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In the mid-1990s, the south end of Newton Area was plagued with a high volume of illegal dumping violations, ranging from used tires to medical waste, prompting numerous citizens complaints to then-City Council member Rita D. Walters of the 9th District.
Ms. Walters asked for assistance from Newton Area and her request was referred to Jeff Churchill, the veteran Reserve Coordinator in Newton Area. Officer Churchill met with representatives from Ms. Walters’ office and then began to formulate a plan after consulting with the area Senior Lead Officers and the City Attorney’s Office to see how the problem could be reduced.
Officer Churchill then began to meet with the business owners in the area bordered roughly by Vernon and Florence streets to the north and south and Central and Avalon streets to the east and west, to determine when and what type of materials were being left in front of these businesses.
It was discovered that a majority of the materials being dumped were passenger and commercial tires, and due to the large numbers of tires being left at one location, it was later determined that many of the tires were being left by either garages or tires shops located in the cities of Huntington Park and Vernon, as well as from other nearby areas.
Officer Churchill and the Newton Reserves then formed a task force that deployed in unmarked vehicles and in fixed observation posts targeting areas identified as “dumping grounds” throughout the area. Virtually all of the officers working the detail along with Officer Churchill were Reserves, with all participating as observers, chase cars or assisting in the processing of suspects and impounding of vehicles.
Once observed in the act of illegal dumping, officers then took the suspects into custody and either cited the violator(s) for illegal dumping (RFC) and in many instances impounded their vehicles due to a lack of licenses, unregistered vehicles or warrants on the drivers. In some instances, violators were booked for outstanding burglary and robbery warrants and on one occasion, four juvenile Code 37 suspects were apprehended and the vehicle returned to the owner.
Task force officers also observed a burglary in progress of a metal plating business in the area and took one suspect into custody at the location. By coordinating with the basic car officers in the area, a second arrest was made of an outstanding suspect a few days later.
As a result of the Newton Area Reserve task force there has been a marked reduction in the amount of illegal dumping activities in the area. In addition, the task force has issued dozens of citations and made numerous arrests, making the Friday night task force an effective tool in reducing both illegal dumping and the increasing problem of graffiti throughout the area.
By Phil Iki, R7, Central Bureau
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If you would like to contribute an article on your division or bureau, please contact the editor, Rudy Crusat, at the following email address crusat@comcast.net.
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