended curriculum.")

I think also that its a bit of a worry that the Police dont know whats going on in the area. I understand that Geocaching is the fastest growing hobby.

Not very far away in York, the local press did an article on the geocaches on the City Walls Lets hope York Police read the newspaper!

Edited by Ubernoobs
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Harrogate police are fully aware of caching.

There are 2 high profile targets nearby, for the 2008 Mega we made them aware there would be 1000 people acting suspiciously and they were fine with it.

 

Excellent! We can carry on with our plans for the ones we want do there then!

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Well now i am ashamed to live in Wetherby with its heavy handed police force. I just feel so sorry for the cacher made to feel like a criminal for just finding a cache and replacing where he found it.

To say I am gobsmacked at the Police's reaction is an understatement. I guess theyre not aware that the metropolitan Police allow geocaches in Whitehall, a somewhat higher profile place than sleepy little old Wetherby link

So at the moment it looks like you can hide a cache in London but not in Wetherby.

Yes I know theres always the terrorist threat at the back of peoples minds, but we cant stop doing things just because there may be a remote threat. If we stopped doing things that may be a target (and i still dont see Wetherby being one) then no-one would get on an airplace or a bus or visit london ever again. We have to get on with things.

I have 3 caches in Wetherby and have been asked via the owner of the Wetherby Shambles cache to remove these. I have disabled for now, in the hope we can get things resolved. One of my caches "Trev's cache" was already disabled, having been found for the second time by local kids and trashed! I was in the process of making a new container that doesnt look anything like a cache, so even if they saw people behaving suspiciously and went to look, they wouldnt recognise it for what it is. I guess I'll have to wait now to see whether Wetherby is a no-go area for caching.

my "mind the twigs" cache has been logged 106 times since I placed it. Its hidden down by the river in a very pretty spot. wetherby traders are unhappy at the moment about plans for a new supermarket on the edge of town, which they think will stop people coming into town. I wonder how many of the 106 cachers wouldnt have come into Wetherby without my cache and other caches being here?

Well I guess I need to have a word with the Police, but I think I'll see what wetherby Council's take on this is first.

I wonder whether Harrogate Police have the same view as Wetherby police?. Will they arrest us if we find the elusive caches in the middle of harrogate, that we still havent managed to find yet. Or all the others in every town centre in the Country.

Its a sad day for caching if we run the threat of being arrested for playing the game.

Oh and what happens to the kids at Boston Spa School if they find the caches placed by their teachers (BBS1 "This is one of a range of caches planted by Boston Spa School (PE Staff CL/SS). The caches are used by the school during curriculum time and in the extended curriculum.")

I think also that its a bit of a worry that the Police dont know whats going on in the area. I understand that Geocaching is the fastest growing hobby.

Not very far away in York, the local press did an article on the geocaches on the City Walls Lets hope York Police read the newspaper!

Maybe a joint visit / enquiry? PM sent. :(

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Another thought that springs to mind, did the cacher explain caching at the scene / when stopped. Having been in the same situation a couple of times myself it certainly stops all the rest of the fuss. If they had gone beyond that before they caught up with him then someone in the police would need to justify their reaction and the disruption they had caused.

It's officially not a blame culture in West Yorkshire Police... honest.... <_< .

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Another thought that springs to mind, did the cacher explain caching at the scene / when stopped. Having been in the same situation a couple of times myself it certainly stops all the rest of the fuss. If they had gone beyond that before they caught up with him then someone in the police would need to justify their reaction and the disruption they had caused.

It's officially not a blame culture in West Yorkshire Police... honest.... <_< .

 

But if one day,

 

"Police take at face value that the suspicious looking container is a Geocache with just harmless contents in it .The person telling the police it is a Geocache opens it in their prsence .

Three killed .One was the person the other two were the police ".

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Hello.. I am a BBC journalist living in the Wetherby area and I am planning to do a follow up on what happened. But I need someone from the geocaching community to speak to me on camera about how they feel about the events of last Friday. I am filming in Wetherby later today and tomorrow. Please contact me danny.savage@bbc.co.uk I geocache too but I need an independent voice to put it in to context. Come on geocachers ,this is your chance to put your side of the issue! Danny

 

Well now i am ashamed to live in Wetherby with its heavy handed police force. I just feel so sorry for the cacher made to feel like a criminal for just finding a cache and replacing where he found it.

