While the article sounds pretty harmless, other news stations brought up the fact that pest control technicians routinely work in and around people's private homes.  When asked if they would report on questionable or illegal activities or items within the homes, neither Truly Nolan or the Orlando PD would answer the question.  I see this as a way for the Orlando PD to circumvent the right to privacy and the need for warrants.

Truly Nolan will NEVER see any business from me or my family!

Oh yeah, Truly Nolan is one of if not the LARGEST PEST CONTROL CO. IN AMERICA.  This could be coming to a town near you.  


Pest Control Workers To Help Fight Crime
POSTED: 7:56 am EDT August 10, 2005
UPDATED: 10:53 am EDT August 11, 2005

ORLANDO, Fla. -- One of Central Florida's largest pest control companies has been recruited by police to help fight crime, according to Local 6 News.

"Our point is not to invade people's houses or make them feel like their privacy is being invaded. It's just to try to have an extra set of eyes and ears out there," Truley Nolen worker Ronnie Rachels said.
 
Technicians from Truly Nolen Pest Control of America are being trained by local law enforcement to spot anything unusual as they visit customer's homes.

"Our vehicles really get into the bowels of the neighborhood and we're back there where all the homes are, in the cul-de-sacs," Truly Nolen spokesman Barry Murray said. "And part of being a good neighbor is looking out for one another."

The pest control workers will call police if they see something unusual during their stops, according to the report.

"The pest control technicians who are coming to your home to investigate termites don't have any law enforcement capabilities, but if they see some two-legged creatures trying to make their way into your home, they'll call the police." Local 6 News reporter Deborah Garcia said.

"Our point is not to invade people's houses or make them feel like their privacy is being invaded. It's just to try to have an extra set of eyes and ears out there," Truley Nolen worker Ronnie Rachels said.

"Our vehicles really get into the bowels of the neighborhood and we're back there where all the homes are, in the cul-de-sacs," Truly Nolen spokesman Barry Murray said. "And part of being a good neighbor is looking out for one another."
 
The company unveiled the program Wednesday.

The Orlando Police Department and Orange County Sheriff's Office told Local 6 News that they need all the help they can get.

"Because they're not a police car, a lot of criminals, bad guys aren't going to be suspicious." Orange County sheriff's Captain Steve Jones said. "Time is of the essence. If you have somebody that is getting ready to do something, the sooner we know they're there the sooner we can be on our way to get to them."

"Truly Nolen wants criminals to know and be warned that if you see the company's yellow VW bugs, you are being watched," Local 6 News reporter Samantha Knapp said.

This doesn't bother anybody??

Quoted: This doesn't bother anybody??

That bothers me!!


Remember the guy that got busted in Washington DC for bomb making after UPS snitched him out for buying 55 gallon barrels?


Yeah, Y2K survival guy buying water barrels.  Not a bomb maker

it bothers me

Mental note: Do my own pest control.

My ex-FIL used to work for Truly Nolen way back when. They were too smarmy for him, so he quit and started his own business. Now this pops up.

Screw them.

Lets say I go to a house to setup a home network and notice the child has cigarette burns on him.

Should I report it?


I don't have much of an issue with this.  If you're a criminal don't invite people into your house to see your crime.

Quoted: Lets say I go to a house to setup a home network and notice the child has cigarette burns on him. Should I report it? I don't have much of an issue with this.  If you're a criminal don't invite people into your house to see your crime.

Seeing a child that has been abused should be reported no matter where you see it.  But hiring a company do come in a do pest control and they report back to the police things that they see smacks of Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia.  

These people aren't trained LEO's, they are everyday Joe Lunchbucket's.  What if I have a few AR's lying around and a service tech doesn't like guns or gunowners.  He calls in a reports weapons in plain view.  Now there can be a case for a warrant to search and seize.  I don't buy the "If you have nothing to hide..." argument.

