BACKGROUND: Victoria Police was founded in 1853 to uphold law and
order in the State of Victoria. Since then it has grown in strength
and sophistication and today employs more than 14,000 staff,
including sworn police, public servants, forensic officers,
reservists and protective security officers. It is the 2nd largest
police force in Australia and is bigger, in terms of both the
numbers of staff and geographic area policed, than most of the
police forces in the English-speaking world.
All 000 or Triple Zero emergency phone calls in Australia are
initially answered by Telstra’s 000 service operators. The
Telstra 000 operators determine the nature of the emergency call
and then quickly route it to the appropriate state police, fire or
ambulance call centre depending on where the response is
required.
Victoria Police currently handles incoming 000 calls in two
ways:
1) If the emergency request for service falls into VicPol’s
“metropolitan” geographic response area then Telstra
routes the call to ESTA (the Emergency Services Telecommunications
Authority). The ESTA operators collect the necessary details, log
it into the Computer Aided Dispatch system and then dispatch the
“event” to the appropriate police unit(s) for response.
ESTA will also dispatch other emergency services to the scene if
required.
2) If the emergency request for service falls into VicPol’s
“regional” geographic response area then Telstra routes
the call to the relevant Police Communications Centre, where a
police operator will collect the details and dispatch the
appropriate police unit(s).
MORE INFORMATION: The Victoria Police website is at
www.police.vic.gov.au. The Victoria Police Museum is located at the
World Trade Centre, Lower Concourse Level and is open between
10am-4pm Monday-Friday and entry is free. Further Museum info can
be found via the Victoria Police website. The ESTA website is at
www.esta.gov.au.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: Southern Cross station is approximately 500m
north along Spencer St. and the Flinders Street Station is
approximately 1km east along Flinders St. Trams also run along both
Spencer St and Flinders St. and can get you to VicPol HQ
SWAPS: This cache has a police theme, so please keep any swaps
relevant to policing. Note that I will remove anything that is not
in keeping with the theme.
WARNINGS: The first waypoint can be very busy. Be aware that
there are always police staff around, armed Protective Services
Officers patrolling and numerous fixed security cameras watching,
so try not to act TOO suspiciously. Quickly determine the required
information and move off. At the GZ be aware of people passing
(including private security guards) and employ your best
anti-muggle techniques.
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The above co-ordinates will put you in front of the staff-only
entrance at the Victoria Police HQ, 637 Flinders St Melbourne.
Answer the clues to calculate the GZ. Note that zero is also a
valid answer
CLUES:
A = No. of flagpoles next to the staff entrance.
B = No. of letters in the last word on the 5-line 7-word sign on
the wall to the right of the staff entrance.
C = No. of potted palm trees in the fenced off area to the left of
the staff entrance.
D = No. of big orange flashing lights under the staff entrance
portico.
E = No. of letters in word #2 on the 5-line 7-word sign on the wall
to the right of the staff entrance.
F = Distance that smokers must be away from the staff entrance,
then subtract 1 from this number.
The coordinates for GZ are:
S37° 49.ABC
E144° 57.DEF
The cache is a 1.25 litre custom-made container, which is
designed to STAY IN PLACE - you can access the contents by
UNSCREWING THE LID. Please make sure that no sand or grit gets
caught in the thread as this will jam the lid for the next person.
Also, please don't screw the lid back on too tightly. The
difficulty rating is due to the muggle factor, mainly during
business hours.