Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/325356
version of this in an unmarked car might be the next step. Now you can knock another chip off your pri- vacy block. On Wednesday, June 4, officials with Waste Management announced they have trained 155 trash-truck drivers in the area to report crime, violence and suspicious behavior. Former FBI Special Agent Joe Vidovich, who is director of corporate security for Waste Management, said drivers are not spying and prying. Instead, they should be considered a kind of mobile neighborhood watch. "We've had drivers report bank robberies, fires, children and seniors wandering the street, dog attacks," he noted. "We are asking our drivers to be aware and report any suspi- cious activity." Dawn McCormick, the company's director of communications and community relations, was also at the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office in downtown Sarasota for the press conference. Unlike the FBI, she said, drivers will not be going through your trash bags. But they do have cameras on their trucks, which can send a video clip to headquarters. "Each truck has a forward-facing camera looping a video," she added. "It can do a 'force-send,' or they can push a button and save the clip." The garbage trucks are in radio contact with headquarters and are capable of (From left) Jason White of Waste Management; Joe Vidovich of Waste Management; Sen. Bill Galvano, District 26; Mayor Willie Shaw of Sarasota; state Rep. Ray Pilon, District 72; Col. Stephen Moyer of the Sarasota Police Department; Mark Cunningham, assistant Sarasota County administrator; and Sheriff Tom Knight mark the launch of Waste Watch. Photo courtesy Sheriff's Office Sarasota News Leader June 6, 2014 Page 48