Batty609

Firstly this is my first thread so i will say hello to all that read it and welcome myself to you all.

Ok, the question.......................................... ...........

As a private investigator am i legally entitled to sift through the rubbish of my target to gain valuable information if the case i am following is of a criminal nature i.e- fraud??

there is no clear line on this and even though i am ex-job i am unable to obtain any set rules/laws regards this. Any response is welcome.

Many Thanks!!

andy_m

My understanding is that it is still theft or theft by finding, specifically so if the items are placed into a council bin (such as retail outlets) where the item is then deemed to be in the ownership of the council. Funnily enough I had this discussion the other day with 2 ex job lads and an ex Rmp SIB lad, and we all had differing opinions! I guess it boils down to your intent and any value???

paladin100

Does it never enter the "public domain"?
Paladin.

andy_m

Well this is where we all agreed to disagree, some thought it was as soon as it was disgarded, but I have nicked people who have "stolen" from retail bins, although this was easier to prove as their rubbish went into a contractors bin so was never in effect thrown away. It is a grey area and I think would vary force to force and case to case.

fbg

There is a stated case on this with regards to benny the bin man, a notorius bin sifter.
I work to the rule if the bin is on the pavement then it is in the public domain and therefore not theft, also you can always take rubbish away sift through it then put it back, that way the intention to permanently deprive is null and void.

fbg

andy_m

Sh*t, yes, I do remember him, he was / is the fellow who spends all his time going through celeb bins isn't he fbg?

fbg

Yep thats the one, they even made a documentary about him. He sell the info he finds on celebs to the red top rags.

fbg

Nomad

I would have thought the same that if the rubbish is on the kerb awaiting collection then it is in public domain. Entering into a garden to remove or sift rubbish I would have thought been trespass. I would personally remove the bag and ideally substituting it with a similar bag so not to make it obvious that a bag has been removed prior to collection. It is more common here for people to sift through your rubbish not for information gathering but for general scavenging, more so Pacific Islanders and Chinese that seem to do this.

For companies that have commercial waste collection, it is still the sites property until the contractor removes the bin when it becomes their property. Same goes for council tips in the UK. I think people are becoming more aware of bin sifting in the UK and sales of shredders certainly would bare this out. What does amuse me is the same people that meticulously shred their documents are often the same people that put all and sundry in the Internet about themselves which I find rather ironic!

blueonezero

This is a question I've been asked many times during my time as an adviser in law enforcement so hopefully I can help. The first point to make is that, at all times, the bin and its contents are 'property' in its legal sense. This means that someone always has possessory rights over the items, i.e. they are always 'owned'. The owner can therefore takle a civil action against any other person who interferes with them without consent. Furthermore, criminal liability may also arise where anything is removed from the bin with an intention to permanently deprive the owner of it.

When the bin is on the householder's premises, they have exclusive possessory rights and they are the people who can sue. Once it is on the street for collection it becomes the joint property of the householder and the local authority responsible for its collection. Either party could then sue. Once collected it becomes the property of the local authorty alone.

In practical terms then, removing something to photocopy and return would therefore not fall to be criminal conduct. It would, however, be an actionable trespass to goods under civil (tort) law.

Sorry about the long answer but hopefully this helps.

RIPA Training

Batty609

Many thanks for all your replies, the guys i work for and with are all ex job (some pretty high up) so live and work pre-PACE where anything goes to get a result!!
Time will tell i guess.