Perched in his office on the 15th floor of the Justice Center, Chief Kroeker seemed perfectly comfortable with the idea of trash as public property.

"Things inside your house are to be guarded," he told WW. "Those that are in the trash are open for trash men and pickers and--and police. And so it's not a matter of privacy anymore."

Then we spread some highlights from our haul on the table in front of him.

"This is very cheap," he blurted out, frowning as we pointed out a receipt with his credit-card number, a summary of his wife's investments, an email prepping the mayor about his job application to be police chief of Los Angeles, a well-chewed cigar stub, and a handwritten note scribbled in pencil on a napkin, so personal it made us cringe. We also drew his attention to a newsletter from the conservative political advocacy group Focus on the Family, addressed to "Mr. & Mrs. Mark Kroeker."

"Are you a member of Focus on the Family?" we asked.

"No," the chief replied.

"Is your wife?"

"You know," he said, with a Clint Eastwood gaze, "it's none of your business."

http://www.wweek.com/portland/...-1616-rubbish.html-2

And this is why a shredder is a wonderful device to have in the home. You want to see what instant ramen I eat, go ahead. You want to read documents about what I do and how I live, better bring an industrial sized stick of paste, magnifying glasses and a lot of patience.

I've always been under the impression that garbage was fair game.

You can't steal garbage, and it is also not covered by the Fourth Amendment.

Kroeker was with PPB like 10 years ago. Old article?

quote:

Originally posted by radioman:
Kroeker was with PPB like 10 years ago. Old article?

23 Dec 2002

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
and it is also not covered by the Fourth Amendment.

I know, SCOTUS ruled on this but I don't necessarily agree.
My property line is technically the center of the street per my deed. Yes, the city has a right of way, but MY trash sitting at the curb is still on MY property.

I shred all the paper that comes through my house and in the winter I use the confetti for starting my fireplace. If somebody wants to dumpster dive in front of my house that’s their problem just clean it up.

You have the right to shred. If you give up the right to shred, anything you throw out can and will be used against you in a court of law.

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
and it is also not covered by the Fourth Amendment.

I know, SCOTUS ruled on this but I don't necessarily agree.
My property line is technically the center of the street per my deed. Yes, the city has a right of way, but MY trash sitting at the curb is still on MY property.

I picked up lots of garbage both as a cop and as a PI. Courts always accepted anything I found.
Your garbage man can be bribed to bring your trash to whoever wants it.
I have even heard of college kids and crossword puzzle experts used to reconstruct shredded documents.
True privacy is pretty elusive these days.

All private type papers go into the woodstove here.