Suggestion to assist Parks/Police with decision making

[NickMonk]

Hi all,

My day job is with the police.

I am noticing that there have been a number of jobs of late where Parks/concerned community members are calling police to report that a car is parked in a particular bush location, and they have concerns for the welfare of the owner of that car.

Some of these 'concerns' that I have noticed are:
1) "The car has been parked there for 5 days but the track is only a day walk"
2) "There's no walking tracks in the area, I don't know why the car is there."
etc etc

In some cases the concern is genuine and warranted. But most of the time it is not. For example I noticed a job today from only a couple of days ago that had been called in by Parks. On further inspection I saw that the car was registered to a well-known mutli-day walker that frequents this forum. Clearly no concern would have been had if anyone involved recognised the name at the time, however no-one did, and there were a number of hours wasted looking into the matter.

Also I have personally intervened in a job where the concern was for a car that had been parked at a 'daywalk' location for several days, and the car ended up being registered to a well-known wilderness photographer (who was out there for an entire week).

I'm sure some of you already consider/do this, but to save the efforts of Parks and Police maybe:
1) Leave a note on your dashboard stating your intentions, especially if parked in a more unusual place or in a place where a multi-day walk is not considered 'normal'. Also particularly for car shuffles!
2) Let the local Parks people know, or even the local police. Best to combine this with a note on the dashboard. This isn't essential but apply some common sense. If you are doing something out of the ordinary best to let them know.
3) Fill out the logbook properly if there is one....
4) Make sure your relatives know where you've gone and when you're going to be back (I know, I know, telling you how to suck eggs). This is the point most of these 'abandoned cars' concerns usually get to, but in extreme cases a helicopter may be sent up if things can't be confirmed.

Personally I tend to leave a note that also states to potential car thieves/burglars/vandals that my car is essential transport and damaging it could cause a potentially serious situation.

Cheers guys.

[Lost]

While Nick I see were you are coming from but I am reluctant to leave a note on the dash of my car stating I am going to be away from my car for a a multi-day walk. In my mind it just gives low life's plenty of time to break into the car(smashing the window is quick and easy) knowing we will not be back for a long period of time.I'll ring the closest police station and inform them of my plans.

"Personally I tend to leave a note that also states to potential car thieves/burglars/vandals that my car is essential transport and damaging it could cause a potentially serious situation."

Unfortunately there is a small minority of low life's who probably couldn't give a stuff about your situation or anyone else's and will take advantage of the situation.

[oldpiscator]

While Nick I see were you are coming from but I am reluctant to leave a note on the dash of my car stating I am going to be away from my car for a a multi-day walk. In my mind it just gives low life's plenty of time to break into the car(smashing the window is quick and easy) knowing we will not be back for a long period of time.I'll ring the closest police station and inform them of my plans.

"Personally I tend to leave a note that also states to potential car thieves/burglars/vandals that my car is essential transport and damaging it could cause a potentially serious situation."

Unfortunately there is a small minority of low life's who probably couldn't give a stuff about your situation or anyone else's and will take advantage of the situation.

Sometime ago there were similar notices available for fly fishermen to put on the dashboards stating if they had walked upstream or downstream and when they would return. This also lead to lowlives breaking into vehicles as they knew they would be safe

[Lost]

Sometime ago there were similar notices available for fly fishermen to put on the dashboards stating if they had walked upstream or downstream and when they would return. This also lead to lowlives breaking into vehicles as they knew they would be safe

[/quote]

Emm when out fly fishing before Xmas with a mate. Some low life decided to break into or try and steal his car. They tried to jemmy the key barrel and then go through between the the mould and drivers window but was not successful must of been spooked as this was in a reasonably popular car park and some people just go fishing for an hour or take a walk and if no activity on the water be back in 30 minutes. We were gone for 5 hours.

[oldpiscator]

Bummer - was this somewhere in the 19 lagoons area? Heading over next weekend for a couple of weeks.

[farefam]

Fortunately I've never had my car broken into in Tasmania (only once in Victoria at Wilsons Prom when I couldn't help having to leave stuff in the car).

If away for multiple days (such as at The Walls of Jerusalem or Frenchmans or in the SouthWest NP) I usually leave the glovebox and centre console open and empty and leave a note on the dashboard stating that the car is empty so don't waste your time breaking in. As the car can't be stolen without having the keys, this approach seems to have worked so far. For much older cars without immobilisers I appreciate that approach may not work.

[taipan821]

going back the the original post...maybe have a contact number to just giver rangers/police a head's up. that's what I usually try to do and I'm phoning the rangers anyway to get the latest info on a track. with regards to break ins...I've got nothing but hopeful thoughts (the low lives around here will break in for fun)

[RonK]

A suggestion - how about a trip intentions page on this site? Could that work?

[bumpingbill]

Isn't this the point of the walker log book? It often asks for rego/number-plate information presumably for this very reason.

If the log book has the car that someone's worried about, and it says 5 days away and it's not yet 5 days then not a whole lot of reason to worry. Surely?

[NickMonk]

OK, a few things to address here.

