It might seem like common sense. If the driver of a trash truck spots a crime in progress along his route, or a little kid lost, or smoke pouring out of a window, he calls 9-1-1, right?
Most probably would, but some might mind their own business, which is part of the reason why the mammoth trash collection and environmental disposal company Waste Managment came up with "Waste Watch."
It's a program that employs former FBI agents to train drivers and other employees to look out for anything out of the ordinary and gives them the tools to properly document and report the possibly significant events.
The sanitation workers are given cell phones with cameras and short forms to fill out if they spot anything unusual. They're taught to use their experience on the job, noting vehicles that may be out of place or doors left open. Most importantly they're reminded they're NOT police officers, just extra eyes and ears on the road. If they see something suspicious, they don't intervene. They call their dispatcher or 9-1-1.
"We hope that all of our drivers would do this anyway..." explains Charlie Cunningham, East Coast Security Director for Waste Management and a 24 year veteran of the FBI, "And with a little bit of training with a little big of guidance they know what to look for and they know how to report it."
"We're trying to get the drivers to be proactive" Cunningham continues. "Not to wait for something to happen but to see something and call it in. This is about being a good neighbor, this is about being an engaged employee for Waste Management, this is about being linked to the community we live in. We live in these communities, we work in these communities and that's what we're trying to get across not only to our drivers but to the police."
Waste Watch is now in effect in more than 100 communities and almost every state in the nation, all in coordination with local law enforcement who recognize the benefit of having the men (and some women) at work in the best and worst neighborhoods in town, often in the middle of the night.
In Albany, New York, police heard about the program, asked some questions, then welcomed Waste Watch with open arms.
"We see it as a mobile neighborhood watch" says Detective Jim Miller. "Our officers can't be everywhere all the time. It can't hurt."
Driver Ted Mulberry has been on the job for a dozen years and says he has new focus on his routes.
"On most stops you have a feel for what's right and what isn't" he says while driving his big front end loading trash truck. "You're more likely to notice a strange vehicle or something out of the ordinary. And it creates a safer work environment for us too. If you're paying attention to your surroundings you're less likely to get out of the truck and get wind up being in the middle of a situation you shouldn't that you don't want to be in."
"It's almost a sense of civic duty" Ted says, with a wife and three daughters at home. "For the most part a lot of the drivers live in the communities that we work in and anytime you can help, however small a part, to make the communities a little bit safer everybody wins."
"It only takes that little bit of time out of your day and you can impact somebody's life in a huge way."
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12 comments:
You know, this makes perfect sense. This is a large company being a good corporate neighbor. Most of these drivers (probably)drive the same routes all the time, so they know what is right and what is out of place. Also, most criminals would probably think that the "garbage man" isn't paying attention to what they are doing, so the criminals will probably continue their criminal activity. Now, if we could get the municipal "waste collection employees" to do the same thing, maybe we can start "throwing out the REAL trash!"
this is beyond funny. WM, although I'm a shareholder, has deep ties with organized crime. I remember an occassion when a family member met with a WM exec in order to get a contract together. Both the exec and his driver were carrying. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
It is like Mcarthyism all over.
Ted Mulberry makes a great point..."For the most part a lot of the drivers live in the communities that we work in and anytime you can help, however small a part, to make the communities a little bit safer everybody wins." Thank you Waste Management for not only collecting our waste to make our neighborhoods better, but watching out for suspicious activity. HOWEVER...I think ALL of us should be trained by FBI agents as to what to watch out for. Some things are common sense. Other things, not so much
For my money I'm just happy if they pick my trash up on time, don't lose the lid or damage the can. Sometimes that seems like a tall order for them, so I'm not sure how good they would be as a crime watch.
3:09, sounds like the city, too.
Big Brother to the max. Even the garbage collector is watching us!
Only public educated Americans would fail to see the outrage of this idea. We are servants to the master - who is the government. Now they employ the trash collectors against us.
Trash Man: mind your own business.
Isn't this the sort of thing that we in America used to rib the USSR and China about? aka being countries where EVERYBODY is out to turn everybody else into the gestapo, I mean police? I appreciate the sentiment here, but I am POSITIVE that this will generate calls about BS.
Frankly, sometimes people lack the descretion of knowing when they should just mind their own business.
If someone is climbing in my window then by all means call, if my neighbor is bending over picking something up and shows some crack we don't need a bomb squad to arrest him for indecent exposure.
7:26, that's not what is meant by this idea and you know that. It is clear that the drivers are being trained to look for suspicious things like strange cars, loiterers, broken windows that shouldn't be, etc.. Get real and get some common sense.
Wow. Can't believe folks opposing this idea. The trash guys aren't being asked to look in your window.
It was a watchful neighbor that helped catch the guys robbing our neighborhood.
If a trash guy stops your house from being robbed, you gonna complain about Big Brother?
I don't need anyone to keep track of what cars are in my driveway, what doors are open, or whether I have any clothes on. These employees may be trained by a retired FBI agent but I'm not in favor of them looking out for my safety anymore than the TSA drones at the airport. Next thing you know, they will be looking at what is in your garbage and reporting that back to the gov't.
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