/ Chris /

Geocaching and Law Enforcement Agency Partnership

You have the right to remain….geocaching!

Raise your hand if, like me, you’ve met up with a friendly police officer while geocaching. Like the time I returned to my car to find an officer waiting for me after I searched for a cache near a baseball field. You can’t blame the officer for wondering what I was doing at a baseball field…after dark…in winter!

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At Geocaching HQ, we strive to work with law enforcement agencies to enhance the awareness, understanding and enjoyment of geocaching. We offer law enforcement representatives complimentary and ongoing Premium Membership for the purpose of monitoring geocaching activity in their jurisdictions.That’s why we were thrilled to hear about a new geocaching initiative in Portland, Ore. The Portland Police Bureau recently hosted a coin challenge to introduce six new geocaches at Bureau locations throughout the city.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX3x9kY8F9E

The geocaching program is the latest community outreach brainchild of the PPB’s Sgt. Hank Hays. He worked to place the caches and make his fellow officers aware of them. “The idea for the program came from a desire to connect with the community around common interests,” Sgt. Hays says. “And then as we get to know each other, and the trust level builds, then we’re able to talk about some of the more complex community issues.”

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A young geocacher finds one of the PPB’s caches

The inaugural event offered cachers the opportunity to chat with police officers and learn more about how to make sure geocaching doesn’t cause undue stress for law enforcement. If you see an officer while you’re out caching (say, at a dark baseball field in winter), Sgt. Hays suggests initiating a conversation rather than waiting for the officer to approach you. “That’s gonna make the officer’s suspicion level go down,” Sgt. Hays says. “Because then the officer will think ,’OK they don’t mind talking to me. There’s something (geocaching) going on and maybe I don’t get it. But maybe I’m not as suspicious as I was.” Sgt. Hays also suggests making sure the officer can see your hands. “Officer safety is a big thing. We want to make sure we’re safe. We want to make sure the people we’re interacting with are safe. So being able to see your hands is a big part of that.”

https://youtu.be/1jx6iW8__Fs

Geocaches can unwittingly cause suspicion due to their appearance and/or location. Sgt. Hays reiterated HQ’s longstanding guidance to label your geocache container. He also stresses that a clear plastic container can go a long way towards reassuring officers who may stumble upon a cache. “I know people like to camouflage their caches, and I’ve seen some very unique caches in the little bit of time I’ve been doing this. Huge points for ingenuity and creativity! But if it’s clear plastic and we can see the contents of it, and it has the geocaching logo on it, then it’s pretty easy for us to know it’s not something we need to be worried about.”

Cachers at one of the bureau caches
Cachers at one of the bureau caches

The Portland Police Bureau hopes to host at least a few geocaching events each year. Do you know of a law enforcement agency that’s gotten involved with geocaching? We’d love to hear about it!

(Note: If you’re a Law Enforcement representative or Parks Personnel we offer a complimentary and ongoing Premium Membership for the purpose of monitoring geocaching activity in your jurisdiction. Learn more here at the Law Enforcement & Parks Professional resource page. Simply create a free basic account on Geocaching.com, choose a username that reflects your organization, and email us at geocaching.com/help for your upgrade.)

Leap Day Banner
/ Paige Edmiston /

Extra Day, Extra Fun – Leap Day Weekend Only

Once every four years, Leap Day gives us one extra day of geocaching. We think that’s worth celebrating! Of course, we are marking the occasion with a new souvenir. Heck, there will even be two souvenirs.

But to adequately underscore the gravity of this day (seriously, people wait four years to have birthday cake), we’re upping the celebration. For this one special weekend only, all geocache types in the Geocaching Intro app (including all terrain and difficulty ratings) — usually available only to Premium members — will be available to everyone for free.

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Pretty exciting, right? We think so. To make the most of this once-in-four-years opportunity, we recommend you use the app to:

  • Find an EarthCache — You can send your answers to the cache owner directly from the app.
  • Challenge your mind — Try out a Mystery Cache or higher difficulty geocache. (Hint: If you’re stumped, message the cache owner for hints.)
  • Explore the outdoors — Hike to extraordinary vistas by finding a higher terrain rated geocache.
  • Go streaking — The geocaching kind, of course. Explore different elements of the game by finding a variety of geocaches.

Download the app for iPhone or Android.

How can I earn the Leap Day souvenirs?

The first souvenir can be earned February 27-29 by getting outside and finding any geocache (events excluded). The other souvenir can be earned on Leap Day itself — February 29 — only by attending a geocaching event.

How do I see all advanced geocaches for free?

Just open up the Geocaching Intro app for iPhone or Android during February 27-29! Advanced geocaches — usually available only to Premium members — will be unlocked for everyone. By logging a geocache, you’ll even earn the Leap Day weekend souvenir!

Will I be able to find Premium Member Only geocaches?

When a cache owner hides a geocache, they can opt to have their geocache only available to Premium members. We always respect this designation so Premium Member Only geocaches will not be unlocked during Leap Day. All other geocaches — including all geocache types, and terrain and difficulty ratings —  will be available to basic members to find and log in the app.

What is a souvenir? 

Souvenirs are digital awards you can earn by completing a specific geocaching achievement, like finding a geocache in a new country or finding a geocache on Leap Day. You can view the souvenirs you’ve earned on Geocaching.com and learn more about souvenirs in the Geocaching Help Center.

Not seeing unlocked geocaches in the Geocaching Intro app?

You should see advanced geocaches automatically unlocked for you in the Geocaching Intro app during February 27-29. If this is not the case, please try the following:

  • Make sure you have the most recent version of the app. (Unlocked geocaches went out with the last release.)
  • If you have an outdated operating system, please update to the newest version. (We do not support anything older that iOS 8 or Android 4.1.)
  • Try uninstalling and reinstalling the app.

Hopefully one of those does the trick! If not, please contact us through Facebook, Twitter or the HelpCenter.

Geocacher of the Month
/ Alex

Triff den “Geocacher des Monats” vom Februar 2016

Kann ein Geocacher alleine den Planeten retten? Wir sind uns nicht sicher … aber dieses Team von der Space Coast in Florida, das wir zum Geocacher des Monats gekürt haben, versucht es jedenfalls. Ihre CITO-Events finden häufig statt, sind prima organisiert und gut besucht.

Lerne das Paar kennen, das hinter dem Team “seastar255” steht.  

Du kennst auch wen, von dem Du meinst, dass er “Geocacher des Monats” werden sollte? Hier kannst Du ihn nominieren!

Geocacher of the Month
/ Alex

Rencontrez le Géocacheur du mois de Février 2016

Est-ce qu’un géocacheur peut sauver la planète à lui tout seul ? Nous ne sommes pas sûrs… mais ce Géocacheur du mois, membre de l’équipe “Space coast of Florida”, n’en est certainement pas loin. Leurs CITO sont fréquents, organisés et très suivis.

Rencontrez le couple qui se cache derrière le pseudonyme “seastar255”.

Vous connaissez quelqu’un qui pourrait être le Géocacheur du mois ? Nominez-le ici !