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Someone called the Cops!!


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the presumption that the officer *thinks* he has the RIGHT/Authority to detain you (ie: arrest) and interrogate you, etc...when you have done absolutely nothing to warrant it.

 

I hate to break it to you, must if an officer receives a call about someone, they do have probable cause to do an investigation, which may mean briefly detaining and questioning you, within the bounds of civil liberties.

 

cops usually do not know the law anyway, and will harass you if a soccer mom calls in to report a "man with gun" when you are legally walking around with it in a non-threatening manner.

 

Once again, a call from a citizen is probable cause to do an investigation. Of course, most of the time this investigation shouldn't take more than a few minutes if it is discovered the alleged "man with a gun" is a geocacher with a GPSr.

 

Would you prefer that officers don't take calls from citizens seriously and merely dismiss them without investigating them? icon_confused.gif

 

Jeff

http://www.StarsFellOnAlabama.com

http://www.NotAChance.com

If you hide it, they will come....

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Yep Jeff, hit the nail on the head with that post!

 

Thing is, most of the complaints about officer misconduct we get around here, is generally of the nature of "I called the po-lice and.....

a) they didn't show up

:D they didn't do nothing....

 

Funny how the public's perception is easily swayed by televison; I've actually had a burglary victim tell me, that if Kojak was on the case, he'd have that burglar locked up ten minutes ago......

 

If the public REALLY wanted to know how their police department works, they could easily attend a "citizens academy"....but, their poor, overused lazy-boys would lose their custom buttock imprint that took years to make! icon_biggrin.gif

 

Just my 2-cents, from this neck o' the woods!

 

Strip Mining PREVENTS Forest Fires!

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My husband and I were caching in a park, we had just put the cache back and I popped out of the bushes onto the trail and there is a guy standing there looking at me from about 6 feet away. Since I am only about 5'2" (the size of a 14-15 yr old kid) I was a bit nervous, and the guy was looking at me with a weird look on his face and had a stick the size of a bat in his hand. He didn't say anything and didn't move. A minute later my 6'4" 240 lb husband popped out of the bushes and the guy starts smiling at him and stammering something about looking for turtles. We actually had a good laugh over this one. Turns out to be a harmless situation, just glad the hubby was with me.

 

We used to be directionally challenged, now we have a GPS, and are high-tech directionally challenged. At least now we know where we are when we are lost.

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Well, where I come from, if someone calls the police with a complaint, they have a duty to follow it up. It's their job. I don't have any problem whatsoever with an officer approaching me and asking what I am doing. I don't have any idea what may have happened prior to me being in that area, or if there is some other reason why he needs to check my activities. For goodness sake people, we aren't talking about people barging into your living room and shouting "Papers!" We are talking about being out in strange places, sometimes at odd hours, with small devices in our hands. Thank God people are watching out for others and report suspicious activity.

 

And look how people react on these forums, when someone makes a smart *ss comment. They get jumped all over. Now imagine if you were an LEO, who had a report of a suspicious person. You are simply following up, as required, and instead of having a conversation with someone who explains what geocaching is about (thus you will be in the know for the next time you encounter a cacher) you are greeted by an obnoxious, "I know my rights" in your face attitude and flippant answers. Your automatic response would be to be a bit more difficult with the "suspect". Things escalate and get out of hand. Guess what kind of a name you have just given geocaching. Maybe YOU know you aren't breaking any laws, but for crying out loud, the guy who has to investigate a report doesn't know that. Frankly, if that is the way you (you in general, not anyone specific) respond to a simple check, then don't ever come caching with me.

 

"You are cleared for geocaching."

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Sure, the officer can come out and do some recon, but if there was NO illegal act reported by the caller or seen by the officer then the officer has ZERO probable cause to detain and harass the citizen....

So what exactly is your point here?

 

quote:
Originally posted by jeff35080:

_the presumption that the officer *thinks* he has the RIGHT/Authority to detain you (ie: arrest) and interrogate you, etc...when you have done absolutely nothing to warrant it._

 

I hate to break it to you, must if an officer receives a call about someone, they do have probable cause to do an investigation, which may mean briefly detaining and questioning you, within the bounds of civil liberties.

 

_cops usually do not know the law anyway, and will harass you if a soccer mom calls in to report a "man with gun" when you are legally walking around with it in a non-threatening manner._

 

Once again, a call from a citizen is probable cause to do an investigation. Of course, most of the time this investigation shouldn't take more than a few minutes if it is discovered the alleged "man with a gun" is a geocacher with a GPSr.

