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The recent fiasco with the N Fond du Lac Yellowstone cache has me wondering. It seems quite apparent that a lot of the police, police departments, etc, have no idea about geocaching.
Considering the large number of people involved in caching, the places they go to, and their behavior patterns, I would think the police depts would make sure all their employees know of this activity.
Would it be worthwhile for the WGA to prepare a presentation of sorts that local cachers could use to inform their local police (and fire) depts about geocaching?
I agree with this. Can WGA send out some sort of information via email or fax?
I talk to the local Chief of police here and let him know and plan on talking to the Sheriff..
Knowledge about geocaching seems to be hit or miss even within the departments.
Personally I’m a bit on the reclusive side so a formal presentation would be difficult for me, but I would be happy to drop off a packet of information at the local PD(s).
It would be cool to have a form letter type hand out which includes basic information about geocaching, a statement from the WGA with contacts and a page to list the locations of current area geocaches (and their owners / contact information) as a reference for the officers to see.
This is a good idea! I would be willing to talk someone if some standard information was available.
Funny thing is that the FBI sent out memos to local area Police departments, but not all of them for some reason. I know that the Kenosha Police have been informed for sure.
Hmmm… just how much would it cost to send something to all the police departments in Wisconsin? Is this something the WGA might consider?
Excellent idea!
I work out of the DA’s office and with Dept. of Justice. Maybe the board could contact Madison’s Office DOJ, they could supply the necessary info to the Sheriff’s Depts and the local PD. It may look better coming out of their office. Just a suggestion. They also have an annual meeting where someone from the board could go speak with the group, you may get some new cachers involved in the process too. 😀
The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) has a monthly booklet sent out to Police Departments about job openings, seminars and other topics. If someone has a contact with the DOJ this info could be sent out in the booklet. The DOJ also has a website wilenet.org. However this site is not as readily used as the booklet by all PD’s. If anything else if the BOD sent a letter to the Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen this info could also be included in the booklet.
Just my 2.5 cents
Trying to help@Vegas Gamblers wrote:
The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) has a monthly booklet sent out to Police Departments about job openings, seminars and other topics. If someone has a contact with the DOJ this info could be sent out in the booklet. The DOJ also has a website wilenet.org. However this site is not as readily used as the booklet by all PD’s. If anything else if the BOD sent a letter to the Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen this info could also be included in the booklet.
Just my 2.5 cents
Trying to helpI was thinking the same thing. What about creating a short video geared towards law enforcement. If we hosted the link on our website, we could share the link on Wilenet or other law enforcment publications. Personnel could then view the clip to get the info in a short, informative video. This wouldn’t be a “how to”, but rather a “this is what geocaching is”, “these are what they look like”, “what to do if you encounter one”.
The Wisconsin Park & Recreation Association (WPRA) Park Section recently met and geocaching was discussed. There are concerns by many of us Park Directors and Superintendents that damage can be done to our facilities, trails, and turf or inappropriate means of hiding caches and cache contents can turn a positive into a negative. More information needs to be disseminated to Park & Rec Departments, Police Departments, DPWs, etc. so that we know what is going on in our parks.
We certainly agree that geocaching can be a wonderful way to experience our parks, but in many areas (especially state parks) the damage that can be done makes us reluctant to agree to cache placement. If caches are moved frequently, we are notified of placement, geocachers are taking care to be Leave No Trace compliant, etc., it would be much easier for us to accept more caches.
I am only speaking on behalf of my department here in the Town of Brookfield (we currently do have a cache and it was placed with my blessing) but the WGA could do a much better job of letting Parks Departments know what their purpose is and the activities that affect our parks. Many people at our recent meeting were completely surprised that this takes place in their parks.
If I can be of any assistance (I am the Park Section Secretary/Treasurer), forward me some information and I would be happy to get it to WPRA members and the park staffs.
Geocaching was a part of our Annual Fall Conference two years ago but many people are still unaware of these activities. We welcome the opportunity to speak with the WGA and work together.
Chad D. Brown, Director
Town of Brookfield Park & Rec Dept.
262-796-3781
[email protected]Thanks for posting, Chad.
The Board of Directors is just now implementing some strategies to take care of many of your concerns. Several of our Board folks I know have emailed you privately, I just wanted to post here that we’re on top of things and will be working with our members to help educate our communities about geocaching, that will include our Park and Rec Departments.
Thanks for your thoughts. I look forward to a great working relationship between the WPRA and the WGA.
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