Illegal Trash Dumping

[icpilot]

1. He's a cockroach (possibly a cucaracha)
2. Alleyways are almost ALWAYS non-private property and are NOT the responsibility of the adjacent property owners/dwellers. In other words, if the public can drive on it, it's public. The biggest giveaway is the utility pole he's stacking the bags near....that pole is in a utility easement in the ROW (Right-O-Way) which is public, not private, property. ROW's exist on both sides of any and all public roads and alleyways for maintenance reasons and for reasons just such as this issue.

Your local county's GIS / property tax maps usually clearly define the properties, including the ROW. I'd find it, print it out and have that with you when you complain / file report with your images.

BOTTOM LINE: IMO, it is NOT the responsibility of any adjacent property owner / dweller to clean that up...it is the responsibility of the city / town if within its borders or the county's if not.

Some time ago Phoenix changed the designation, and ownership, of the alleyways. They (the City) retain right-of-way for public utilities, but ceded ownership to adjacent property owners up to the mid-point of the alleyways. I wasn't living here then and I never asked my folks about the specifics, but my guess is this was a cost-saving move for the city. They decided to push off responsibility for alley maintenance and clean-up to the residents. They also enacted new ordinances making it illegal to use the alley as a thoroughfare and stating that only residents are to have alley access. This makes it technically illegal for people who are not residents to transit the alleys, but as you can see in my captures, it's a law that is frequently violated. The City periodically surveys the alleys and writes tickets for residents who have trash or overgrown vegetation extending into the alleys. The only time the City will not take action against a resident, is if the illegal dumping is reported promptly. Criminals often use the alleys for ingress/egress to/from their victims. The alleys are largely unlit unless homeowners have installed lighting, and it is rare for residents to surveil their alleyways. As my home is on a corner and near to a deteriorating mall, I see so much activity it necessitated installation of security cameras. Even with them, I've had cretins jump the fence and get into my carport and yard looking for something/anything to steal. The cameras alerted me and they were shooed away, but it is a constant battle.

Edit to Add: It does provide plenty of opportunity to provide interesting camera captures though.

 

[CCTVCam]

Nice captures, you don't need a PTZ. Maybe an additional camera with a longer zoom, looking further down the alley.
You may want to take a look inside the bags, and see if his address is on a bill in the bag. Then somehow, someway, the bag magically re-appears on his front lawn. Most likely you will find that the scum lives close by.
Or drive around a few blocks and see if you can spot the car and the license plate.

I'd be careful of looking in the bags. Always the risk they contain asbestos.

IcPilot, if the blocks are hollow ever thought of mounting a long black satellite dish such as the above to the top block and filling then filling it with concrete to make it solid? Might work.

Other alternative is a free standing post but bear in mind the longer the post, the more the flex in wind. As a general rule, if you need stability such as here, keep the post as short as possible, as wide as possible and with as thick internal walls as possible.

 

[icpilot]

I'd be careful of looking in the bags. Always the risk they contain asbestos.

IcPilot, if the blocks are hollow ever thought of mounting a long black satellite dish such as the above to the top block and filling then filling it with concrete to make it solid? Might work.

Other alternative is a free standing post but bear in mind the longer the post, the more the flex in wind. As a general rule, if you need stability such as here, keep the post as short as possible, as wide as possible and with as thick internal walls as possible.

I had not thought of that before, but your posts along with sebastiantombs have given me more to think about.

Thank you.

 

[CCTVCam]

I had not thought of that before, but your posts along with sebastiantombs have given me more to think about.

Thank you.

As I see it the worst that can happen is your break a block. But I'm guessing the blocks are still available in which case the penalty is you have to buy a block, cement it in place and repaint it. Not the end of the world.

 

[NightLife]

What if you exploit the back hole in the junction box?

• Drill a hole in the block.
• Place a large washer on a decent sized toggle bolt, after you cut to the desired length and employ that to anchor the junction box. Good ones can hold over 50 lbs.
• Drill the other box holes, which will help hold it to the wall a bit more, but really they're there to dissuade rotation of the box.

Something like this - Hillman Group 370054 Toggle Bolt:

 

[IAmATeaf]

My house is a corner house and we get regular dumpings of trash and building materials, most of the time along the side of my house. For years the neighbours on the side for some reason thought it was from our house, go figure.

I then have to report it to the local council who do come and clear up after a few days. I’ve asked them to put up a cam but according to them it would be too expensive.

I’ve thought of putting up a cam to cover the side of my house, even have a cable ready but given the laws around this are unclear have been reluctant to do so. I even asked a local policeman if I could and his view was, yes you could but if somebody objected then it might cause issues and you’d also then need to remove it so to date haven’t bothered.

 

[NightLife]

I've run into illegal dumpers several times, or the results of their drops. I gathered up photos, names from the trash in the bags and presented it all to the municipality - a sat photo, with arrows delineating where all the trash was, the sort of trash and so on. Crickets. It was municipal property, yet the old cans of paint (possibly with lead), the piles of couches, drawers, tons of other debris meant little to them as far as being a priority. Eventually some of it was removed, but it was incomplete. In that exact same area I had a few interesting encounters that stand out...