Having nothing to hide has different meanings depending on who is searching and what they are searching for.  Having a pic of your infant son or daughter in a bathtub is innocent enough, but if someone wants you behind bars or wants to make your life miserable, it can be seen as child pornography.  Put the two together.  Guns in plain view and naked pics of kids...now you are screwed over perfectly legal and innocent things.  Do you want the bug killer guy to make that call?

Hide your kiddy porn and Al Queda tapes before calling Truly Nolan

What will they report about inside your home? Stacks of ammo cans? Gunpowder? I bet they lose alot of business.

Quoted: Lets say I go to a house to setup a home network and notice the child has cigarette burns on him. Should I report it? I don't have much of an issue with this.  If you're a criminal don't invite people into your house to see your crime.

What about when they come into your home and report back about all the "machine guns" and "explosives"?  Next thing you know....

Quoted: What will they report about inside your home? Stacks of ammo cans? Gunpowder? I bet they lose alot of business.

That's just it.  We don't know what they will be reporting if anything.  What we know comes from a Press Release and a news story.  When asked about if and what they will be reporting from inside a house, neither Truly Nolan or the Police would comment.

I hope they go out of business.

"Our point is not to invade people's houses or make them feel like their privacy is being invaded. It's just to try to have an extra set of eyes and ears out there," Truley Nolen worker Ronnie Rachels said.

Get into the bug killing business or the law enforcement business, but not both.

Quoted: Lets say I go to a house to setup a home network and notice the child has cigarette burns on him. Should I report it? I don't have much of an issue with this.  If you're a criminal don't invite people into your house to see your crime.

My problem is with the "anything unusual" part.

My gun safe might be "something unusual" to some liberal asshat bug-killer.

Quoted: What will they report about inside your home? Stacks of ammo cans? Gunpowder? I bet they lose alot of business.

Yep.  I bet they do too.

Quoted: Quoted: Lets say I go to a house to setup a home network and notice the child has cigarette burns on him. Should I report it? I don't have much of an issue with this.  If you're a criminal don't invite people into your house to see your crime. My problem is with the "anything unusual" part. My gun safe might be "something unusual" to some liberal asshat bug-killer.

Food and water beyond the three-day-reasonable-period-to-not-NEED-the system allowance might be "something unusual".

It's fucking bullshit.  Who is next?  Carpet installers?  Plumbers?

Quoted: Food and water beyond the three-day-reasonable-period-to-not-NEED-the system allowance might be "something unusual". It's fucking bullshit.  Who is next?  Carpet installers?  Plumbers?

Reporting hoarders. That's a good point, too. Especially in this age of "everyone is equal".

"So, Mr. Zaphod. What exactly do you know that caused you to stockpile six months worth of food? Who do you know? Do you have any weapons? SPEAK UP!"

No thanks. Signs of blatant crime or abuse is one thing, but this is WAY too generic for my taste.

What the "police training" involves is more than likely, "What to look for as they root through your home?"  Does the homeowner have guns, ammo or anything questionable in plain view, did they see something they felt was drug related, anti-government or some such crap?  

I'm ok with calling to report criminal activity outdoors, but the JBT bullshit of sneaking a spy into your home to root around makes me sick.

Exterminate the exterminators?

Hood the HVAC guy before you walk him to the furnace.  Tarp off everything he doesn't need to see.

You don't know the half of it. Property appraisers and surveyors are routinely used for spies because they have a right to trespass unlike cops who would normally need a warrant. Had a friend who was starting some pepper plants indoors, in his barn to beat the frost. Along comes the property appraiser one day, when he wasn't home and spies the papper plants under grow lights in the barn. A few days later when he was home, there's a helo overhead and a DEA team raiding his farm. Never was involved with drugs, not the druggie type, doesn't smoke, doesn't drink etc. Of course they appologised and went on their way.

I can see it now...Law abaiding citizen calls for bug work.

Exterminating Company snitch sees an AR-15 in the house and thinks it's a machine gun.

Federal SWAT team executes 3 AM no knock warrant.

Law abiding citizen responds to 3 AM breaking an entry with a firearm to protect his family.