To say I am gobsmacked at the Police's reaction is an understatement. I guess theyre not aware that the metropolitan Police allow geocaches in Whitehall, a somewhat higher profile place than sleepy little old Wetherby link

So at the moment it looks like you can hide a cache in London but not in Wetherby.

Yes I know theres always the terrorist threat at the back of peoples minds, but we cant stop doing things just because there may be a remote threat. If we stopped doing things that may be a target (and i still dont see Wetherby being one) then no-one would get on an airplace or a bus or visit london ever again. We have to get on with things.

I have 3 caches in Wetherby and have been asked via the owner of the Wetherby Shambles cache to remove these. I have disabled for now, in the hope we can get things resolved. One of my caches "Trev's cache" was already disabled, having been found for the second time by local kids and trashed! I was in the process of making a new container that doesnt look anything like a cache, so even if they saw people behaving suspiciously and went to look, they wouldnt recognise it for what it is. I guess I'll have to wait now to see whether Wetherby is a no-go area for caching.

my "mind the twigs" cache has been logged 106 times since I placed it. Its hidden down by the river in a very pretty spot. wetherby traders are unhappy at the moment about plans for a new supermarket on the edge of town, which they think will stop people coming into town. I wonder how many of the 106 cachers wouldnt have come into Wetherby without my cache and other caches being here?

Well I guess I need to have a word with the Police, but I think I'll see what wetherby Council's take on this is first.

I wonder whether Harrogate Police have the same view as Wetherby police?. Will they arrest us if we find the elusive caches in the middle of harrogate, that we still havent managed to find yet. Or all the others in every town centre in the Country.

Its a sad day for caching if we run the threat of being arrested for playing the game.

Oh and what happens to the kids at Boston Spa School if they find the caches placed by their teachers (BBS1 "This is one of a range of caches planted by Boston Spa School (PE Staff CL/SS). The caches are used by the school during curriculum time and in the extended curriculum.")

I think also that its a bit of a worry that the Police dont know whats going on in the area. I understand that Geocaching is the fastest growing hobby.

Not very far away in York, the local press did an article on the geocaches on the City Walls Lets hope York Police read the newspaper!

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Hello everyone... I am a BBC journalist living in the Wetherby area and I am following up the events from Friday. I need a geocacher to talk to me on camera (for BBC Television) about what happened and their concerns. I am filming in Wetherby today and tomorrow. I geocache myself but need an independent voice. Plenty of opinions here but need someone to come and do an interview. Ideally someone from the area. I know it's a geocache , I have no interest in 'outing' the person who placed the cache or the person arrested, although if they would talk that would be good. But I need someone (or two or three people)to stand up for geocaching. It's much better to have a real person rather than me having to paraphrase what's been said on the forum.

Was it an over-reaction? Should cache's be labelled or those nearby made more aware of them?? Much obliged - Danny ( danny.savage@bbc.co.uk)

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Hello everyone... I am a BBC journalist living in the Wetherby area and I am following up the events from Friday. I need a geocacher to talk to me on camera (for BBC Television) about what happened and their concerns. I am filming in Wetherby today and tomorrow. I geocache myself but need an independent voice. Plenty of opinions here but need someone to come and do an interview. Ideally someone from the area. I know it's a geocache , I have no interest in 'outing' the person who placed the cache or the person arrested, although if they would talk that would be good. But I need someone (or two or three people)to stand up for geocaching. It's much better to have a real person rather than me having to paraphrase what's been said on the forum.

Was it an over-reaction? Should cache's be labelled or those nearby made more aware of them?? Much obliged - Danny ( danny.savage@bbc.co.uk)

Quality, the perfect response to the recent happenings!

I hope someone local takes up your offer

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A couple of sensible things do spring to my mind (many none sensible but nevermind).

 

Love the idea from the Met Police about taking a photo of the container. But where to store it so it's not seen by all cachers? Perhaps in the original log to the reviewers so that it's available in the archives? Or could this be an added feature to the site? Perhaps this would mean people would have to stop replacing caches even if they are only being helpful.

