APokemon GOplayer recently found themselves drawing unwanted attention from the police due to their behavior while playing the game.Pokemon GOplayers should always remain aware of their surroundings, as the game itself warns, but it seems that attentiveness can end up causing problems.
Pokemon GOplayers have had all kinds of run-in with the police and criminals at this point. In fact, some have even committed criminal activity themselves, withPokemon GOplayers being arrestedfor driving while distracted, assault, and other bad behavior.
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In this particular case, thePokemon GOplayer wasn’t doing anything to intentionally draw attention, but ended up with it anyway. Reddit user p4755166 shared their story with otherPokemon GOplayers, detailing how they were trying to use thePokemon GOPokestop scanning feature to scan local area features to get an increased amount of drops. This is an established game mechanic, but the way they went about it drew attention from someone whomistakenly believed thePokemon GOplayer was filming people.
According to p4755166, they spent about an hour and a half repeatedly roaming around the same local park area, taking scans and spinning the PokeStops. After sitting down, a pair of police officers came by to speak to them, asking about their activities. Thankfully, after an explanation, the police officers were apparently understanding and let the player off with a warning that their behavior could be viewed as a problem, especially since they were circling in an area with kids around.
Apparently, whoever reported the player to the police was concerned that they were taking photos or videos, which is an easy mistake to make without being able to see the player’s screen. ThePokemon GOPokestop scanningsystem uses multiple panning images to piece together three-dimensional spatial points of the object scanned, which Niantic says may be used in a future AR system. However, this can make it look like someone is intentionally recording the area or people around them, especially if they do it continuously for a long period of time.
As one might expect, p4755166 isn’t all too pleased about the encounter, and has decided to skip the scanning system and stick with traditional PokeStop spinning instead. No amount of bonuses in-game are worth potentially getting in trouble with the law, so it’s likely a wise decision for them to make. Of course, there are plenty ofPokemon GOplayers who have used this system without any issues.
Thankfully, p4755166 isn’t giving up on the game entirely, despite the worrisome experience. However, withPokemon Scarlet and Violetnow on the verge of release, at least they’d have an option to play safely from home.
Pokemon GOis available on mobile devices.
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