I was driving yesterday on a main road in TN when I suddenly saw that the car in front of me threw away a big bag of a “value meal” from a fast food restaurant out of the window. I was in shock! I wanted to write down the license plate number, state, and the county, but I didn’t know if this was going to be any good. Was the guy going to be persecuted and he would end up paying a fine, or was the government official just going to tell me that there’s nothing that I could do? Is there something that we can do about this?
2007-05-10 03:52:10 · 7 answers · asked by clg_2728 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
ZebJ25 is almost correct. There IS something you can do...report the offense to the police and obtain a police report for criminal littering.
Once you've filed the report you will need to take a copy of the report to the court clerks office and sign a warrant for littering against the individual you observed.
You are the witness of a misdemeanor offense. Because the offense didn't happen in the officers presence, you are the one who has to file the warrant!
If you have further questions, feel free to email me directly.
Best wishes and thank you for helping law enforcement!
2007-05-10 05:07:58 · answer #1 · answered by KC V ™ 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes there are laws against littering. No nothing will happen to him, an officer must witness the violation to issue a citation.
2007-05-10 11:40:49 · answer #2 · answered by speedysundevil 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes, there is a law against littering
but you might want to check to see what the law is in your state
you can always take the license plate and report it to the local authorities
2007-05-10 13:16:37 · answer #3 · answered by newsgirl07az 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Something could have been done immediately. You could have pulled over, and picked up the garbage.
Personally, I feel prosecution would have more of an effect than persecution.
2007-05-10 13:01:32 · answer #4 · answered by CGIV76 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes, there are laws against littering. Go ahead and report him and give the exact location for the incident. He should get a fine.
2007-05-10 10:55:51 · answer #5 · answered by notyou311 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You could file a complaint for littering, however there is no presumption that the driver was the car's owner. If you couldn't I.D. the driver (since you were behind him) there is no point to pursuing it or for the police to pursue it.
2007-05-10 11:01:49 · answer #6 · answered by webned 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Nothing you can do. A violation has to be committed in the officer presence in order for them to write a summons.
2007-05-10 10:55:26 · answer #7 · answered by zebj25 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