Austin will soon have eyes all over the city watching for illegal dumping. Code compliance officers now have eight new surveillance cameras and you may never know they are there.
Code officers showed KVUE dozens of photos of people pulling into a dead end road in East Austin dumping unwanted items. They only thought it was the perfect spot, but the entire time a hidden camera was snapping away.
Most of the violators end up being cited with a misdemeanor and fined around $400. However, two are now involved in a criminal investigation for dumping a motorcycle reported stolen from Beaumont.
"We want the message to get out that it's cheaper and more prudent to go to the landfill,” said Austin Code Compliance Officer Ron Potts.
Potts is getting ready to drive the message home. He spent Wednesday morning unpacking eight new surveillance cameras. All were purchased with a grant from the TCEQ and the Capital Area Council of Governments.
The cameras are solar powered and can even snap clear pictures in the dark.
"Once someone drives in their view, they'll start recording and taking pictures. We download those pictures and we'll pursue the person off either their license plate or their personal identity,” Potts said.
Potts says illegal dumping is such a big problem, that the city budgets $450,000 a year to clean it up.
Since the first camera was deployed in February of 2009, officers have cited 20 people.
"The odds of us catching someone for the first time is pretty remote. So these are people this is what they do. They drive around they illegally dump,” Potts said.
And now the odds of them getting caught are better than ever.
Please review the four pictures included in this story. Code compliance officers need your help identify two men seen illegally dumping on July 28, 2010 in the 5700 Block of Harold Court. If you can help investigators, call 974-9030.
