Oakland's approach to illegal dumping 'abysmal,' civil grand jury says
Oaklands illegal-dumping enforcement abysmal, civil grand jury says
The city of Oakland is falling far short in its effort to crack down on illegal dumping, according to a new report by the Alameda County civil grand jury.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Oakland is failing in its efforts to tackle illegal dumping, according to the Alameda County civil grand jury.
"The problem has grown over the last 10, 11 years," said Rick Smith, who served as the panel's foreperson over the past year.
Amount of trash in city has multiplied over past decade
By the numbers:
"There was about 3.2 million pounds of trash being collected back in 2015, that number is now 20 million pounds," Smith said.
The civil grand jury issued a report this week blasting Oakland's response to the longstanding problem.
It says Oakland spent about $25 million on cleanup efforts but that the city's illegal dumping enforcement has been "inadequate and abysmal."
Panel lists recommendations for city
What they're saying:
The panel says the city needs to write more citations and remove restrictions that bar Oakland police from sharing license plate reader data to go after illegal dumpers. The grand jury also said the city needs to designate a point person to handle all illegal-dumping issues.
"The purpose of the report was to identify places within city government where we thought maybe there was the left hand not working well with the right hand," said Casey Bates, an Alameda County assistant district attorney who serves as advisor to the civil grand jury.
KTVU saw these piles of trash Tuesday near 21st Avenue and Foothill Boulevard in the city's San Antonio neighborhood.
Nearby, there were three large bins for recycling and green waste, but a much smaller one for regular trash.
Just last week, the city announced it's getting $9 million from San Francisco foundation Crankstart to help tackle illegal dumping. Some of the money will be used for a pilot program to boost the size of trash bins for free.
The grand jury says many residents are choosing smaller trash bins to save money.
"As you might surmise, is that larger trash bins would - could be part of the solution," Smith said.
Mayor responds
Local perspective:
In a statement Tuesday, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee said in part, "I will continue fighting for cleaner neighborhoods, stronger accountability, and a city government built to deliver for Oakland."
One resident, who wanted to be identified only as "J" while working in a front yard, hopes the city delivers on its promise soon.
"Every time I have to see it, it's like, well it's been there for years now, so no one else wants to deal with it," J said.
Henry Lee is a KTVU reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on X @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan
The Source: KTVU reporting, Alameda County civil grand jury