While not the primary reason I posted, yes, cars do get broken into, but the rate in rural areas is much lower than you'd think. The suggestion of leaving the glove box open etc is a good one. Crooks only need a couple of minutes to search your car, regardless of whether they think you're away for 10 minutes or 10 days.
If you're concerned about giving specifics leave a note that says "please ring 0409 xxx xxx to find out why this car is here" or something like that. I dunno. I'm sure a bit of initiative could meet both objectives.

In regards to the Logbook bumpingbill - yes, that's what it is for. But, for example, checking the log book at Scotts Peak is a number of hours. Remember the police are getting these calls from the public too, not just Rangers. In fact more often than not they are from the public. Another example - most general duties police officers wouldn't know where the logbook for some remote area walks are. A good example I can think of would be the Bombardier Track to the North East Ridge of Anne. So all the police officer is going to see is the car parked on the side of the road.

What I'm suggesting is to have a bit of think about what may happen while you're out in the bush, and what you might be able to do to mitigate issues like these with a little forethought. You don't have to, I'm just hoping some might....

[taipan821]

I know the feeling NickMonk, quite a few land searches had been started because "there is a car abandoned here, maybe the person is lost" only for the hiker to walk out as the search is starting

other than alerting the authorities prior to heading out with a location of the parked car and estimated times there isn't much you can do, the best option might be to explain that, being lovely scenery/fishing/bushwalking cars will be parked. Maybe the local police station could have a log book, same car gets reported multiple times over several days then they check...that would at least be trying to reduce the workload. maybe any ranger that wanders can have a "we are aware" sticker on it to show its been reported, like the one police use so at least people know its been reported.

[Osik]

Thanks Nick for raising this. If I'm doing anything longer than an overnight trip (and even then sometimes if I'm heading off track) i'll leave a note on my dash with my trip intentions & expected time of return - it's never bothered me but for those concerned about giving specific timeframes, I like Nick's idea of leaving a contact no. for someone else.

With regards to vehicle break and enter, those who are going to break into a vehicle will do so regardless of whether they think you are away for a few hours or a few weeks.

Putting my search & rescue hat on - the more detailed the information left on the car dash (& with your contact person) the more helpful it's going to be in the event that you really are overdue & need assistance. On many searches it's a mammoth job for the search controllers & the police & ses search teams to work through the search area so anything that assists in narrowing down probable areas is very helpful. As raised above, many walking areas simply don't have logbooks, or if they do, they may not identify certain routes or sidetrips or give a proper indication of your intended route.

[pazzar]

I have never been concerned about my car being broken into (it has happened once, in SA), or stolen. If it were to be stolen they would be doing me a favour actually!

I have had the police search for me once while day tripping in the Queenstown area. I had left my shoes on the front seat of the car and gone for a walk up the Jukes Range. Either it was a very slow day, or someone had reported my car. The local cop caught up with me later that afternoon in Gormanston and told me of the situation. Perhaps I should have left a note, yet this is the first event in numerous walks. I always let someone know where I am, so if something does happen, at least my family know what my plans are.

[Davo1]

Just a thought.
Contact the local friendly constabulary, let them know what you are up to and see if you can use their phone number to leave on the dash...ie: Waratah Police Station XXXX XXXX
Maybe you might even be able to score one of their business cards and leave that on the dash.
Not every time but I quite often call into the local station and let them know where I'm going and I make sure I let them know when I'm back out as well. If they are not in attendance I slide a note under the door.

[Nuts]

A note inside the glove box inside your locked car?
I have done this expecting the situation to be serious/emergency services to gain access before mounting a search?

[Lost]

OK, a few things to address here.

While not the primary reason I posted, yes, cars do get broken into, but the rate in rural areas is much lower than you'd think. The suggestion of leaving the glove box open etc is a good one. Crooks only need a couple of minutes to search your car, regardless of whether they think you're away for 10 minutes or 10 days.
If you're concerned about giving specifics leave a note that says "please ring 0409 xxx xxx to find out why this car is here" or something like that. I dunno. I'm sure a bit of initiative could meet both objectives.

In regards to the Logbook bumpingbill - yes, that's what it is for. But, for example, checking the log book at Scotts Peak is a number of hours. Remember the police are getting these calls from the public too, not just Rangers. In fact more often than not they are from the public. Another example - most general duties police officers wouldn't know where the logbook for some remote area walks are. A good example I can think of would be the Bombardier Track to the North East Ridge of Anne. So all the police officer is going to see is the car parked on the side of the road.

What I'm suggesting is to have a bit of think about what may happen while you're out in the bush, and what you might be able to do to mitigate issues like these with a little forethought. You don't have to, I'm just hoping some might....

Nick i like the idea of leaving a mob number on the dash and note saying something like" dear mr policeman I am out hiking please ring 0405 ### ###" but leaving my number on the message probably won't work as quite a few times I am out of mob coverage areas so I would have to leave my wife's mob number. That phone call could possibly freak my wife out and that would be the end of my multiday hikes/fishing.

