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police called on visitors to my cache


captainnemo70

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My cache GC4CVEZ is hidden at the end of a short lane near my parents house ( so it's easy for me to maintain)

It looks like a concerned neighbour has called the police on them last night, police have come, out and the cachers have had to explain themselves

It's a quiet area , but not do quiet that people don't walk around

I'm a little worried about leaving the cache live now as I wouldn't want any other hunters to be put in a similar position

 

The log was posted after midnight and I think that the searchers were out there with head torches quite late at night .

 

It's a responsible hide , nothing untoward or exceptional about it

I'd be interested in people's thoughts

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I have been approached twice by police while caching at night, both time the officers just said I was crazy. Two other times the police arrived at GZ after I left, I know this because I use to carry a police scanner at night. As far as caching at night goes, if a person is going to go out at night to find caches they just need to expect a visit by a local cop once in a while.

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It sounds like the problem was that people visited at night. Makes sure you use the correct attributes to prohibit this, as well as writing it in the description. I see that you have it listed as being available 24/7, so it appears to be your fault.

 

Yes, I would say so. Since you only have 3 hides, I found it on the first try. :P Finding at night with "head torches", as you would say in the UK, was probably a bad idea. Looks like a quiet residential lane. I personally wouldn't like caching in that area too much even during the day, but that's just the opinion of myself, who doesn't like caching where any muggles seeing me may be involved.

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I would, at a minimum, disable the cache until you can clear the air with the neighbors. I would also follow the directions of the others' posts and update your attributes to show that it is best to hunt this in daylight hours, change the description sumnmary section to state as much, and post a note to the logs about it.

 

But, first and formost, I would disable the cache until you can talk to the neighbors. If it seems like this might be a continuing issue, the cache will need to be archived. Sometimes we cachers forget that muggles outnumber us, and their concerns outweigh ours when it comes to playing our game in their neighborhoods.

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It sounds like the problem was that people visited at night. Makes sure you use the correct attributes to prohibit this, as well as writing it in the description. I see that you have it listed as being available 24/7, so it appears to be your fault.

 

Yes, I would say so. Since you only have 3 hides, I found it on the first try. :P Finding at night with "head torches", as you would say in the UK, was probably a bad idea. Looks like a quiet residential lane. I personally wouldn't like caching in that area too much even during the day, but that's just the opinion of myself, who doesn't like caching where any muggles seeing me may be involved.

 

Exactly what would be the expectations of the neighbors actions be anyway? The cache is listed available 24/7, so people in unknown vehicles arrive around midnight and start milling around in a yard. It doest sound like a good idea. If you inform the neighbors about it, someone may break into a residence and any concern would be dismissed as "those geocachers". I suppose perhaps eventually one day someone will hide a geocache in an area to gauge concern of neighbors. If nobody reacts, then it looks like a prime target of a home invasion. With Groundspeak popularizing the sport so that any kid with an app can do it, it doesn't seen too far off.

Edited by 4wheelin_fool
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As far as I can tell from the satellite imagery we have a no-through road which terminates close to modern looking 'farm buildings', in view of a large private property.

 

Let's imagine those farm buildings belong to the owner of the large house close to GZ.

 

A car drives up the cul-de-sac in the dead of night as far as possible and several occupants get out and start hunting around by torchlight for a prolonged period.

 

Under such circumstances I can quite see why a phone call to the police might be made - thefts from farm buildings are quite common which can lead to the owners becoming VERY observant - and protective.

 

I would say removing the 24/7 attribute is a good idea - and probably adding a not recommended at night attribute too. Even that might not help - not everyone pays attention to attributes - in which case you might want to think again as to whether this cache location is as good an idea as it might have at first seemed.

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Neighborhood hides are not my favorite due to issues like this. I don't know if attributes or description changes will do much as many people ignore those. I would generally avoid a cache in a neighborhood at night, but not all cachers use common logic.

 

I do agree, the absence of a 24/7 attribute probably wouldn't stop anyone from showing up at night with head torches. I hope to OP doesn't think he's getting beat up here. We can only Sat view the cache with Google, we can't street view. But I'd be apprehensive about going for that cache at any time day or night, from what I can see.

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Yeah, attributes are nice, but assume that some cachers will completely ignore them. So, given the assumption of that, is it a cache you want folks to search for at night? Any cache in a tight residential area needs to make sure the nearest neighbors know or this will happen. I do not like caches on private property. If its very obvious what house to go to (house # or something listed), its one thing, but generally, not. Did a cache this last week while in Oklahoma that said permission on private property only to find out the owner had died and the new homeowners were like, who the heck are you?

 

Without the neighbor's consent, not worth it, if its worth it at all in the first place, if you ask me.

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When I cache at night, I am expecting a visit from the local police. I have flyers printed ready to hand out if I need the assistance in explaining what I am doing. I have a few run in's with police, and it has always been a positive experience.

 

I have learned that night caching and questioning by the cops go hand in hand, its par for the course.

 

As to what others have written, you gotta do what you feel is best. I would talk to the neighbors and if it is a problem, then remove it and place it else where.

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I would, at a minimum, disable the cache until you can clear the air with the neighbors.

This. Disable the cache. Right now. Then, speak to your neighbors. Let them know you are sorry to have caused them concern. Bring them the actual cache, so they'll know it's a non threatening game piece. Explain the hobby to them, and why those folks were poking about with flashlights. Explain what you're going to do to keep this from happening again, such as removing the 24/7 attribute and making a bolded note on the cache page asking for daylight hunts only.

 

If the neighbors do not accept your plan, archive it.

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It's too bad that the police thought that they were wasting their time. The cachers weren't doing anything illegal (as long as this cache isn't placed on private property), and a concerned neighbour did the right thing when they saw suspicious behaviour in their neighbourhood. Since it turned out to be something innocent, that's great, in the grand scheme of things. Their time wasn't wasted - they were doing their job.

 

We're fortunate here, because it seems that the police in our area know about caching. The two times I've been stopped at night, they were great about it. The last time, a couple years ago, was in a neighbourhood where we were using our flashlights. The two cops who stopped us were very nice, and commented that a fellow cop's wife liked to geocache (wish I knew who she was, but I knew they wouldn't know her caching name).

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Even to help things further, perhaps a hint note about no caching at night. Quite a few people just look at the hint without reading the description, and I suspect even less look at the attributes (as some GPS units don't have them).

 

Myself, I will only look for a cache at night if it is a simple park and go like on a parking lot.

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If you are going to leave the cache, you need to visit the neighbors and explain geocaching to them. If they still don't want strangers milling about the area, it is time to find a new spot.

 

Very good advice. I have also found that if the surrounding neighbors understand our hobby, this goes a long way in keeping things on the positive. I placed a cache near a cemetery adjacent to a homeowner. I had talked to the homeowner before placing the cache and things seems OK for placement. However, my FTF cacher contacted me that he had a run-in with the homeowner. I archived it immediately. There are plenty of places to hide. Bad vibes with the locals is just not worth it.

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