Bomb Scare Prompts Drastic Ban On Geocaching In NB

This article was originally published on Cache Up NB. It has been mirrored here for archive purposes only.

In a shocking blow to geocachers in the New Brunswick region, the NB government has tabled a bill which will make it illegal to hide geocaches within our province.

The announcement came out yesterday in response to the latest in a series of bomb scares at various shopping districts within the province. Over the weekend, another such scare occurred in Saint John in the parking lot of McAllister Place. An unidentified woman called the police after spotting a suspicious looking individual meddling with the base of a lamp post. Police arrived and cordoned off the area. Upon closer inspection, the police determined that a small magnetic key holder had been placed under the skirt of the lamp post. The holder contained a small sheet of paper indicating it was in fact a geocache.

This is the fourth incident in the last month where a geocache has been mistaken for an explosive device. Reports in Moncton, Fredericton, and Shediac were very similar in nature and now the provincial government is stepping in to put a stop to this.

Const. Dale Fletcher of the RCMP seemed frustrated by the misuse of the RCMP’s time. “We estimate that the province has now spent nearly $50,000 of our taxpayers money investigating these types of incidents. That’s money that could have been spent on other more important issues. Instead, our law enforcement officers are wasting their time looking for bombs that aren’t there.”

In response to the trend, the provincial government is now looking to put in legislation to ban the hiding of geocaches.

“We’ve now seen that the reckless nature of this game is causing a grave concern to our citizens, and a drain on our law enforcement resources. It’s time we put a stop to to this and allow our citizens to feel safer in our communities.”

Local geocacher “SpockBoy” thinks the government is over-reacting. “It’s a matter of education. Many people are unaware of geocaching and don’t realize that many of these caches are hidden in plain sight. Just because you see someone standing around a lamp post doesn’t mean they are planting a bomb.” Despite his concerns, the province plans to move forward with it’s plans.

The bill is expected to be read and voted upon by the week’s end. Penalties for hiding a geocache within NB could result in a fine of up to $25,000. More severe violations of the new law could see offenders spending as much as six months under house arrest being forced to listen to Michael Bolton all day. Existing geocaches will need to be removed once the bill is passed. Any caches not removed within four weeks of the bills passing will result in littering charges be filed against the cache owners.

For more information about the new legislation, refer to this link.