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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To take pics of kids dropping litter and send them to school, or is this illegal?

22 replies

TulipsAndWings · 13/03/2013 13:49

I live on a street right in between the high school and the local shop. The kids come up at lunch time, get filled pot noodles etc from the shop and throw them on the ground outside my house.

I have reported it to the school loads but the problem is awful. Most of my neighbours are elderly and they've been to the school too, but it's just as bad every day. One neighbour asked a teenager to pick up a can and crisp packet, he was told to fuck off and pick it up himself. The next day he had a pot noodle poured over his car.

The street cleaning machine goes along every 2 weeks, this is the councils answer.

I think the kids need to be educated about dropping litter and the council should put some bins out. Currently there's one outside the shop and one outside the school.

Would IBU to take photos of the kids dropping the litter and send them to the school? The school have said that anyone caught littering when out for lunch would not be aloud to go out of school during lunch for a week.

OP posts:

CheddarGorgeous · 13/03/2013 13:53

TBH I would be wary of taking pictures of school children.

What about time stamped pictures of the street before and after lunch? I.e. clean street before, littered street after.

Or invite a teacher to stand in you front room and watch it for themselves.

I had a similar problem - children using our lane to practice their survival skills (i.e. setting fire to random stuff) - but the school were fantastic in their response.

Original poster

TulipsAndWings · 13/03/2013 13:56

Well I'm glad it's not a fire problem, that sounds horrendous.

Time stamped pics would be good I think.

I have asked the head to walk down the street after lunch and see the mess but as yet he hasn't.

OP posts:

ProudAS · 13/03/2013 13:57

It's not illegal to take photos in public but you need to be a bit careful in this day and age.

Sounds like the school are at least trying to do something. Why don't you contact the head and offer to take sneaky photos (in which case you're covering your back if they agree) or have a strategically placed hidden camera pointing at the street.

MadCap · 13/03/2013 13:57

Yanbu, not sure about the legalities of it, but well done for being proactive.

fluffyraggies · 13/03/2013 14:12

There was a thread recently about schools banning pupils from going into certain shops while in their school uniforms (ie:during or just after school hours) - this is why they do it!

OP would it be worth contacting one of the school governors for support? Taking the line that this littering is showing the school in a bad light would press buttons perhaps.

maddening · 13/03/2013 14:17

Isn't littering a fineable offence? Maybe speak to the council.

Additionally check the license details of the shop - often when premises are given planning permission to operate as a business there will be clauses about impact such as littering.

Punkatheart · 13/03/2013 14:18

No - I would never do this, as it can be misconstrued. Everyone shouts paedophile at the top of a hat. A man at my daughter's old school has just been sacked for taking pictures of pupils on a school trip.

You need to speak to the school by letter. The council again and maybe even the local paper.

TippiShagpile · 13/03/2013 14:20

I think you need to badger the head/another teacher to come and see what it's like for you. It sounds awful, especially if your neighbours are also suffering abuse.

If they don't help/respond then it might be worth suggesting to them that you'll be raising the issue with the local paper to see if they would be interested in the story.

Bunraku · 13/03/2013 18:27

I would just take photos of the litter when the children have gone, purely because the "paedo round every corner" thing.

maninawomansworld · 19/03/2013 10:42

Lets be very clear on this. Under law you can photograph ANYONE YOU WANT in a public place, or on private property where you have the owners permission to be taking photos. This INCLUDES children.
What you may not do is harass them (so, following them down the street continuing to take more pictures once they have left the area where the littering occured).
Anyone who tells you that you can't take a photo of a child / person in a public place is totally incorrect.

DeepRedBetty · 19/03/2013 10:46

I see no legal issue about taking photographs from your home of what is going on in the street outside and showing them to the school. What I would worry about is posting them on Twitter or Facebook or sticking copies up in your front window or on lamp-posts.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 19/03/2013 10:52

If you took a picture of my child doing this, and sent it to the school so they could punish him for it, I would be round at your front door, quicker than you can say, to shake your hand. And I would be back with my son and a bunch of flowers bought out of his own money, and a written apology as soon as I got my hands on him.

EmmelineGoulden · 19/03/2013 10:57

It is absolutely NOT illegal to take photos of children (or anyone else) littering in public.

There's not that much point to before and after photos. You've already told the school it's happening, before and after photos don't give them anymore info.

If you want to go down the photo route, I suggest for one week take photos of as many individuals as you can who are dropping litter (so long as you think you can do so comfortably and don't mind the verbal abuse your neighbour got, or think the kids would escalate). A big selection of photos at once might help the school see it as a big issue, not just the actions of a couple of rogue pupils. Send the photos to the school with a request they ensure this stops.

If they don't take effective action the next step could be sending them to the council or local paper.

Remember it's the Easter holidays in just over a week, so you might want to take photos now, but send them in at the end of the holiday so it doesn't get forgotten about.

dopeysheep · 19/03/2013 11:02

It's a shame the Russian mafia aren't available by the hour. It would be amazing to hire them for a lunchtime to scare the crap out of the uppity tosser who told your neighbour to fuck off.

ddsmellysocks · 19/03/2013 11:10

Do you have community police (can't think of official name)? They have been very good in policing our area on a random basis for months now around the time the offending children are out and about.

Babyroobs · 19/03/2013 11:15

I don't think schools are interested to be honest. Once the kids are off the premises they wash their hands of them. You would be better off contacting the council - some on the spot fines might put them off. We have exactly the same problem here in fact I know my son's friends are dropping litter on our road in the morning coming to call for him. I am very tempted to have a go at them, but know my 13 year old would be mortally embarrassed at my involvement. Between dog s**t and litter everywhere, it is not pleasant walking anywhere.

specialsubject · 19/03/2013 11:22

all hail the parent who said that they would entirely approve of this. Tell the school to tell the parents to teach their brats to behave like human beings.

And their next charity effort should be litter picking, not sponsored bloody silences.

Maggie111 · 19/03/2013 12:01

I would speak to the school and email all your local councillors - and encourage everyone in your street to do the same.

And if you're still struggling, speak to the school about how to get contact details for their board of governors and contact all of them.

samandi · 19/03/2013 12:35

The school have said that anyone caught littering when out for lunch would not be aloud to go out of school during lunch for a week.

I was under the impression that littering was a crime in the UK. According to the Keep Britain Tidy website it is, and litterers can be fined between £50 to £80. If they don't pay this a fine of £2500 can be imposed.

Personally I think we should enforce zero tolerance when it comes to litter. The school should be notifying the police and their families should be charged.

But of course that won't happen. Good luck.

Calabria · 19/03/2013 15:03

And this is why, every lunch time, there is a flock of gulls following the school children from the supermarket back to school.

JustinBsMum · 19/03/2013 15:31

Additionally check the license details of the shop - often when premises are given planning permission to operate as a business there will be clauses about impact such as littering

I think this might be a way to go. If shop thinks its license might be revoked it might put out bins, notices about littering or stop stocking crisps and serving pot noodles.

DeepRedBetty · 20/03/2013 09:04

About a year ago, the shop in a village not far from here took to making children write their names with marker pen on the wrapper of everything they bought. Small village so shopkeepers knew the names anyway - no chance of getting away with writing someone else's.

If a sweetie wrapper was found blowing about, the name of the perpetrator was there for all to see.

Apparently it worked.

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