 

Would you prefer that officers don't take calls from citizens seriously and merely dismiss them without investigating them? icon_confused.gif

 

Jeff

http://www.StarsFellOnAlabama.com

http://www.NotAChance.com

If you hide it, they will come....


 

:)

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quote:
Originally posted by GroundClutter:

Maybe YOU know you aren't breaking any laws, but for crying out loud, the guy who has to investigate a report doesn't know that.


 

You see that is the problem with most of you geocachers. "It is okay to give up your rights for the better good BS."

I don't know about where you are from, but here in the USA we are (supposed to be) a FREE society.

If there was no witness of law-breaking, no report of a law broken, or the officer did not witness (if he does some recon) law-breaking, then they have no reason to approach and detain the citizen.

 

(Now, about the soccer mom thing...when some people see a gun, they *think* a law was broken just because there is a gun present. It is totally legal to have a long gun in Texas - no restrictions. So if soccer mom actually saw a threatening manner or some other real crime then there is cause for action to be taken by the cops. Otherwise, the citizen is freely exercising his RIGHTS under Texas law and 2nd Amendment.)

 

:)

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quote:
Originally posted by SuperAlpha:

quote:
Originally posted by GroundClutter:

Maybe YOU know you aren't breaking any laws, but for crying out loud, the guy who has to investigate a report doesn't know that.


 

You see that is the problem with most of you geocachers. "It is okay to give up your rights for the better good BS."

I don't know about where you are from, but here in the USA we are (supposed to be) a FREE society.

If there was no witness of law-breaking, no report of a law broken, or the officer did not witness (if he does some recon) law-breaking, then they have no reason to approach and detain the citizen.

 

(Now, about the soccer mom thing...when some people see a gun, they *think* a law was broken just because there is a gun present. It is totally legal to have a long gun in Texas - no restrictions. So if soccer mom actually saw a threatening manner or some other real crime then there is cause for action to be taken by the cops. Otherwise, the citizen is freely exercising his RIGHTS under Texas law and 2nd Amendment.)

 

:D


 

Well, I guess that explains it. I'm not from the USA. My posts indicate I am from Brentwood Bay BC. (That's British Columbia) Here in Canada, we don't consider it giving up our rights to be polite. We are thankful that people watch out for eachother and report suspicious activity as opposed to waiting for a crime to actually happen and have it be too late.

 

You also seem to feel that a police officer asking a simple question is being detained. If I were asked what I was doing (by an officer, or a regular Joe out walking his dog) I would tell him. I'd consider it an opportunity to explain geocaching to him, and hopefully get him interested. I'd also consider it mannerly and friendly. But here, we are kind of known for that.

 

So "that is the problem with most of you geocachers" might be your opinion, which is certainly your RIGHT (As you are so concerned with). I however, choose to look at it as friendly curiosity.

 

I don't fear, nor feel intimidated by being asked a question. If I am in an area which causes concern to local residents, or which may look suspicious, it's all part of the game. I don't feel it necessary to quote chapter and verse of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

 

We also don't walk around with long guns. I suppose we could cry out that it is our right, but frankly, we simply just don't feel the need to walk around with long guns. Yet we consider ourselves a free society too. As well as polite and civilized. We are thankful that people watch out for eachother, and are thankful knowing that the police are out there protecting us.

 

Quite frankly, (and please, this is not directed at you personally!) I am quite tired of people spouting off about "It's my right". It seems militant, hostile and just plain chest thumping. I feel very happy to live where I live, to not see gun toting people walking down the streets, and to know that if someone is out there acting suspicious, that people will be keeping an eye out.

 

I fear that an innocent topic is turning quite off topic and is degenerating into a discussion more about rights and freedoms, than geocaching. My last thought on the matter is this... To each his own. But I would much rather deal with someone who is respectful, honest and friendly than someone who spouts off at me with "I know my rights." and "It's none of your business."

 

I welcome you to come cache in BC. You will be treated with warmth, hospitality and respect. If you're asked what you're doing. Answer honestly and you'll probably find yourself with a new friend. No chest-thumping required, and please leave your gun behind. icon_wink.gif

 

"You are cleared for geocaching."

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You know I've yet to have had a real problem with the police. (Even though I've been questioned at least six times while caching).

 

I find that if you don't cop an attitude (no pun intended) and are polite you get the same treatment in return.

 

The way I look at it a guy with a electronic device poking about the bushes *IS* suspicious looking to the uninformed.

 

The guy's just doing his job and doesn't need any grief from me.

 

I've actually gotten out of a speeding ticket or two by simply being polite and admitting "yeah, I was going a little fast".

 

Jolly R. Blackburn

http://kenzerco.com

"Never declare war on a man who buys his ink by the gallon."

