The FBI and local police want your garbage collectors to spy on U. S. citizens under their new program called "Waste Watch".

"Waste Watch" Is 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.

Waste Management says the program is free to the participating communities and will continue to expand to more cities. The company is also offering regular refresher courses to employees to keep them focused not just on collecting garbage but possibly stopping crimes and saving lives.


Link:
http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/01/19/garbage-collectors-as-crime-stoppers/?test=latestnews