Federal SWAT team blows him away.

No charges filed.....he had a gun.

I call bullshit on Truly Nolan and the whole concept of 'bypassing' the Constitutions search and seisure rules!

Makes sense for them to try this approach, however wrong it may be. Bug killers get to go into every room of your house spraying for bugs, thus they can see things that officers and anyone else cannot. Guaranteed these guys get to see alot of things that may be illegal. But, they should not be trained or deputized to report what they see. Privacy in America should be just that..private.

I worked for a termite company my first year of college (1980) and we did a lot of "service sprays" in apartment complexes. That's to say; going from door-to-door with a manager's pass key and spraying for roaches, etc in each individual apartment. We might do a hundred units in a day with a crew of 4 sprayers. We usually did it in the summer time when most of the students in a college town were gone for the summer break but a lot of students were still there taking summer semester classes.

Boy, we found A SHI'ITE LOAD of dope in different apartments, baggies hidden under couches, in sock drawers, etc. I usually turned a blind-eye to most of what I found, but a guy that I worked with would steal any drugs that he found. (What were they gonna do, turn him in?) We often found nudie magazines and all sorts of sex toys, pictures of girlfriends, if it was in there we would find it. If we had wanted to, we could have turned in HUNDREDS of students for Possession.

I did however spray insecticide all over a 6' tall poster of Kohmeini that one of the Iranian students had hanging on their wall. (This was in the middle of the Iranian Hostage Crisis, for those of you old enough to remember)

Kinda underhanded if you ask me.

Pay someone to do a job for you and the fuck you on the backside.
No pun intended.

For those of you that are too stupid to understand why this is a bad thing, perhaps you wouldn't mind it if the JBTs recruited your doctor to spy for them.  How about your wife? Why not recruit her to spy for them. How about your kids? Why not? You have no need for privacy. What are you hiding? Hmm?

While we are making ourselves safer, let's remove the wooden doors from our homes and replace them with glass doors. Make curtains illegal. After all, we need to know exactly what you are up to inside of your home. We are not convinced that you are trustworthy.

Quoted: For those of you that are too stupid to understand why this is a bad thing, perhaps you wouldn't mind it if the JBTs recruited your doctor to spy for them.  How about your wife? Why not recruit her to spy for them. How about your kids? Why not? You have no need for privacy. What are you hiding? Hmm? While we are making ourselves safer, let's remove the wooden doors from our homes and replace them with glass doors. Make curtains illegal. After all, we need to know exactly what you are up to inside of your home. We are not convinced that you are trustworthy.

Doors?  What in the hell would anyone need doors for?!?!

Quoted: Quoted: Lets say I go to a house to setup a home network and notice the child has cigarette burns on him. Should I report it? I don't have much of an issue with this.  If you're a criminal don't invite people into your house to see your crime. What about when they come into your home and report back about all the "machine guns" and "explosives"?  Next thing you know....

I take the same chance now.  If you were to call and report I had machine guns and explosives in my house, I would probably get a raid.  Probably a no-knock as well :(

Sounds like Adelphia Cable policy.....

Quoted: Quoted: Lets say I go to a house to setup a home network and notice the child has cigarette burns on him. Should I report it? I don't have much of an issue with this.  If you're a criminal don't invite people into your house to see your crime. Seeing a child that has been abused should be reported no matter where you see it.  But hiring a company do come in a do pest control and they report back to the police things that they see smacks of Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia.   These people aren't trained LEO's, they are everyday Joe Lunchbucket's.  What if I have a few AR's lying around and a service tech doesn't like guns or gunowners.  He calls in a reports weapons in plain view.  Now there can be a case for a warrant to search and seize.  I don't buy the "If you have nothing to hide..." argument. Having nothing to hide has different meanings depending on who is searching and what they are searching for.  Having a pic of your infant son or daughter in a bathtub is innocent enough, but if someone wants you behind bars or wants to make your life miserable, it can be seen as child pornography.  Put the two together.  Guns in plain view and naked pics of kids...now you are screwed over perfectly legal and innocent things.  Do you want the bug killer guy to make that call?