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"Rights unused, and rights abused, are both leading symptoms of rights you'll lose."

 

If you are in a situation where you are being violated, definately thump your chest and stick to your legal rights, but first you have to be aware of those rights.

 

Many people have found themselves in embarrassing difficulties because their understanding of their rights was flawed.

 

By all means stand up for your rights, especially the one that says "You have a right to remain silent".

 

Cooperate if the situatin is non-threatening, and be sure you are not setting yourself up for conflict unnecessarily.

 

The Police may stop you and ascertain your Identity, they may also question you about why you are in a location, BUT they can not abuse you for being there, especially if you are peacefully cooperating. Any POLICE Officer should be well aware of HIS/HER limits, and you can bet they can stop within those limits.

 

Generally, a simple polite response is all that is needed to avoid trouble.

 

geocan.jpgmicro.gif

 

Trash-out, EVERYtime

 

"And I asked myself, 'Why is he sprinkling dirt on his GPSr?' "

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Got 'busted' by an MP at a 'lets just say - unwisely placed' cache just outside a military installation in Idaho last month. The cache had actually been disabled or maybe even archived before we got there. We were travelling and our data was at least a week old. It popped up on the map as we were driving down this road so we 'unwisely' stopped.

 

Searched a bit and it apparently wasn't there so headed back to the car - a real drive up. MP pulled up behind - did the full bit - license and plate check, quick check of van, etc.

 

He had to explain to his supervisor and dispatcher the concept of geocaching. It was rather amusing actually. "There's and ammo box hidden out there?" I heard come back over the radio. He was familiar with geocaching as he had already 'busted' at least one other previous cacher so he managed to get the point across.

 

While waiting for reply to license check from the disaptcher he told us where the cache was. The previous 'busted' cacher showed it to him to confirm his 'geo' story. My family went over to look again but didn't find it so he walked over to show us where it 'was'. Not there anymore. Apparently it was removed by another cacher when he thought the placement was 'questionable'.

 

Think b4 you put caches in places like this(Yes, I know it's not illegal) - and even more - think b4 you look for them in places like this. There are plenty other caches out there.

 

maleki

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quote:
Originally posted by SuperAlpha:

You see that is the problem with most of you geocachers. "It is okay to give up your rights for the better good BS."

I don't know about where you are from, but here in the USA we are (supposed to be) a FREE society.

If there was no witness of law-breaking, no report of a law broken, or the officer did not witness (if he does some recon) law-breaking, then they have no reason to approach and detain the citizen.

 

(Now, about the soccer mom thing...when some people see a gun, they *think* a law was broken just because there is a gun present. It is totally legal to have a long gun in Texas - no restrictions. So if soccer mom actually saw a threatening manner or some other real crime then there is cause for action to be taken by the cops. Otherwise, the citizen is freely exercising his RIGHTS under Texas law and 2nd Amendment.)

 

:)


 

I would be the LAST to give up my rights for a little extra security. But our rights are not at stake here.

 

We are talking about simply being inconvenienced by being asked to explain what we are doing.

 

After the explanation, and the officer is satisfied you are not a threat to public safety, you will usually go on your merry way.

 

There is no burning civil rights issue here!

 

Now consider this:

 

There are literally MILLIONS of laws. In any given situation you are likely in violation of one or more of them.

 

If you give an officer grief with smart-alecky answers, you run a very high risk of the officer "finding" one or more of these violations that might not have otherwise been noticed by the officer.

 

(In one of Joseph Wambaugh's books, an officer is accosted by an irate citizen whom he has stopped for speeding. As the obnoxious, smart-alecky "citizen" is "putting the cop in his place", a .25 auto slips out of his pocket and clatters to the ground. The cop simply says, "There truly IS a God!".)

 

It happens.

 

Now what have you accomplished? The cop now makes a legal arrest or citation on one of these laws that YOU didn't know. And you aren’t about to beat it in court, either.

 

Now, instead of being delayed a few minutes while you calmly explained that you were engaged in a harmless, lawful activity, you are now calling a bail bondsman and a lawyer, or figuring out how many meals you need to skip to pay for a $100 ticket.

 

You may be so unfortunate as to encounter one of the VERY FEW rude and obnoxious officers that are out there (some departments seem to have more than their statistical share thereof). Even then, returning smart-alecky attitude with smart-alecky attitude will only make matters worse.

 

You are MUCH better off simply explaining, truthfully, what you are doing, which SHOULD result in your continuing to have a fun day (or night) caching, rather than meeting "Bubba" in the slam and remembering that old shop-warn advice "don't drop the soap".

 

"Freedom is a two-way street."

