Thursday, August 25, 2011

Seattle Police Precinct Coordinator and Reader Response To Advertisers Littering Sidewalks

Yesterday we did a post about a car driving through the neighborhood throwing out little plastic bags containing a flier for a cleaning service as well as about 5 white rocks.

The "advertisers" threw the bags onto sidewalks, not close to entries to homes.

As we mentioned yesterday, readers can call Seattle Police Department's non-emergency number (625-5011 option 2, then 8) to file a report.

Our staff emailed Terri Johnson, SPD North Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator, about this uneccesary and intrusive litterig on our neighborhood streets and here is her response:

Littering is wrong and it is one of my pet peeves. 
I’m guessing the company thinks this is just an ingenious way to advertise!  Irksome to say the least. 
If the community wants to have a patrol car dispatched for the crime of littering, a car will be sent out and a report will be taken.  (especially if there is suspect information such as a license plate).  However, it will be routed to the Seattle Utility’s Illegal Dumping section.
You may want to use the 684-7587 to report the “illegal dumping”, but I still stand by my first response which is to pick up the trash, call the company and advise them that their “littering” way of advertising doesn’t fly with the neighborhood and will not convince anyone to hire them.  I’ve heard they do the same thing in White Center and in Lynnwood, and other outlying areas.
While I’m venting, here’s my other gripe.  When I pull into my View Ridge driveway, and see there is an advertisement for a pizza restaurant or some new yard service hanging on my door knob, I get furious.  I immediately call the company and tell them I will not patronize them until they stop hanging these things on my door. 

Why do I hate them so?  Because, as you recall, most burglaries occur during the daytime hours.  Burglars are looking for clues that the house is unoccupied.  I think that seeing the flyers on the door might indicate that no one was home when we came by so we hung the ad on the door. 

Right or wrong this is how I feel about this business tactic and I vote with my feet!!!  I don’t go there. 

Perhaps the “white rocks sack” company needs to hear from you.

We also received a few responses from readers:

FYI, the last time this happened in the neighborhood, I did call the police to report the littering.  I was informed that without at least a license plate number, no one could be "proven" to have thrown the bags out the window.  Fortunately, I did get the license plate number of the car this morning. 
The driver  had a large box in the passenger seat, and he drove by with the window open, throwing the packages out the window.  When he saw me and he seemed to note that I was looking at him - he stopped thowing the bags out the window at our house and the neighboring houses. A similarly concerned neighbor.  
I have seen technique from this firm for several years now ....I sent a link to this blog to their homepage !

2 comments:

Susan said...

Agreed somewhat inconvenient. However, not nearly as inconvenient or inconsiderate or as much of a health/safety hazard as all of the people in the neighborhood who allow their dogs to poop without picking up.

Susan said...

Agreed somewhat inconvenient. However, not nearly as inconvenient or inconsiderate or as much of a health/safety hazard as all of the people in the neighborhood who allow their dogs to poop without picking up.