What if I misinterpret a typical childhood injury as child abuse and make a mistaken report?  

If its ok to do one, its ok to do the other.

The police don't have the right to force their way into your house without reasonable cause.    You invite Nolan in.   They have every right to report suspicious activity to the police.

If you don't like it, don't have them spray your house.

Quoted: For those of you that are too stupid to understand why this is a bad thing, perhaps you wouldn't mind it if the JBTs recruited your doctor to spy for them.  How about your wife? Why not recruit her to spy for them. How about your kids? Why not? You have no need for privacy. What are you hiding? Hmm? While we are making ourselves safer, let's remove the wooden doors from our homes and replace them with glass doors. Make curtains illegal. After all, we need to know exactly what you are up to inside of your home. We are not convinced that you are trustworthy.

For those of you too stupid to understand and  are taking this to an illogical extreme:

This is about an individual's personal freedom to call the police if they observe something suspicious.

Lets say I invite you to my house (say for an arfcom cookout) and you observe me taking marijuana and a truly heroic dose of shrooms.   Do you have the right to inform the police of my illegal behaviour?  Of course you do and I was foolish for doing drugs in front of people who may or may not approve of such.

If you don't like Nolan's policy, then don't invite them into your home.  

Its that simple.

To put it the other way, if a guy from Nolan walks in and sees a 35 year old man having sex with a 7 year old boy, should he be unable to report that due to company policy?

What if he just sees pictures of the owner having sex with a 7 year old boy

What if he just sees pictures of the 7 year old boy nude?

What if he just sees pictures of the 7 year old boy shirtless?

Where do you draw the line?

Funny how some people get upset about a PEST COMPANY invading your home, buuutttt if .gov is doing it, you guys don't give a shit; The government knows what's best for you.

Enjoy your new America folks. Fuck if I give a shit anymore.

Quoted: Quoted: For those of you that are too stupid to understand why this is a bad thing, perhaps you wouldn't mind it if the JBTs recruited your doctor to spy for them.  How about your wife? Why not recruit her to spy for them. How about your kids? Why not? You have no need for privacy. What are you hiding? Hmm? While we are making ourselves safer, let's remove the wooden doors from our homes and replace them with glass doors. Make curtains illegal. After all, we need to know exactly what you are up to inside of your home. We are not convinced that you are trustworthy. For those of you too stupid to understand and  are taking this to an illogical extreme: This is about an individual's personal freedom to call the police if they observe something suspicious. Lets say I invite you to my house (say for an arfcom cookout) and you observe me taking marijuana and a truly heroic dose of shrooms.   Do you have the right to inform the police of my illegal behaviour?  Of course you do and I was foolish for doing drugs in front of people who may or may not approve of such. If you don't like Nolan's policy, then don't invite them into your home.   Its that simple. To put it the other way, if a guy from Nolan walks in and sees a 35 year old man having sex with a 7 year old boy, should he be unable to report that due to company policy? What if he just sees pictures of the owner having sex with a 7 year old boy What if he just sees pictures of the 7 year old boy nude? What if he just sees pictures of the 7 year old boy shirtless? Where do you draw the line?

Are you really that stupid to believe that gutter swill you just spewed?

It is not about in individual's personal freedom to report suspicious activity.  It is about privacy, the right to it, innocent until proven guilty and illegal search and seizure.

The police do not have the right to for association with companies or individuals that as a matter of business enter peoples private homes for the express purpose of compiling information on private citizens.

I have the right to do what I want in my home illegal or not.  If I get caught, then I pay the price.  The police need probable cause to look in my car or my home.  The fact that a third party says something is going on is not probable cause and would not be admissable in court.  It is called "heresay."  

I am not advocating child abuse or any other illegal activity, but many of the activities I enjoy (shooting for example) could become illegal with a change of presidents (Hillary).  