GDAE, Dave

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Yup, it's a strange thing I've noticed in my career. More people have talked themselves into handcuffs than you can possibly imagine. A simple stop and check can be turned into a major confrontation by those that *feel* their rights are being violated somehow by an officer simply asking, *Hi, how are you today. What's going on?* in response to a citizen complaint about activities that turned out to be completely harmless.

 

If you want to take offense because I'm doing what I'm paid to do, feel free to do so, but if you want to cause me grief because I'm doing what I'm paid to do... then don't be surprised if you are *inconvenienced* as a result.

 

I have a simple rule of doing police work, I am as nice to people as they ALLOW me to be. It has worked for 25 years now. I'm hoping it works for just 8 more....LOL.

 

texasgeocaching_sm.gif

"Afghanistan was a battle. Iraq was a battle. The war goes on."

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I did it part-time for about 10 years.

 

During that time, I made only one "questionable" arrest. I took an old man to jail for drunk driving when he was not legally drunk. He refused to cooperate with me in field sobriety tests. He was smart-alecky and belligerant from the get-go.

 

I stopped him on a complaint from an off-duty officer who had followed him sevceral miles, observing erratic driving.

 

Since he would not cooperate and I had probable cause, I arrested him. He really gave me no choice. There was no such thaing as a fielsd breatalyzer at that time. I had to arrest him to get him to blow the breathalyzer. He blew a ".07", below the leagl limit at the time. In KY there was no "unarrest", so even though he was technically innocent, he could not be released without trial. On the advice of HIS attorney, he pleaded guilty to reckless driving.

 

He was 77 years old. His primary "complaint" was that a "young officer" had no "right" to stop him.

 

I felt genuinely bad about the arrest after he "proved" himself to be "innocent", but he left me no choice in the field. I would have been liable had it gone the other way- had he been truly drunk and I had let him continue to drive.

 

He could have saved himself a night in jail and a lot of money by just simply cooperating with my legal inquiry.

 

In the 10 or so years I "copped", I never had to fight a person. Partly that was luck, but mainly that was because I treated people with respect and courtesy. Almost all cops do.

 

Dissing a cop only makes matters worse. It does NOT protect one's "rights".

 

"Freedom is a two-way street."

GDAE, Dave

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I am as nice to people as they ALLOW me to be.

 

Yep... I will give anyone the same respect as they give me. I have dealt with murderers that have gone out of their way to be respectful and realized that I was doing what I was sworn to do... and I have dealt with people who simply didn't stop for a stop sign and decided that I was some kind of jack-booted thug and talked themselves into a ticket rather than the simple warning they were going to get.

 

I will never attempt to violate anyone's rights. Trust me, I'm a big believer in civil rights and will go out of my way to make sure that we never lose those rights. However, if I receive a call, via my dispatcher, that a citizen has reported something that they deem suspicious (what exactly is suspicious?) I am obligated to investigate this complaint. The investigation will, most likely, involve finding the person described in the complaint and speaking with them. During this conversation, I will, most likely, ask questions and attempt to determine if there is any violation of state law (as a deputy sheriff I can only enforce state laws). During this investigation, the subject of the initial complaint will be briefly detained by me until I determine if there are any violations.

 

Yes, I know that this may be an incovenience to the person being detained. Trust me, I would feel the same if the shoe was on the other foot, but an officer doing a simple investigation is not violating anyone's rights. 99% of the time I have been involved in these types of situations, I have been able to determine within a couple of minutes if there is actually any law being broken. I know a lot of people are fearful of authority figures. I also know that many people think that authority figures are 'out to get them'. Most people in authority positions simply want to do their job and go home to their families and have no hidden agenda.

 

Anyways, happy caching everyone!

 

Jeff

http://www.StarsFellOnAlabama.com

http://www.NotAChance.com

If you hide it, they will come....

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I'm pretty sure we are saying is that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

 

Just to recap, the officer has a duty to follow up on a complaint/report. It's their job. They aren't mind readers. If he asks you what you are doing, and you tell him, since no laws are being broken, that will be the end of it.

 

Generally, people who have something to hide are the ones who refuse to cooperate. So yes, if you have an attitude of avoidance, of course the officer is going to dig further. Also, if you give someone a hostile/flippant response, it is human nature to become hostile in return. I imagine you can talk your way into trouble a lot better than talking your way out. But then again, the long gun could come in handy.

 

I guess we will just have to agree to disagree.

 

Seriously, why is "Hi, I'm just geocaching." such a problem for you?

 

"You are cleared for geocaching."

