Officials are using high-tech tactics to crack down on illegal dumping in Miami.
Illegal dumping is a problem we've heard about for years but now the city has a new way of seeing the offenders. They're mounting surveillance cameras on poles that will monitor certain areas 24 hours a day.
The city is hoping the new surveillance cameras will catch the dumpers dirty handed by installing in the worst hit areas, which may be difficult to choose.
The NBC 6 Investigators uncovered every dumping complaint filed over the past year. There are more than 2,000 of them. While they are everywhere, the area that sees the most action is just southwest of downtown.
"Illegal dumpings get an immediate response," code compliance director Eli Gutierrez said. "It’s such a problem because if we catch them in the act, we can arrest and we can issue some heavy fines."
Police have arrested 17 people since March, including a handyman caught using his pickup truck to drop off bags full of debris. Authorities say they're trying to save money and it's easy but they're expecting the new high-tech tool to double the arrest numbers and make the streets less of an eyesore.
The city also has a 311 app to report neighborhood problems and they just added illegal dumping to the app to make it easier to report. The police department says the biggest offenders are lawn care companies who don't want to have to pay to have trucks full of debris taken to the dump.
