A lot of police (not all) would probably like to see Pokemon go

Geoff Moore with a lost Pokemon creature Tuesday at the police headquarters. (Rochester Police Facebook Page image)

ROCHESTER - While Pokemon Go players around New Hampshire and nationwide have made headlines finding dead bodies or crashing into police cruisers, Rochester Police have been spared any serious consequence of the wildly popular augmented-reality mobile game except for a few extra suspicious persons' reports.

"We've gotten several suspicious vehicles and suspicious people reports in areas where people are playing the Pokemon game," said Rochester Police Capt. Gary Boudreau. "What the officers find when they go out and interview these people in cars and on foot is they were in these locations because they're playing the Pokemon game."

Pokemon Go was introduced in the United States earlier this month and has caused a frenzy within the mobile gamer community as users try to capture virtual Pokemons in real time that appear in a real-world setting.

However, what safety officials are finding is that many players are going to places to capture their virtual spoils of war that may not always be safe.

Early on Wednesday a man playing Pokemon in Manchester was threatened with a knife and robbed on a bicycle path.

The attack occurred around 2:15 a.m. as he was walking toward the rear of an old Shaw's supermarket, according to a story in today's Union Leader of Manchester.

The man was able get away and the two men who allegedly robbed him have been arrested.

Last week a man playing Pokemon Go in Nashua found a body floating in a brook.

Then on Monday three police officers in Baltimore, Md., chatting outside their cruiser watched as it was rammed by another vehicle whose driver admitted he had been playing the game while driving and was distracted.

That incident occurred around 3:30 a.m.

No one was injured in the crash.

"We would urge that anyone playing the game use caution," said Boudreau, who noted there was a decidedly variant level of interest in the game among Rochester PD, determined by the age of the officers.

"Some of the younger officers have a little more understanding of the game than those older officers," he quipped.

Game backers say Pokemon Go can be good for people with mental illness or depression because it gets them out of the house and getting exercise. They say it also can help people who have social anxiety issues to get out into the outside world.

But that combination of being in an unfamiliar place while looking to capture virtual creatures at a real-life location on your smart phone carries its own risks.

"This game tends to get people moving around and not paying attention to their surroundings," Boudreau said.

Some on the department, however, have shown a genuine affection for the little virtual creatures, with Officer Geoff Moore noting on the department's Facebook page on Tuesday that he "discovered this little guy hiding under a park bench."

The post adds that the little feller followed him back to the station and "We're keeping it here until its Pokemon Trainer calls to report him missing. If these little guys remain this popular we may need to start registering them with the Animal Control Officer to ensure we can get them back to their owners when they run away!"

New Hampshire drivers should note that as with any hand held device, using Pokemon Go behind the wheel is subject to fines if not being used in a hands-free mode.

But even in a hands-free mode, Boudreau warns that Pokemon Go can be dangerous because people playing the game are often out of their normal surroundings and can easily be distracted if playing the game.

Pokemon Go is expected to roll out game improvements soon, so it doesn't look like the frenzy is about to abate anytime soon.

Better call Animal Control!