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I posted this on another thread but it seemed apropos here too:

 

I placed a ultra micro (2x1/2" waterproof capsule) in the stairwell of our local municipal garage downtown last week. The first day it came up as "approved", I recieved an email from a cacher asking for additional hints. He had apparently been loitering about the stairwell when one of our trusty "men in blue" came up to ask if he needed some help (i.e. "beat it kid"). Apparently, the garage is also the parking garage for the city's police cruisers (I guess my cache will be safe enough). The cacher (who will remain anonymous) was very upfront about his activities, and the officer asked, "how large is it?" The cacher gave the dimensions and the officer laughed while replying, "Good luck", and walked off.

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I'm happy for those of you who have had pleasant experiences with law enforcement. In Las Vegas, the laws are written so just about anything a person does can be perceived as "probable cause" allowing the officer to ask for ID and check for wants and priors. Jaywalking (mainly used to roust the homeless), failing to maintain your lane (easy stop with the poorly marked narrow lanes we have), joking about sex and money (solicitation), and other human foibles can get you rousted in a hurry.

 

I was walking in circles at the Fremont Experience with GPS in hand and was questioned by security. I don't know how many 60ish hookers we have in town, but it is clear that is what he thought I was up to.

 

Dribbling a basketball can get you killed--the standard for firing a gun here is the officer "feared for his life." The victim "made a furtive movement." One officer shot a pile of laundry which shifted in a "suspicious" manner in the back seat of a car. I wish we had some braver police as there is a story every other week about some citizen being killed. In 50 years, I don't think any incident was ruled unjustifiable, not even beating an 80-year-old man senseless for refusing to remove a cigarette from his mouth.

 

There aren't many of us here who read our rights back to the police.

 

Just don't let Kirk show you what he affectionately calls the 'Captain's Log'

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quote:
Originally posted by Anders.:

There is a certain type of clothing you could wear. It makes people completely forget about their thoughts about what you are doing. They are concerned by your looks only.

And once you've got the discussion into that topic, you simply ward them off by saying "I don't argue about your style, do I?" icon_cool.gif

 

Anders

http://img.Groundspeak.com/user/avatar/24148_200.jpg

 

[This message was edited by Anders on March 13, 2002 at 01:13 AM.]


 

One of my caches was stolen a couple of weeks ago. When I went to check out the reports, there was an old bicycle near the cache and an old bearded guy sleeping nearby under an old torn blanket. Perhaps he was a geocacher in disguise.

 

icon_wink.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by notec:

Allright...to get this back on topic,a camera is the best guise. If any one questions your motives,you are a nature photographer. Simple eh!! The garbage bag idea is great also.

 

If it doesn't hurt your not doing it right


 

Yup, both of those work. I usually have my camera with me and have used it several times to throw off the overly-suspicious...lol. I haven't tried the *cell-phone* move, I'm too afraid I'll do it in front of some tech-savvy person who then asks, *Why in the hell are you holding your GPSr up to your ear, you idiot?*

 

texasgeocaching_sm.gif

"Afghanistan was a battle. Iraq was a battle. The war goes on."

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I use the "clipboard and gps" (inspector) (is that a "tri-corder" or something?) method, the "nature photographer" method, the "tree hugger" method, the CITO method, the "orienteering" method (not much of a disguise), and just the general "walking in the woods with my new toy" method.

 

But if I'm ever asked by a person or persons of authority, my response will be simply "I am geocaching, sir."

 

"Freedom is a two-way street."

GDAE, Dave

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We have been questioned a few times by the police. The first time it was about 1:30am and we were about to get out of the car to go find a cache when the officer pulled up. He asked what we were doing, we explained and he just said to come back during the day, the park is closed at this hour. No problem!!

 

Another time our cache hunt took longer than we expected. we tried to beat daylight, but we didn't make it. By the time we got back to our car there was a police cruiser waiting for us. He was not friendly in the least. We were very polite and we tried to explain what happened and he barked back "I know what you are doing, I spoke to your wife on the phone. I know you were in there on a treasure hunt" He must have ran the plate and got my team-mates phone number. Well, he did not want to hear anything, he wrote us both tickets for loitering. We took it to trial and all charges were dropped.

 

My guess is the officer was mad that he had to wait there for us to come out of the park so he could lock the gate. Oh well, I know now not to hunt caches in that neighborhood in the evening.

 

Kar

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i do telcom work, so i have id's from two major corporations that anyone with a phone will know. if i am doing a cache where i look suspicous i will wear an id around my neck, if asked i tell the asker i'm doing survey work-locating potential wireless sites-which is part of my actual job. done this twice, once the guy got irritated and started telling me he didn't want any wireless sites in his neighborhood, doesn't want beams through his house, etc. i explained that the area was no good for a site and he seemed satisfied. looking official seems to help. bring a clipboard or wear an orange safety vest. no one will ask.