 

There's a very difficult balance between placing a cache so that it's difficult to find (inthe shape of a stone or taped up so that it doesn't reflect light easily) but really liked the post about particularly in urban areas. Perhaps the rules on GC could be expanded so that you have to indicate if urban or rural and be tied to more rules depending on the location. Nanos and micros are unlikely to be confused with a bomb but then you are more likely to cause suspition when searching. Not that I want GC to be a "Nanny" site but ... .

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Hello everyone... I am a BBC journalist living in the Wetherby area and I am following up the events from Friday. I need a geocacher to talk to me on camera (for BBC Television) about what happened and their concerns. I am filming in Wetherby today and tomorrow. I geocache myself but need an independent voice. Plenty of opinions here but need someone to come and do an interview. Ideally someone from the area. I know it's a geocache , I have no interest in 'outing' the person who placed the cache or the person arrested, although if they would talk that would be good. But I need someone (or two or three people)to stand up for geocaching. It's much better to have a real person rather than me having to paraphrase what's been said on the forum.

Was it an over-reaction? Should cache's be labelled or those nearby made more aware of them?? Much obliged - Danny ( danny.savage@bbc.co.uk)

 

I can't help out I'm afraid but I have copied your request onto the Yorkshire Forum as well.

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I hate to say it, but the public nuisance argument seems to hold water. If I walk up and down a few times looking over my shoulder and then seem to hide a small container in a town centre and a bomb scare follows, could I not quite reasonably be charged with causing the public nuisance? This has certainly made me have second thoughts about hunting for urban caches.

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A lot of photographers -especially those working in London- started wearing badges with:

phnat-logo-black-on-white-212x300.png

 

Maybe we need a "I'm a Geocacher, not a terrorist" badge... :unsure:

 

^^ The right idea ^^

 

It's well documented that amateur photographers have had numerous problems with local police forces all over the country and the Met in the name of terrorism - leading recently to a popular photography magazine even giving away a free gift cleaning cloth with printed statements of rights to show police if stopped - I have one.

 

Good citizens obviously want to cooperate with the police fully, but at the same time we all need to be aware of our rights when dealing the 'bad apples'. I think it would be socially responsible of Groundspeak to take example from photographers and perhaps put together a page of rights for Geocachers stopped by police. So that in the event we are cooperative yet still treated badly that we are able to handle the situation with full knowledge of our rights and responsibilities.

 

As others have mentioned, what was the geocacher who was arrested charged with? Why should he be charged? I think this is an ignorance of the law on both sides (geocacher and police) rather than a case of the act of geocaching being in some way illegal. I know I would have happily gone to court rather than face a bogus fine and caution. But sometimes going to court itself is presented as a threat, rather than a place to have your voice heard and defend charges against yourself.

 

I speak as someone who has experience of working alongside the police on a voluntary basis at the front-line and have seen the difficult job they do at night with the public. But I've also occasionally seen situations handled with a much heavier hand than needed. Police are people too and this unfortunately means that they also have the flaws of people in that they can get tired, stressed annoyed and angry... sometimes this leads to unprofessionalism.

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Personally I've had contact off a local Geocacher, whose prepared to contact the local Police to discuss Geocaching. I've suggested this person makes a appointment to see the Divisional Officer. And I have offered subject to specific dates being tied up (including my Silver Wedding Anniversary) to attend any such meetings.rather than this discussed at a very local level, both Dave Edwards the GAGB Chairman and my self felt it was better discussed at a more senior level, so that the outcome of any discussion is disseminated throughout the whole division , from the top down. Rather than having to filter up then down the chain of command within the Division.

 

Deci

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Supposing a cache is placed in accordance with the guidelines, clearly marked and with the landowners permission. A non-gecaching member of the public happens to spot the cache and report it to the police. The whole area is closed off and the cache is destroyed causing massive disruption.

 

Is it possible the cache owner could be found liable and prosecuted? I suspect it may be hard for any case to get to court, but I wouldn't even want to have to explain this all to the police.

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Supposing a cache is placed in accordance with the guidelines, clearly marked and with the landowners permission. A non-gecaching member of the public happens to spot the cache and report it to the police. The whole area is closed off and the cache is destroyed causing massive disruption.

 

Is it possible the cache owner could be found liable and prosecuted? I suspect it may be hard for any case to get to court, but I wouldn't even want to have to explain this all to the police.

