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Another One Bites The Dust...


DeskJocky

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The hider of this cache is a friend of mine and he did everything proper before he placed it next to the Police Station. He got permission from the Township manager and the Chief of Police. Evidently this info did not get passed on to all channels.

 

I was the co-first finder with Facedances and before looking for it we went inside and asked the officer on duty if it'd be okay to search for it. He knew about it and said thanks for asking and to go right ahead. Looks like not all were informed though. Definitely not any fault on the hiders part here.

 

One big bummer here is that this cache was the end of a huge series of caches. You had to find around 18 other caches to get the coords for this one. There's only been 3 finders so far and it looks like the 3rd finder was seen at the cache by some muggle. It shouldn't have mattered though if the word was passed on properly to all concerned out there.

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Just goes to show how incompetant some police are. Also shows how resources are wasted on blowing up caches when it should be focused on real security issues. So much for the investigative abilities of that department. How hard would it be to do an internet search and find out a little about geocaching.

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One safeguard I picked up from BrianSnat is to write "Geocache: NO DANGER" on the outside of the ammo box. A closed ammo box outside of a police station would (and should) be viewed as a threat to one who does not know better.

It SHOULDN'T be viewed as a thread if the Chief of Police gave permission for the hide. Big screw-up on the part of the PD here......

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Why would anyone hide an ammo can next to a police station? Even with getting permission this seems ridiculous!

 

Big screw-up on the part of the PD here......

 

Places caches donot belong:

* under powerlines (it's private property)

* next to gaslines (it's also private property)

* next to an elementary school

* behind a firing range

* on a major bridge

* next to a police station

 

Why even take a chance and place a cache in these spots?

 

I have been questioned by the police at all of the above mentioned spots while looking for a cache.

Edited by avroair
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I just suggested that the owner of the cache go down to the police station and file a complaint, not wait until they contact him. They were in the wrong and should apologize and reimburse him for the cost of the cache.

Putting the cache next to the police station may not have been the best idea, but he had permission from the chief of police. Somebody screwed up, but it wasn't the cache owner.

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You gotta wonder about the logic in blowing the thing up in the first place. You don't have to be a terrorist to know how the police will handle the situation... they're gonna blow it up because it's suspicious. Well what if a terrorist knew this and decided to put anthrax or something in it to let the cops blast it to the four winds? There has to be a less primitive way to dispose of something like that.

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This cache was listed by me because the owner included a "Note to Reviewer" which stated that he had obtained permission for its placement at the police station.

Not only did he get permission but the Chief of Police is also his neighbor. Of course the news stories don't mention anything about permission being granted for the placement. Appears that the word about the cache didn't get passed on to all the officers.

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You gotta wonder about the logic in blowing the thing up in the first place. You don't have to be a terrorist to know how the police will handle the situation...

I disagree only because they had permission. I mean, if thyey say its ok, you're to assume its cool, right? If they didn't have permission, I would absolutely agree. I think in the future any such hides should have some sort of something on the *outside* stating: placed with permission of the Park ranger/state police/local police/whomever. In this way anyone suspicious knows who to contact in case any concerns come up.

 

What I found interesting is this part of the first article...

 

Squad members X-rayed the box and saw it contained electronic components, so they put charges in it and blew it up

 

They put charges *in* it, meaning they iopened the container, then blew it up. Now this could simply be poorly worded by the writer, but if that really is what happened, then I gotta ask wtf is wrong with them? they could (or should) have seen that it was a dvd, a stuffed animal, camera, etc, so why blow it up then? I'm really hoping thats bad wording and not what happened, because that then raises the level of incompetance to new levels.

 

In all fairness to the police chief (or whoever it was that approved it), with all things cops have to remember and worry about, its not inconveivable that word of something so trivial might not filter down to (or be remembered by) all members of the dept.

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Hi,

 

I've read a couple of times in this and other forums threads that putting a label on the outside of your geocache stating that it is:

 

SAFE - Official Geocache - Please do not move - SAFE

 

will help to prevent the authorities from blowing it up, and I have to say...

 

I hope not!