If the cable guy enters a house and see's grow lights, pot plants abound, Child porno, a meth lab etc...I have no problem if they call the law.  I do have a problem with a company forming alliances with the police for the express purpose of reporting suspicous or illegal activity.  

Quoted: I worked for a termite company my first year of college (1980) and we did a lot of "service sprays" in apartment complexes. That's to say; going from door-to-door with a manager's pass key and spraying for roaches, etc in each individual apartment. We might do a hundred units in a day with a crew of 4 sprayers. We usually did it in the summer time when most of the students in a college town were gone for the summer break but a lot of students were still there taking summer semester classes. Boy, we found A SHI'ITE LOAD of dope in different apartments, baggies hidden under couches, in sock drawers, etc. I usually turned a blind-eye to most of what I found, but a guy that I worked with would steal any drugs that he found. (What were they gonna do, turn him in?) We often found nudie magazines and all sorts of sex toys, pictures of girlfriends, if it was in there we would find it. If we had wanted to, we could have turned in HUNDREDS of students for Possession. I did however spray insecticide all over a 6' tall poster of Kohmeini that one of the Iranian students had hanging on their wall. (This was in the middle of the Iranian Hostage Crisis, for those of you old enough to remember)

You remided me of something that happened to me. I was living in an apartment at the time and I had a pet cockatiel. For those of you who don't know about pet birds, along with regular seed, you feed them a spray of millet as a treat. Well I kept a bag of millet sprays under the dresser near the birds cage. I guess to a dumb ass bug man, a spray of millet looks like fine Columbian bud. I came home one day after the bug man had been there and my baggie of millet was gone. Bet he had a tough time smoking bird seed or maybe he got his ass beat trying to pass it off as maryj.

I used to work as a "bug man" when I was 18, but not for Nolan.

Some of the stuff you see is amazing and almost makes the job worth it aside from the crappy pay!

The only illegal stuff I saw was in this woman's bedroom (she was home at the time) where I saw a cookie sheet with pot spread all over it. The really funny thing is that right next to it, there was one of those plug in vibrators!

I didn't even think about calling the law. (I though about some other ideas)

The notion of service companies reporting illegal activity is nothing new.  For as long as we've been inviting them into our home, we've been inviting them to scrutinize our lifestyle and possibly report something they view as suspicious or illegal.  We all cheer when the 1-hour photo employee turns in a child pedophile trying to develop his sick pictures, but cringe when the same employee turns in a guy with pictures of his "arsenal".  Unfortunately it goes both ways and you have to take the bad with the good.  All you can do is trust that the legal system does the right thing.

However, the idea of police departments actively "recruiting" service companies to report suspicious activity doesn't sit well with me.  People have a natural tendency to want to impress others and feel important.  When you send people into your homes with the mindset of "keep an eye out for anything suspicious", they tend to look harder than they should and perhaps jump to conclusions they otherwise wouldn't.  This wouldn't matter much in a more level-headed society.  But these days the govt agencies are hungry for action and are looking to justify their existence.  What should be a knock on the door and a few simple questions turns into a midnight raid and shots fired.  All because something thought they saw something that didn't look right.

LL

Why do Police Dept and/or Govt do stupid things like this???  

Quoted: You don't know the half of it. Property appraisers and surveyors are routinely used for spies because they have a right to trespass unlike cops who would normally need a warrant. Had a friend who was starting some pepper plants indoors, in his barn to beat the frost. Along comes the property appraiser one day, when he wasn't home and spies the papper plants under grow lights in the barn. A few days later when he was home, there's a helo overhead and a DEA team raiding his farm. Never was involved with drugs, not the druggie type, doesn't smoke, doesn't drink etc. Of course they appologised and went on their way.

The dog. Did they shoot his dog?

Quoted: Why do Police Dept and/or Govt do stupid things like this???

They do it for the children.  Those little crumbsnatchers who haven't done a thing yet to contribute to mankind except for being born....it's their fault!