Garbage truck drivers watch for signs of criminal activity

[madmusic]

Move over police cruisers - there's a new enforcement vehicle in town.

"They're big, they're green and they're very difficult to miss in your neighbourhood," said Cam Hantiuk, director with Waste Management of Canada.

Municipal police forces and the RCMP will be joined on the streets by garbage truck drivers under an initiative called Waste Watch.

Drivers are trained in a 90-minute session to determine what situations merit a phone call to police.

The garbage collectors are also trained to assess the emergency level in a situation, helping them to determine who to call.

Drivers are on the lookout for vandalism, assaults and home invasions. Trained to be observant, the drivers are also taught to make the call and not put themselves at risk.

more: http://www.vicnews.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=36&cat=23&id=772311&more=

[rpannier]

1. Sounds like a really bad new tv series

Or a television show that Homer Simpson would be watching on the Simpsons.

[Jim Sagle]

2. Let's all watch the Simpsons on TV watch TV.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. it's a better idea than when they tried to get truckers to watch for terrorists.

My drivers laughed at that one.

[oasis]

4. I hope they find the s-o-b who ripped off my trash can last week.

:-(

[Canadian Socialist]

5. Canada Post also has a similar program

They train their carriers to watch for signs of break-ins, or empty houses. Sort of like a Block Watch program. I think it's a good thing myself. They aren't "snitches" per se.

[BattyDem]

6. I guess it couldn't hurt, but for some reason ...

I'm sitting here laughing my ass off! It's getting harder to tell the difference between reality and The Onion ... you know what I mean? :crazy:

[BlueJazz]

7. Yep...The First thing I thought of was the old term "G Man" as in...

..an Edward G Robertson Movie: Yeah...You see, Kid..These Dirty G-Men will never Get Me...

[madmusic]

9. That was my thought too. Is this for real?

And if someone is breaking into a house, how the hell are they going to miss a roaring, humongous TRASH TRUCK coming down the street. And they know it's a cop, or a wannabe. "Hey, Bubba, here comes the trash truck. Should we turn ourselves in before it's too late?"

Besides the funny part, doesn't it seem like law enforcement is enlisting a LOT of civilians for all kinds of reasons? "Thanks for enlisting me. Now that it's official, I saw 250 home break-ins over the years, but I wasn't important enough to call back then. Now that I am, I will."

typo

[BattyDem]

10. "I saw 250 home break-ins over the years, but I wasn't important enough to call back then."

:rofl:

[madmusic]

15. Hee-hee, it's nuts!

[treestar]

17. There are a lot of tattle-tale type laws lately, too.

And laws making people responsible for the behavior of others.

Though they sound reasonable on the surface, I think they are going somewhere we don't want to go. The recipe for totalitarianism lies in this attitude.

Law enforcement serves the citizens, not the other way round. People could put their spying energy into self-protection instead.

[valerief]

8. I guess letter carriers will be putting out fires next. nt

[Kerrytravelers]

12. Already happened!

My dad carries mail. After 9-11, it was "suggested" that they might want to note who gets mail from "certain places" and it would be ok to "take notes."

My dad and his branch basically said you an take you suggestions and your notes and shove 'em where the sun don't shine. The feeling is that they're not working as domestic spies for the bush cabal.

Anyone with sense will report incidents that warrant calls to the police. I like to think that people who collect garbage and drive those HUGE trucks have enough sense to report incidents. Collecting garbage for a living doesn't mean that you're a stupid person with no sense. :eyes:

[madmusic]

14. Good for him!

I mean, it's un-freakin'-believable what BushCo would do if he could. Can you imagine what the country would be like if all his "ideas" were implemented without protest?

[Kerrytravelers]

16. I certainly can imagine. George Orwell imagined and wasn't too far off!

:scared:

[RB TexLa]

11. they have no responsibility to call police for anything, just like the rest of us

See an assault: call or don't call the police, no one has any legal requirement to do so.

[madmusic]

13. That's true... but they agreed, and have the responsibility now.

Which brings up another point. How long before they are sued for not protecting someone?

Cops have immunity from almost everything. These guys won't.