 

Suppose I went for lunch and took my lunchbox to the park, opaque, clearly marked as a lunch box and I have permission to be in the park and eat. As I pack up I get a phone call on my mobile, I get distracted and leave the area forgetting my lunchbox. A non-geocaching, discerning and diligent member of the public happens to spot the lunchbox and report it to the police. The whole area is closed off and the lunchbox is destroyed causing massive disruption.

 

Is it possible as the owner of the lunchbox I could be found liable and prosecuted? Suppose someone came and had picked up my lunchbox intending to return it to me, however not being able to see where I went, decided to put it back where found - should they be prosecuted?

 

Does this come down to a lack of common sense, a lack of understanding of the law on the part of the luncher, the finder of the lunchbox, the diligent member of the public, the police.... or all four in some part?

 

Questions...

 

ETA: spellcheck

Edited by _TeamFitz_
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Suppose I went for lunch and took my lunchbox to the park, opaque, clearly marked as a lunch box and I have permission to be in the park and eat. As I pack up I get a phone call on my mobile, I get distracted and leave the area forgetting my lunchbox. A non-geocaching, discerning and diligent member of the public happens to spot the lunchbox and report it to the police. The whole area is closed off and the lunchbox is destroyed causing massive disruption.

 

Is it possible as the owner of the lunchbox I could be found liable and prosecuted? Suppose someone came and had picked up my lunchbox intending to return it to me, however not being able to see where I went, decided to put it back where found - should they be prosecuted?

 

Having read the definition of public nuisance, I'm really worried that the answer to both these questions might be 'yes'.

 

"But I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Did you leaving your lunch box lead to the bomb scare?"

...

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Having read the definition of public nuisance, I'm really worried that the answer to both these questions might be 'yes'.

 

"But I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Did you leaving your lunch box lead to the bomb scare?"

...

 

Leaving a lunchbox would be an accident/oversight (unless they were marmite sarnies :o )

 

Leaving a Geocache would, I would like to think, be intentional.

 

J

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Suppose I went for lunch and took my lunchbox to the park, opaque, clearly marked as a lunch box and I have permission to be in the park and eat. As I pack up I get a phone call on my mobile, I get distracted and leave the area forgetting my lunchbox. A non-geocaching, discerning and diligent member of the public happens to spot the lunchbox and report it to the police. The whole area is closed off and the lunchbox is destroyed causing massive disruption.

 

Is it possible as the owner of the lunchbox I could be found liable and prosecuted? Suppose someone came and had picked up my lunchbox intending to return it to me, however not being able to see where I went, decided to put it back where found - should they be prosecuted?

 

Having read the definition of public nuisance, I'm really worried that the answer to both these questions might be 'yes'.

 

"But I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Did you leaving your lunch box lead to the bomb scare?"

...

 

Well, thank goodness that we have a justice system and the law designed to protect us, otherwise many more forgetful or naive men, women and children would be locked up than we have today on that basis.

 

On reflection, my answer to "Did you leaving your lunch box lead to the bomb scare?" would be no. The climate of fear perpetrated by our politicians and the media led to an innocent act of forgetfulness (or in geocaching, fun and games) led to the bomb scare. Or to narrow it down, a combination of maliciousness and/or obtuseness from all parties.

 

The fact of the matter is hammers are sometimes used to kill people. Should all hammers be banned? Should someone carrying a hammer be reported to the police if seen in public? Should people require a license in order to own a hammer? To ensure that we have as much freedom in the future as we did in the past, we must be diligent when it comes to the law, lawmakers and those who enforce it - we need to ensure that we don't just accept blindly the slippery slope into pre-assumption of guilt until innocence can be proven.

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On reflection, my answer to "Did you leaving your lunch box lead to the bomb scare?" would be no. The climate of fear perpetrated by our politicians and the media led to an innocent act of forgetfulness (or in geocaching, fun and games) led to the bomb scare. Or to narrow it down, a combination of maliciousness and/or obtuseness from all parties.

 

I think my answer would be along similar lines. I just hope that our justice system works as well as it is supposed to.

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Having read the definition of public nuisance, I'm really worried that the answer to both these questions might be 'yes'.

