KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The 22 cameras at 17 illegal dumping sites in Kansas City, Missouri, don't just capture images of careless people dumping their garbage.
The cameras have also captured a variety of crime, including alarming images of a woman being mugged.
"That's real fear," said Alan Ashurst, illegal dumping investigator for the city.
On images shared by the city, a young woman can be seen walking up 22nd Terrace by herself, carrying a purse.
The cameras at the 22nd Terrace and Vine Street site captured the crime unfolding in a series of still shots.
"Then you see the gentleman sneaking up behind her, which was really creepy," Ashurst said.
In the next picture, the man is seen grabbing the woman's purse. She runs away from him in the opposite direction with a look of terror on her face. The man appears to run after her.
Ashurst said the images were sent to the Kansas City Police Department.
"As soon as I find something on there that doesn't include me, which is illegal dumping, they go straight to KCPD," he said.
Ashurst said the woman was spotted again on the same cameras after the incident, so officials believe she is okay.
Both the city and police believe the suspect in the picture lives in a homeless camp in the woods at the dumping site. They are working to identify him.
Dumping sites are often secluded and hidden away from prying eyes, making them a magnet for all types of crime.
The few neighbors nearby said they sometimes worry about their safety. Leigh Adams manages the Vine Street Manor senior living home less than 200 yards away from the site.
"The amount of dumping and just the eye-soreness of it, if we can get something to help with that, that would be great just to support my seniors," Adams said.
The cameras around the city have also captured images of shootings, domestic violence, stolen cars and muggings. They have also caught a child dumping trash and the occasional rabbit photobomb.
The homeless camp at 22nd Terrace adds to the crime, Ashurst says.
People face a $1,000 fine for dumping, as well as probation. Many people get caught.
"In six years, I don't know the exact number, but I would say I've written 800 tickets," Ashurst said. "I've caught four people re-offending. So it works."
Ashurst said one man was caught after he dumped three times. He ended up having to serve 120 hours of community service and received two years of probation.
Last year, Ashurst estimates the city wrote 200 tickets for illegal dumping. Of those, he said 60 percent of people show up to court. Some defendants have the penalty reduced, but the majority end up with a hefty fine and a misdemeanor on their record.