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quote:
Originally posted by ChurchCampDave:

 

But if I'm ever asked by a person or persons of authority, my response will be simply "I am geocaching, sir."

 

_"Freedom is a two-way street."_

GDAE, Dave


 

I usually point behind them and when they turn away I run away screaming like a little girl......Or better yet,the old sand in the eyes trick!!!! Gets em every time icon_wink.gif

 

If it doesn't hurt your not doing it right

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quote:
My guess is the officer was mad that he had to wait there for us to come out of the park so he could lock the gate. Oh well, I know now not to hunt caches in that neighborhood in the evening.

 

Kar


 

Consider yourself lucky. Around here they don't wait. They simply lock the gate and your car stays where it is until the next morning.

 

Happened to a friend of mine. Sounds like the guy at least took the time to find out why the car was there and then waited so he wouldn't lock you in.

 

Jolly R. Blackburn

http://kenzerco.com

"Never declare war on a man who buys his ink by the gallon."

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I think one thing people forget to take into account is that a cop never really knows what he's dealing with when confronting a suspicious character or answering a call.

 

They are trained to be intimidating in order to project authority and maintian control of the situation.

 

Hey, I watch the TV show COPS. icon_smile.gif How many times have you seen some cop pull over a guy for speeding and the next thing you know the guy hast the cop on the ground trying to wrestle his gun out of his holster.

 

If a cop is a little short or rude to me because he had to respond to a call about "some fat guy rummaging around the bushes at the golf course with a strange device' I figure I can cut him some slack.

 

I figure he's going to be there doing his job if and when I need him.

 

Jolly R. Blackburn

http://kenzerco.com

"Never declare war on a man who buys his ink by the gallon."

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I've been observed 2 times in the last week. One watched me for 20 minutes as I paraded around an 100 year old graveyard. He pulled behind me as I left then turned the other way.

 

Today I was struggling finding a cache on a roadway and I knew it was hidden on the guardrail somewhere, but I didn't want to look suspicious. So I have my GPS on the hood of my truck and a stack of cache info sheets and I'm getting ready to decode the hint when a cop pulls up real slow and gives me a look over. I think she saw the papers and GPS and figured I was going to make a phone call.

 

But the thing that I think saved me so far has been my firefighter sticker on my back window, that tends to take the threat down a notch.

 

Firehouse16 & Code3

"Dave, Teresa & the 2 kids"

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We went to find a cache in a park where the previous logs frequently mentioned how busy the park was. When we got there, there was one guy sitting at a table. We played frisbee to get across the ballfield. That way we wouldn't be obvious just walking to the far corner of the park. He looked at us occasionally, so as I checked for the cache, the others kept playing. Once we found it, the rest of the family walked towards the playground. I held my tricorder up to several trees and replaced the cache (it was originally hidden in one of them). Once I got to the playground, I held my tricorder up to another tree as I made notes about the cache to take home and log it online. I think it worked pretty well.

 

texasgeocaching_sm.gif Took sun from sky, left world in eternal darkness bandbass.gif

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I was on a local cache in a park when these two black guys come strolling by looking straight out of the seventies with the huge afros and comb pick in the hair etc... They stopped and were eyeballing me a little, and finally one of them approached a little and said "Yo man, what in the **** are you doing with that gadget anyway?" I could hardly keep from laughing (I was also stalling a bit to keep them from seeing that I was headed for a cache) and I told them "I'm from the geological survey society and I'm checking on the level of the earth's gravitational pull and making sure the local levels of radiation aren't too high"..... This guy looks at me with this face and says "RADIATION?" and I said "Yeah, radiation." He looks around and then at his buddy and says "Man, I aint messin with no Ewo Gemo ****, let's boogy!"

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From this past weekend, I now have the Police Corollary to public caching. For caching amidst the general public give them an excuse they'll believe (say, I'm doing a scavenger hunt, or I'm checking insect traps). With the police, tell them a story they can verify.

 

We were caching the rolling ranch land, soon to be bedroom tract for Sacramento, beside a subdivision construction site. We'd parked next to an outhouse, and just returned to the vehicle when a sheriff's deputy pulls up.

 

We used the going to the restroom excuse, which would be enough for John Q Public, but the deputy wanted to know what we were doing that day. Didn't want to say geocaching, because we did go down a bike path marked temporarily closed for construction, so I said just out driving taking pictures of oak trees and cemeteries.

 

Then he asks to look at the last digital images. Duh, it's the construction site and the nearby Air Force Base. But I also have one picture from a cemetery cache, so he let's us go after the plate and license check.