I bought a spot http://au.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=108#howitworks so I can send a message to her(and other people) letting her know I am OK and sometimes I stay another night and day out( not so much planned) if the trout are going off and I can send this message.But spot subscription charges are getting to pricey so I am just going to probably just go with a EPRIB in the future.But as I bought this device so she can track me and I can leave messages I might persist with it.

Nick can I email the police letting them know the details or best to call and leave a message if not there.

[north-north-west]

In some cases the concern is genuine and warranted. But most of the time it is not. For example I noticed a job today from only a couple of days ago that had been called in by Parks. On further inspection I saw that the car was registered to a well-known mutli-day walker that frequents this forum. Clearly no concern would have been had if anyone involved recognised the name at the time, however no-one did, and there were a number of hours wasted looking into the matter.

I hope that wasn't me. Although virtually no-one knows my real name so it isn't likely . . .

[Wherever I may roam]

How about Tas Police create a database to capture the relevant info. Walkers access a dedicated site/link on the Tas Police website (or relevant) and register their details. Tas Police could work with Parks to have links on the parks website/s to register details. The info is not made public, purely held by Police to access as necessary. If there was sufficient interest you could always develop an app and provide important information like the Emergency Plus app, but tailor it to Tassie.

[Son of a Beach]

I've had one occasion when my wife was phoned by police because my car was left at a location that was not a recognised walking track for about 5 days and people had reported it as possibly abandoned. It was easily sorted out once they got in contact with my wife. But that would be more difficult now that we only use mobile phones and don't share a home phone number any more (at least not one that we use for anything other than DSL - curse the NBN rollout schedule). If I left my current vehicle in the same location now, and the police looked up my phone number(s), they would not immediately get any answer and would then have to go to the extra lengths of contacting various relatives and associates. They'd find the answer eventually, but it would take up time and resources and may cause angst to all the people contacted in the meantime.

So I can see that it would be very useful for all parties to have some system to overcome the issue.

I'd be reluctant to leave too much information sitting on my dashboard, but I may consider leaving a simple mobile phone number there along with just enough information to make it useful (eg, "04xxxxxxxx out of hours only" - because they wouldn't answer during business hours). The number would not be mine (as I'd most likely be out of range, and my phone may be switched off), but probably my wife's phone number.

And yes, I usually leave the glove box and any other compartments open.

[tastrax]

How about Tas Police create a database to capture the relevant info. Walkers access a dedicated site/link on the Tas Police website (or relevant) and register their details. Tas Police could work with Parks to have links on the parks website/s to register details. The info is not made public, purely held by Police to access as necessary. If there was sufficient interest you could always develop an app and provide important information like the Emergency Plus app, but tailor it to Tassie.

you mean something like this....

http://www.adventuresmart.org.nz/outdoors-intentions/

http://www.adventurebuddy.co.nz/system/

Personally I think folks should have all this in hand with a trusted friend. I suspect the police would have little interest in being the custodian/operator of any such site, likewise Parks. Maybe if you failed deregister by the nominated time and it took $50 from your credit card then you might get some takers

[msw]

It's good that Nick has people thinking about these issues.

After finding an 'abandoned' or 'suspicious' vehicle - one of the first places police will check is at the address of the registered owner of the vehicle, so the main thing is to leave a detailed trip description with someone there, and a time that they need to raise the alarm if you haven't returned.

from matt

[Neo]

One of these on the dash with a suitable contact number

http://bushwalk.com/store/catalog/produ ... 0ao5cecbn5

[greyim]

Leave bit of police tape on the dash?

[rurik]

Leave bit of police tape on the dash?

Doesn't that mean the car has been searched? I would not want to have my car skipped over just because someone thought it had been looked at when it had not been.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Xplora]

Twice I have had concerns raised about my car parked for lengthy periods and both in Katoomba NSW. The first time the Police looked me up on their system and found a mobile number for my daughter (not sure how that happened). The second time a note was left under the wiper blade asking if I was OK. I wrote yes on the note but it was not clear where I should leave it. It is nice to know there are some people in this world who still care but if the car is locked and not reported stolen then where would you start searching? Why would you start searching? That would only be after exhaustive checks which would include sending someone to the registered owners house and neighbours. Nick seems to be switched on and does a bit of research but even if the car is owned by an experienced multi-day walker or nature photographer, misadventure can happen so the appropriate checks would still need to be made at some time. The Police have considerable resources available in the digital world now and you would be amazed out how much information they can retrieve. My thoughts are that you probably should inform local Police of your intentions if they are a bit out of the ordinary for the area you are walking as this may save them some time but many remote areas will not have 24hr stations close by and if you call it gets transferred to the head station and your details are more likely overlooked later. Not your problem though if a search is started. In areas which are popular for walkers and also popular for rescues, Police will have a dedicated 'Occurrence pad' or similar to quickly record details and these pads have to be checked each day by the supervisor. So once your due date has expired there will be a note on it for the station police to contact if it has not already been done. Every call to Police where action is required must have the action recorded and finalised then checked by a supervisor who is later checked by a more senior person.