Photo courtesy of National Mall and Memorial Parks.

Update: D.C. Police says that it “has not seen any incidents involving this app in the District,” according to spokesperson Aquita Brown.

That hasn’t stopped the department from issuing a set of warnings. On the 4D listserv, Lieutenant Shane Lamond calls the app an “easy way to be robbed of your cell phone, as criminals know you have one in your possession.” He sent out five safety tips for players:

1. Always be aware of your surroundings, and look up from your phone frequently. There are reports that players have fallen down hills, into holes, stepped off curbs into traffic, and run into objects such as trees and poles because they are concentrating on their phones.

2. Do not play the game at night and stay out of poorly lit areas.

3. Try to stay in public areas where other people are around.

4. Stay clear of alleyways, tunnels, and other secluded areas.

5. Make sure that someone else knows that you are playing, and what area you will be playing in.

Original: Less than a week after its release, the Pokemon GO app is presenting Jiggypuffs and Psyducks on the streets of the District.

The game lets people capture and collect Pokemon, the Japanese “pocket monsters” made famous by a 90s television show and card game. Using your phone’s GPS, the app makes creatures appear close to you, and then you can train and fight them. The augmented reality game has increased Nintendo’s value by about $9 billion since last Wednesday, according to Buzzfeed, which also reported that app developer Niantic can collect “your email address, IP address, the web page you were using before logging into Pokémon Go, your user name, and your location,” along with the ability to access your entire Google account if you use it to sign in.

But that isn’t stopping people. There’s a burgeoning cottage industry of people looking to cash in on the app. (The app itself is free to download, though you can pay for in-game currency.) And national and local institutions are getting in on the action too, using the popularity of the app to boost their own offerings.

The National Mall is now promising ranger-led Pokemon hunts that will fuse information about the monuments with users’ quest to catch all the digital creatures. But the mall also has a warning for wannabe Pokemon masters.

“[A]s you race around the park trying to collect as many Pokemon as possible, please remember to be respectful of your fellow visitors as well as the memorials. Yes, it might be tempting to go after that Snorlax near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, or the Venusaur hanging out in the chamber of the Jefferson Memorial, but remember that there are places of solemn reflection here at the National Mall where playing Pokemon just isn’t appropriate,” a Facebook post reads.

And respectfulness is but one concern. A post on Medium warns that Pokemon Go is a “death sentence” for black men. “When my brain started combining the complexity of being Black in America with the real world proposal of wandering and exploration that is designed into the gamplay of Pokemon GO, there was only one conclusion. I might die if I keep playing,” writes Omari Akil.

Already, armed robbers allegedly used the app to ambush victims in Missouri. According to police, the men chose secluded places where they knew people would go to find Pokemon.

Police in Goochland, Va. said that the “Goochland County Sheriff’s Office has been experiencing a rise in Trespassing and Suspicious Activity events recently due to the new Pokemon Go app.”

We’ve reached out to D.C. Police to learn if there have been any disturbances due to the app or forthcoming suggestions for players, and will update if we hear back. (Other law enforcement agencies have released warnings about the game.)

In the meantime, here are some places to spot Pokemon nearby. Let us know in the comments if you know of any great PokeSpots.

(As one tweeter points out, water might not be the best thing for a fire-based Pokemon like Charmander.)

Filed Under: national mall, pokemon, pokemon go,