Personal information found in dumpster
Personal information found in dumpster
GLOBE, Ariz. — The search is on for the person who dumped piles of personal information in a public recycling bin in Globe.
The documents are sensitive, and include court paperwork containing names, case numbers, and other confidential details.
The woman who came across the papers prefers to remain anonymous. She came to Globe a week ago to dump her own recycling when she realized the bin was full. And right there on top, she found all sorts of Gila County Superior Court paperwork containing plenty of personal information.
“Their birthdate, their address, their name, social security number,” she tells 3TV.
That’s not all. There were juvenile criminal histories attached to sentencing reports, as well as personal mental health histories.
“I think someone should be accountable for it,” she says. “There was a lot of information there. I don’t know if it’s who cleans the courthouse or what.”
We called Gila County and spoke with Court Administrator and Chief Probation Officer Kendall Rhyne. A victim of identity theft himself, he tells us that he takes this matter very seriously.
“Obviously those are documents that should not be disposed of in a public recycling bin,” he says. “There are multiple departments in the courthouse and multiple places these reports could have generated from.”
While there are policies and procedures in place to make sure sensitive information is protected and ultimately shredded, Rhyne explains there was obviously a breakdown in communication.
“I can tell you it’s a top priority and it will be brought up to all County leadership,” he says. “We need to be careful how we dispose of documents.”
Rhyne has since reached out to 3TV again. He tells us he believes these documents were mistakenly recycled at individual desks instead of being shredded. He assures us that he and the County as a whole will be making sure everyone understands how to properly discard of such important documents.
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