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I think it is strange that we see a need to be covert about our sport, and not just the caches.

 

Sure routine activity to protect the caches is needed, but it doesn't look good to our sport to be percieved as sneaky or deceptive, these are perceptons that can have a large negative effect on the sport as a whole.

 

A "public relations" type of information sheet may be needed to present to "outsiders" which will explain the sport in a way as to prevent us having to lie to authorities, and passers by.

 

Think about the IMAGE promoting the activity, and whether or not the NEXT geocacher will be prejudged by the official or the community as "Suspicious".

 

I often cache with my kids and when they walk up to someone they ANNOUNCE we are Geocaching. They openly discuss it at school.

 

I discuss it with my non-geocaching friends, who seem to think "I have too much free time on my hands." BUT the idea of geocaching as a family activity is planted in my circle, and they look at it as "a variation" of hiking.

 

I even have my community manager participating, by having a walk up cache in her office, (Pending approval), she sees it as a way to get people into our community, and to help promote recreation.

 

Who knows maybe some of the cachers will want to live here.

 

The only way we can avoid suspicion is by being open and making sure the sport is known in general.

 

(I think I will post Geocaching flyers at the local sporting goods stores and at the GPS retailers in my area... There are a few dumpsites I need some volunteers for...those who have large trucks and can haul trash out in quantity...)

 

BAAAD! BAAAAD!!!!

 

A BAAAD Ancestor is Good to Find!!!!

[url=http://blacksheep.rootsweb.com/]http://blacksheep.rootsweb.com/[/url

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Might as well continue the thread by agreeing with Bo Peep. Normally we are up front, and tell the soccer parents that we're rooting around their park doing a scavenger hunt, or the tell the police officer that we are doing a GPS sport called geocaching. We often carry newspaper reprints for our public contacts.

 

But many caches have a subversive or sinister element to them, with placements near infrastructure, or on kiddie play structures. Sure, we could just turn around and not do the cache, but it gets to be tedious giving up on a quarter of the caches you drive up to.

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So do we have to set a physical check of Caches before approval, peer review?

 

Do we ACTIVELY police ourselves in a more thorough method to assure we are noot leaving ourselves open to the threat of arrest if we are too close to an infrastructurally significant locale?

 

Do we set a probationary period on approved caches until an active cacher can visit it and look for violations of placement rules and content issues?

 

I look at it this way:

 

We as adults should have the ability to work within the guidelines. We should also be "adult" enough to accept that our personal reading of the rules may be slightly "off" of the way others understand them.

 

We should also know that the rules are there for a reason, and perhaps we are unaware of what the reason is, but should STILL act within the rules.

 

As this sport develops there will be increased self regulation, via rules and guidelines, and we should adapt as needed.

 

International security issues HAVE changed our way of life, wehether we like it or not, PUBLIC safety overides personal recreational issues.

 

Sure some restrictions are based on poor understanding and unreasonable fears, but policies are normally not too flexible when dealing with a secreted object that MAY be hostile.

 

We as placers and seekers MUST think of how we are viewed by the casual observer, and adapt to placing ONLY in areas NOT close to objects that may lead to our containers being explosively investigated.

 

Also in public dealings, we need to be forthright, honest and friendly. If that means a Cache is revealed or has to be moved, I guess we have to comply, or LOSE our sport, eventually, by public restrictions.

 

Cache SMART

 

BAAAD! BAAAAD!!!!

 

A BAAAD Ancestor is Good to Find!!!!

http://blacksheep.rootsweb.com/

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Well I don't know if they were called but the other day 9/17/2003 while caching in Washington D.C. the Secret Service found me...........came right to me and said I was using a GPS devise and wanted to know what I was doing.

Got to plug geocaching big time....

After a lengthy discussion and a clearance check, all went well....whew what a day.

You talk about trying not to be nervous..this had me shaking for a couple of days.

My Wifes(TIGGR) comment to the Head agent was a clencher though she said"I knew that thing was going to get you in trouble"...he just laughed and said have a good day.And made sure that I understood why this occured.

I said yes that in times like these I am glad to see you are watching...Big Brother.

 

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS

*GEOTRYAGAIN*

TAKE PRIDE IN AMERICA

http://www.doi.gov/news/front_current.html

1803-2003

"LOUSIANA PURCHASE"

http://www.lapurchase.org

"LEWIS AND CLARK EXPADITION"

http://lewisclark.geog.missouri.edu/index

 

Arkansas Missouri Geocachrs Association

http://www.ARK-MOGeocachersAssociatoin@msnusers.com

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ark-Mo-Geocachers

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I agree, why be so evasive about the sport? It's already been in the press. Why try and make something up, especially to a cop? As long as the cache was place in accordance with the GC.com guidelines it's should be legal. I promoted the sport to the cop, and he seemed interested. I’d love to get a local police officer involved.