 

"But I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Did you leaving your lunch box lead to the bomb scare?"

...

 

Leaving a lunchbox would be an accident/oversight (unless they were marmite sarnies :o )

 

Leaving a Geocache would, I would like to think, be intentional.

 

J

 

Well, my analogy isn't foolproof, but the motive in each case is benign. The leaving of a lunchbox - harmless, the leaving of a geocache - also harmless (and intended for fun).

 

One could just as much argue that for both these are cases of littering, then the local council could prosecute instead. Again, heavy handed? necessary? What we do know is both are not a bomb, and both are not litter - but can be interpreted as much by certain types of people rightly or wrongly.

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Regardless of whether it led to prosecution or not (and I think it highly unlikely) the prospect of a visit from the police isn't appealing.

 

There's also the possibility of giving geocaching a bad name, the subsequent refusal to place caches and the enforced removal of established caches.

 

As a result I think one of my caches may bite the dust.

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I've read with much interest. I don't feel comfortable searching for urban caches a lot of the time... And when I think about it, if I'm uncomfortable with it, so are the people who can see me up to something.

 

I've yet to find an urban cache in an interesting place to be honest, so maybe I'm biased and need to find a decent one. A pub that appeared in a comedy show, a non league football club, a premier league club stadium in one of the most otherwise boring bits of Manchester. Why are they there? Because they could be placed there... Do they arouse suspicion? Yes. Are they fun to find... Yes, if you are the kind of person who likes watching paint dry, they're really exciting caches.

 

I feel all 3 of the caches I referred to are actually in places where an offset/multi would be a more enjoyable experience, as have been lots of the other boring urban caches that I have found.

 

I don't get it either... I don't feel the need to plant a cache at the bottom of every tree... But it seems every piece of urban street furniture is the perfect place for a magnet. If the police push caches out of the towns, I won't exactly be upset.

Edited by NattyBooshka
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Unfortunately as is normal we do not have all the facts here there is a little more to this which we you are not privy but I can not say.

 

Aside from that it is a surprise in this day and age that even though the police and anti terror squad in london know all about geocaching this information has not been disseminated across all police forces.

Hopefully with the new police network that has just been finished all police information will be effectivly shared.

And spare a thought for the police would you want to reach in and pull out that box if you thought it might be a bomb? I wouldn't

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No problem withthe police... Good job, done efficiently it seems.

 

Still confused as to the charge... Unless arrest was resisted, or justice was obstructed. Pretty sure arrest could/should come under terrorist legislation. Only problem is that you can be detained a lot longer as a terrorist suspect that a suspect in another crime. Which can force your hand into accepting a caution. Anyone thinking that there are no innocent people in prison really need a reality check.

 

The police didn't know what they were facing... It could have been a bomb... They did the right thing. What follows is pure bull though... Once they knew it wasn't a bomb, the issue should be done.

Edited by NattyBooshka
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He could not comment on this guy, but when I asked if I could get a criminal record for geocaching in his area he said No, like I said there is more to it than we have been told.

For sure... It's not possible to be charged with "geocaching" as it's not a crime.

 

Of course, you can do thousands of things whilst caching that are illagal... Sometimes without thinking.

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The cache owner was spoken to by the police and no further action taken.

 

The cache finder was arrested and presumably at the very least received a police caution and now a criminal record.

 

PRESUMABLY recieved a police caution.......

 

A police caution is a formal alternative to prosecution in MINOR cases, administered by the police. It is commonly used to resolve cases where full prosecution is NOT seen as the most appropriate solution.

 

A caution is intended to act as a first official warning and to deter people from getting involved in crime!!!!!

 

In order to safeguard the offender's interests, the following conditions must be met before a caution can be administered:

 

  • there must be evidence of guilt sufficient to give a realistic prospect of conviction;
  • the offender must admit the offence;
  • the offender must understand the significance of a caution and give informed consent to being cautioned.

Where the available evidence does not meet the standard normally required to bring a prosecution, a caution cannot be administered. A caution will not be appropriate where a person does not make a clear and reliable admission of the offence (for example if intent is denied or there are doubts about his mental health or intellectual capacity).

 

To get a proper 'criminal record' you would have gone to court and been found guilty and got a conviction.

