BY THE NUMBERS
Comprehensive Litter Education and Enforcement (CLEEN) initiative
Cases opened on problem properties: 93 cases
Cases closed: 88
Cases open: 5
Cases cited: 6
Cases opened on junk vehicles: 61
Cases remaining open on junk vehicles: 8
Vehicles impounded: 15
Dumping fines: $250 for premeditated dumping of trash or refuse.
Littering fines: $150 for all littering offenses, including cigarette butts, fast food waste, plastic bags, aluminum cans, plastic bottles and glass bottles, all other litter and refuse materials not disposed of properly.
Source: Hamilton Police Department
Complete Coverage
The Hamilton JournalNews has been following this story from the beginning. Staff writer Eric Schwartzberg requested public records and interviewed key players involved with the community-wide clean up effort to bring you this report on the projects impact at the halfway point.
The Comprehensive Litter Education and Enforcement initiative is nearing the halfway mark of cracking down on illegal dumpers and litterbugs, and its efforts are netting a high percentage of compliance, statistics show.
Launched May 1, the 30-week program better known as CLEEN — has resulted in 93 cases opened on problem properties, according to Hamilton Police Department statistics. Of those 93 cases, 88 have been closed. Only about six cases were cited, with a handful still open and the rest of them cleaned up, police said.
“There have been very few actual citations with it,” said Sgt. Joey Thompson, who is supervising CLEEN’s efforts. “Most of the ones we’ve done, they usually result in them cleaning it up on their own.”
In addition, the early-May to late-November program has resulted in 61 cases opened on junk vehicles, such as ones that are non-operational, up on blocks or have overgrowth on top of them. Eight cases of those 61 are still open, with about 15 vehicles impounded.
“The rest have been moved or are now in compliance,” Thompson said. “Most of the time, (the warnings are) resulting in cleaning it up or starting the process.”
Thompson said police are working to get some of the ordinances changed to make them more effective.
“That way, once the actual CLEEN program is done, it can continue to be effective just through our officers looking into it,” he said.
Off-duty officers, the ones who seek out the various problem properties, are paid overtime via a grant from the Hamilton Community Foundation, not taxpayer money. They take photographs, create case files and put it on a shared drive for the city’s health department to peruse.
Property owners are only cited if they have not cleaned up the mess after seven days.
“If it hasn’t, then they (at the health department) tell us and we go out to cite, which has only been a few times,” Thompson said. “If the health department goes out in seven days, and it’s not totally cleaned up, but they (property owners) are making huge strides, they don’t tell us to cite.
“They’re like, ‘Keep working at it,’ and we’re giving them time.”
All 103 Hamilton police officers have been trained by the health department on trash and litter enforcement as part of the CLEEN initiative since efforts started March 1.
The hope is that those who end up working overtime for the initiative use the experience to help enforce efforts combating illegal dumping and littering going forward, Thompson said.
Some of the warned properties that have been sufficiently cleaned to avoid a citation still have “a lot of work to be done,” he said.
The state of various properties shows, or at least once showed, a wide array of junk and trash. That includes everything from dilapidated furniture and chairs and inoperable vehicles and trailers to dirty diapers, torn-open trash bags, discarded clothing and broken tools.
“It’s just a blatant disregard for people picking up after themselves,” he said.
The small percentage of citations and fines enacted isn’t an issue, said Butch Hubble, CLEEN organizer and chairman of the Hamilton Community Council.
“It’s not our intention to cite everybody in the world,” he said. “Our intention is to get people to stop littering.”
While the initiative still has “a ways to go,” Hubble said he is pleased with the high percentage of compliance.
The next stage of the effort will include citing those who wantonly litter while out and about in the city, Hubble said.
“Once the word gets out that the city is serious about this, we’re going to see an even more positive movement toward making this place a lot cleaner,” he said.
To report incidents of littering or illegal dumping, call 513-785-7082.
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