 

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Because now I am Lost.

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quote:
Originally posted by Bo Peep & The Sheep:

International security issues HAVE changed our way of life, wehether we like it or not, PUBLIC safety overides personal recreational issues.


 

quote:
Originally by Benjamin Franklin:

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.


What he said.

 

--

Pehmva!

 

Random quote:

sigimage.php

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Originally posted by Cruzin!:

quote:
Originally by Benjamin Franklin:

_They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety._


 

Quoting Franklin is always interesting, considering he was in the middle of a Revolution at the time.

 

We aren't in the same situation, and a lot has changed in the world since the 1700s.

 

Some would have us think that we are 100% free at all times, but we are bound by built in limits in society, andf I am afraid the geocaching as freedom over the public safety Argument just won't cut it.

 

Yas I am as protective of my rights as anyone else, BUT I know when my "priorities" are secondary to larger issues, and Geocaching isn't an "essential liberty".

 

BAAAD! BAAAAD!!!!

 

A BAAAD Ancestor is Good to Find!!!!

[url=http://blacksheep.rootsweb.com/]http://blacksheep.rootsweb.com/[/url

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So just the other day my husband, our Golden Retriever and I were out on our first Mircocache hunt, quite unsuccessfully I might add. We were walking along a fence that surrounds the local fair grounds, behind us is a road and a few houses. We look innocent enough meandering along. Here we are trying to be sly, but slowly our frustrations are mounting as we walk back and forth around the same area. Jason has the GPS in his hand and I am holding a leash in mine. When I see out of the corner of my eye a woman standing in her driveway staring at us. Not being discreet in the slightest standing in plain view, but somehow we get the impression that she thinks she is. As if the compact car 10 feet away from her is camouflage. I tell Jason, "Hey, we are being watched". He says, "Ya, I know she started out on her porch." Meanwhile she is a little too far away to give a pleasant "Hello" so I smile and continue to look around quietly. Meanwhile Jason is no holds barred. He is caching like no other, determined to find this little ****ing thing. This brings the woman out into the middle of the street! Still not saying a word to us. She has her hand above her eyes on her brow like she is navigating a ship. So here she is standing in the middle of the road, and she actually leans to one side to get a better look at these “hooligans in her neighborhood” instead of approaching any closer! At this point Jason is laughing and lets out a big unsuspecting "HI THERE". The woman is thrown off by this and finally asks what we are doing, he goes into the geocaching speach... scavenger hunt...you should try it, yadda yadda yadda. It seemed to have satisfied her or confuse her. Which we will never know. It was getting late and we had to head off. Wish us luck, we are heading out tomorrow to give it another try...hopefully I won't have to update this with a "someone called the cops" comment. icon_razz.gif

 

CacheCreatures are spreading... They can hide, but they can't run!

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Just thought I'd pipe in here. I have no problem giving respect to law enforcement. Having worked as tech support for a number of local agencies and hearing the crap they deal with, I'm not gonna hassle them with "my rights."

 

Further, I want them to think positively of Geocaching. I've been questioned by 3 difference law enforcement personel while 'caching. Each time, I showed them my GPSr, the printout I had, and explained it. The cache was on public property, and no problem. One time they wanted my ID and ran a quick call (as we were about 60 miles from my address), and I have no problem with that (especially since I had a U-Haul parked on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere).

 

The only issue I have is with rent-a-cops. I was at a local JC (junior college) which has a cache hidden on the private parking lot side. I'd previously searched on the public alley side and had no luck, so we tried the other side at night. The rent-a-cop wanted to know what we were doing, and I explained. He said we were on private property and that the school was closed and we weren't allowed to be there. I said I wasn't aware that it was private property, as there was no sign posted and that it was a public school, but agreed to leave. Not so fast though, he wanted our ID. Sorry, Mr. rent-a-cop, ain't gonna happen. You ask me to leave, I'll leave, but you're not getting my ID which has my home address. He said to wait and called his supervisor, who told him to let us leave. I put a warning on the cache that it was technically private property and to cache it during the regular school hours and if asked, say you were visiting the public campus library (which you could always go visit as it is open to the general public during normal hours).

 

Anywho, I've heard too many stories about rent-a-cop's being sicko-nutjobs. In fact, my Wife and I tell our kids if they are lost to find a mom with kids and ask her for help (we don't mention anything about finding a uniformed person, who most likely would be a rent-a-cop, and not an officer of the law).

 

Jason Roysdon

jason.roysdon.net

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