 

A caution is a formal warning that is given to an adult who has admitted the offence. If the person refuses the caution then they will normally be prosecuted through the normal channels for the offence. Although it is not technically classed as a conviction it can be taken into consideration by the Courts if the person is convicted of a further offence. (So no more caching then, go away you are not welcome here!)

 

A reprimand and warning are similar provisions that are given to juveniles. The juvenile must admit the offence in order for a reprimand or warning to be given. If the juvenile has not been reprimanded or warned previously then a reprimand shall be given (unless the offence is so serious as to require a warning). If the person has been reprimanded previously then a warning shall be given. If the juvenile was warned two years or more previously and the offence is not so serious as to require a charge or youth conditional caution, then a further warning may be given on one more occasion.

 

Any further occurrences will normally result in the juvenile being charged or given a youth conditional caution.

 

Cautions (including reprimands and warnings) are covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 so will become spent immediately (apart from conditional cautions which will become spent after 3 months). This means that if you are asked on an application form if you have a caution you can reply 'no'. For conditional cautions it would be after 3 months since the caution was issued, up until that time you would have to reply 'yes'.

 

This applies retrospectively so applies to anyone who has ever had a caution (including reprimands and warnings), regardless of when it was given.

 

If the application form says that the post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 then the caution must be disclosed, no matter how long ago it was given.

 

However, this does not mean that it will not be disclosed on a CRB check. A caution may be disclosed for some years if it is deemed relevant to the reason for the check. Dishonesty offences (theft, shoplifting, fraud etc) tend to be disclosed for a longer period of time because of the nature of the offence. It is for the Chief Officer in each force to decide if a caution or other information will be disclosed.

 

Cautions will always remain on a person's record. There are only exceptional circumstances when a caution could be removed from a person's record and it is anticipated that such incidents will be rare. Examples of such possible circumstances are that it was found that the original arrest or sample was unlawful or where it was found beyond all doubt that no offence existed. Any requests that fit the above criteria should be directed to the Chief Constable of the force concerned.

Edited by aliandtone
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I know when arrested, at the station you are asked if you want a solicitor before being questioned by the police.

 

I presume the police then decide whether to release, charge or caution you after the interogation, which is why it is important to have legal representation, which I believe has to be provided for free (unless you use your own).

 

Sadly, I doubt we will get to hear the cachers side of the story.

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I had words with the Long Arm of the American Law last night who on the face of it appear to be more enlightened than their colleagues in Wetherby. I'm currently working in Louisville and was doing some late night caching at very large retail area just north of the town. It was about 0030 (I know I know, just one more cache) and I was to all intents and purposes skulking in the undergrowth examining lamp posts, bill boards, trees etc. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a police car pull up, with another a little further away. Talking to the lady officer I learnt they had been attracted by the fact that my car was parked in an unusual place (off road but not a car park) and they had seen me lurking in the bushes. I explained that I was geocaching to which the reply was "oh, is that where you go around searching for small containers?". We had a short conversation after that but all was OK and they went on their way appeased. It does make you think about what you're doing with urban caches though, there are thousands out here, just do a search on zip code 40241. I spent most of the evening (and all night!) in that area, it was very quiet because it was after hours and the 4th July [1] is a holiday but I must have been seen quite a few times. One of the most popular hiding places in these areas is in the base of a lamp post, caches hidden in this way are very difficult to retrieve without making any noise. In this security concious society it might be difficult to explain that the small container you have just hidden is not a threat or even a dead letter drop. Of course my caching name is Shanghai Joe, must be a suspect then :)

 

The most annoying part of this was that the cache turned out to be a DNF although I did go on to find a few more before giving up for the night. The alarm clock went off far too early this morning.

 

[1] Independance day - I did consider asking for the back taxes but thought it might not go down to well :)

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It does seem PC Plod has been lax in checking facts out, you would of thought that whilst the bomb squad was being called out that they would of checked what the unfortunate cacher had to same and checked up on it, does take much to get control to look up a website.

 

Also why is PC Plod asking the cache owner to do the legwork in having other local caches remove, why isn't PC Pod getting in contact with GC regarding these other caches.

 

I don't understand how the poor cacher could be cautioned and would guess then worried him into it in-order for Plod to try and save some face at the OTT nature of getting the bomb squad out.

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