 

If that were the case, then I would assume that terrorists would quickly learn to put geocache labels on the outside of all of their bombs (unless we're assuming they're not that clever.... :ph34r:)

 

I'm not saying that marking geocaches is a bad thing, just that you shouldn't count on it helping very much...the best way to prevent someone blowing up your geocache is hiding it somewhere that will not be viewed as a threat to homeland security, or hiding it in the hinterlands where nobody will find it except for geocachers.

 

I'm also not sure that tupperware will protect your cache from the boys with toys working to protect our nation...if they take a peek and see anything that makes them nervous, they will probably blow it up just the same (as they should, we shouldn't expect the police and other homeland security types to take silly chances to protect soggy logs and mctoys).

 

just my $0.02

 

nfa-jamie

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When planning a recent event we needed to place a cache near a shopping area that would hold sufficient game pieces for the event. We used an ammo box. At 8AM the day after the event, however, we replaced it with clear tupperware so that it would not appear threatening to folks if they happened to come upon it.

 

Urban caches in highly populated areas are bound to arouse suspcion when folks are searching for them. It's inevitable. It would seem reasonable to use clear tupperware without camoflage so that contents are visible and suspicion or fear can be diminished.

 

We don't think any of the above excuses the actions of the PD in this case, however. The lack of interdepartmental communication is rather sad and a bit unnerving. Wonder how many ohter things of major importance don't get communicated??? Gives one pause to think!

 

The police are trying to protect us and undoubtedly they thought they were doing so in this situation. It's just a shame they used such drastic measures.

 

Hey, does anyone know how the heck they x-ray through metal? We make patients at the hospital take metal off during x-rays because it blocks the flow of the x-ray and therefore the view of the underlying body part! When candy is x-rayed at Halloween time they do it to show up the metal imbedded in the candy, not to see through it! Also, do bomb squads have moble x-ray machines readily available?

If not, how safe is it to move a suspected "bomb" and transport it for x-ray.

 

Just wondering...... :ph34r:

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If not, how safe is it to move a suspected "bomb" and transport it for x-ray.

 

It's actually very safe. The bombs are stripped naked and placed in a robe that is completely open in the back. They are then transported by wheelchair to the coldest room in the building. The bomb is then placed in incredibly awkward positions, ensuring the open part of the gown allows for unimpeded contact with the frigid table. They are then wheeled back to a waiting room where they wait approximately 4 hours before they learn that they are, in fact, a bomb. Hope this has helped.

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It's actually very safe. The bombs are stripped naked and placed in a robe that is completely open in the back. They are then transported by wheelchair to the coldest room in the building. The bomb is then placed in incredibly awkward positions, ensuring the open part of the gown allows for unimpeded contact with the frigid table. They are then wheeled back to a waiting room where they wait approximately 4 hours before they learn that they are, in fact, a bomb. Hope this has helped.

 

I love it!!!! I'm a registered nurse and this just cracked me up!!!

 

You nailed this one exactly!

:D:lol::ph34r:

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Places caches donot belong:

* under powerlines (it's private property)

* next to gaslines (it's also private property)

* next to an elementary school

* behind a firing range

* on a major bridge

* next to a police station

 

Why even take a chance and place a cache in these spots?

Hey Hart,

you hit 4 out of 6 with unfinished Business

 

Wally

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Hey, does anyone know how the heck they x-ray through metal? We make patients at the hospital take metal off during x-rays because it blocks the flow of the x-ray and therefore the view of the underlying body part! When candy is x-rayed at Halloween time they do it to show up the metal imbedded in the candy, not to see through it!  Also, do bomb squads have moble x-ray machines readily available?

 

You can see through some/most metals with even a weak xray, such as one at an airport. You could see the components through a metal case.

Edited by OurWoods
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Why would anyone hide an ammo can next to a police station? Even with getting permission this seems ridiculous!

 

Big screw-up on the part of the PD here......

 

Places caches donot belong:

* next to a police station

 

last friday, on my way to a guy's weekend out caching event in Ann Arbor, MI I did a cache (micro) that is located inside the police station... (and yes, it obviously has permission to be there)

 

so, permission trumps the guidelines...

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This is an old, old thread, and it's about caches at police stations or other government buildings likely to raise security/bomb squad concerns. If you'd like to discuss caches that damage the environment, or which possibly pose risks to the cache seeker, those topics merit their own separate thread(s). Thanks.

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