One afternoon I was hiking in an area adjacent to the usual dump sites (dead end road, surprise), when I came around a corner on the trail and saw a truck backed in 50' off a busier road, down a goat trail. It was clear some guys were hucking shit out of the back of the pickup onto the ground in the woods so as I strolled up, I pulled out my cell and holding it at arms length so my intent was clear, I began recording them. The funniest thing happened - they instantly pivoted to retrieving all the crap they'd thrown, and returning it into the box of their pick-up, and left in a hurry. Mission accomplished I figured .. 99 more missions to go. Fuckers are winning.

The next time I encountered someone in that same spot was at night, pitch black and I was back there again tracking bears. The woods adjacent to the trail is like a maze in summer, a series of bear trails surrounding the den area which I enjoyed hiking. But as was my usual habit, in those mazes, or the area in general I would always have a blade out in case I was taken by surprise. Must have been a bit of a surprise when a truck entered from that busier road, and creeped around that corner because I was walking in the opposite direction about 100' down, knife in hand. I think I stopped slowly, and tweaked my neck a few degrees around in their direction as their headlights lit me up. The truck was thrown in reverse, and they disappeared....I don't care who you are, I think if you came upon a guy with a shaved head, carhartts, 6" blade in hand, walking in the middle of the night down some abandoned dead end, you'd probably back up as well. ha. I'm pretty sure I'd have done the same if I were them. I still think about that, and it makes me chuckle. Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't get called in..maybe if it was closer to halloween.

 

[CCTVCam]

@IamaTeaLea, as I understand it, not illegal if it covers your own property and anything is incidental. However, cover a public area in the UK even incidentally, and you become subject to GDP even as a private householder - nightmare.

Whoever in the EU thought the rules up is crazy. It's a criminal's charter.

 

[NightLife]

If one drew a privacy area around the public areas, would that be removable with software down the road? In other words, for legal reasons could the defining of a privacy/blurred area in the public areas suffice, even though it 'may' be reversed in the software to reveal what happened in that public area?

 

[CCTVCam]

As I understand it Nightlife, in the UK if you capture public areas at all, you're subject to GDPR, That means rules about Data Retention, eg I believe this includes putting up public warning signs, the public can requests copies of any footage capturing them, you cannot share the footage eg on this forum if it's captured anyone even if they are a criminal, etc. If someone requests footage of themselves, you have to blur the faces of anyone else in the footage out to maintain their privacy. etc. Real nightmare once GDPR applies. PS this is only my understanding, some of the former may be incorrect. I suggest anyone wanting to know about GDPR should go to the information commissioners web page or consult a lawyer.

 

[NightLife]

Considering the Brits have more cameras per capita than any other country, that's rich I think.

 

[The Automation Guy]

Alleyways are almost ALWAYS non-private property and are NOT the responsibility of the adjacent property owners/dwellers. In other words, if the public can drive on it, it's public. The biggest giveaway is the utility pole he's stacking the bags near....that pole is in a utility easement in the ROW (Right-O-Way) which is public, not private, property. ROW's exist on both sides of any and all public roads and alleyways for maintenance reasons and for reasons just such as this issue.

Not to nick-pick, but just because there may be a utility easement doesn't make the property public. It simply means the utility company can use/access that portion of land. Also, there are tons of private drives and alleyways. We have no idea how this particular alleyway is designated. There very well may be private drive signs at both ends of the alley.

 

[looney2ns]

My house is a corner house and we get regular dumpings of trash and building materials, most of the time along the side of my house. For years the neighbours on the side for some reason thought it was from our house, go figure.

I then have to report it to the local council who do come and clear up after a few days. I’ve asked them to put up a cam but according to them it would be too expensive.

I’ve thought of putting up a cam to cover the side of my house, even have a cable ready but given the laws around this are unclear have been reluctant to do so. I even asked a local policeman if I could and his view was, yes you could but if somebody objected then it might cause issues and you’d also then need to remove it so to date haven’t bothered.

Best to NOT take legal advice from the Police.

 

[TonyR]

Not to nick-pick, but just because there may be a utility easement doesn't make the property public. It simply means the utility company can use/access that portion of land. Also, there are tons of private drives and alleyways. We have no idea how this particular alleyway is designated. There very well may be private drive signs at both ends of the alley.

You misunderstood what I intended to say or I likely mis-stated what I meant.

That pole is 3 feet from the alleyway pavement and it's literally touching a private fence...I'd be willing to wager that pole IS, in fact, on public property AND just happens to have a utility easement.

The GIS property maps could establish what's-what quickly.


EDIT: the OP shot ALL of that down in post #21; it seems his city took the easy way out and foisted EVERYTHING onto the adjacent private property owners and residences. Ain't it great? Muni taxes go UP but the quantity and quality of their services go DOWN.