Can You Be Charged With Theft for Taking Bandit Signs

My question involves personal property located in the State of:Arizona

Bandit signs are illegal in my county (Pinal), as they are in most counties across the country. It's my understanding that once the violator places the sign in the ground or nails it to a utility pole, it would be considered abandoned property. At the very least, it should be classified as trash. So what would make picking up these illegally placed signs a crime?

The reason I ask is because I received a rather terse message from the County Code Compliance Manager stating in part: "The type of action that you were involved in could results in civil action or possibly criminal action being brought against you by the owners of these signs."

First of all, I see no statute on the books that renders picking up roadside debri or abandoned property a crime. As far as I'm concerned, those ugly signs are no different than someone tossing an old mattress or sofa on the side of the road. And how can I be faced with civil action from the violator? After all, they placed the sign and left it there, with no intention of ever reclaiming it. It seems to me, they relinquished any ownership of the sign.

In the event that I am charged with something, I'd like to be prepared. Can anyone enlighten me on this subject?

Thanks!

Sorry, they are not abandoned property in the US. You can be charged with theft.

I have a similar issue here in Phoenix.

Business signs get placed in the dirt outside my wall. It's on city property out there and it's a violation of the city code.

My solution is to note the phone number, lay the sign face down on the ground, call the number, get the business person on the phone and tell him that he's violating city code and that if he doesn't remove it I'll have him cited. It's usually gone within a day.

But I don't take or dispose of the signs because that is theft, regardless of how you rationalize it.

Yard sale signs don't bother me as they are usually retrieved by the end of the weekend.

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Quoting Disagreeable

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Sorry, they are not abandoned property in the US. You can be charged with theft.

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How is that NOT abandoned property? What makes it different from tossing a bag of trash or an old mattress on the side of the road. I'm really having a hard time digesting this.:confused:

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Quoting adjusterjack

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I have a similar issue here in Phoenix.

Business signs get placed in the dirt outside my wall. It's on city property out there and it's a violation of the city code.

My solution is to note the phone number, lay the sign face down on the ground, call the number, get the business person on the phone and tell him that he's violating city code and that if he doesn't remove it I'll have him cited. It's usually gone within a day.

But I don't take or dispose of the signs because that is theft, regardless of how you rationalize it.

Yard sale signs don't bother me as they are usually retrieved by the end of the weekend.

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I feel the same way about yard sale signs.

The deal that I have made with Pinal County Code Enforcement is that <supposedly> if I email or phone them with locations of signs, they will dispatch an officer to retrieve them. I have offered to assist them, but they have turned me down. Those signs make me sick to my stomach when I see them and I cannot stand to wait from someone from the county to get around to removing them.

I'll see how this arrangement works out. Meanwhile, I have been warned to leave the signs alone.

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Quoting Pampurrs

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How is that NOT abandoned property? What makes it different from tossing a bag of trash or an old mattress on the side of the road. I'm really having a hard time digesting this.:confused:

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If you park your car unlawfully, is it abandoned? Anybody can take it and keep it?

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Quoting Mr. Knowitall

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If you park your car unlawfully, is it abandoned? Anybody can take it and keep it?

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That's a good point. I would argue that it has to do with intent. The driver of the car intends to retrieve it some point. The person who tosses the mattress on the side of the road, or the person who nails a sign to a utility pole has no intention of retrieving it. That's where the distintion lies in my mind. The challenge of course would be proving the intent.

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Quoting Pampurrs

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Those signs make me sick to my stomach when I see them and I cannot stand to wait from someone from the county to get around to removing them.

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Over-react much?

Take a chill pill.

I don't like them but I don't let them tear me up like that.

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Quoting adjusterjack

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Over-react much?

Take a chill pill.

I don't like them but I don't let them tear me up like that.

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We all have our likes and dislikes, and pet peeves. I'm sure you have some of your own. Mine happens to be that I dislike seeing my communty trashed up with these ugly signs.

You're the one that needs the chill pill. Move on to another thread if all you have to offer is a negative and useless remark.

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Quoting Pampurrs

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That's a good point. I would argue that it has to do with intent.

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They have no intent to abandon their signs. So there is no distinction.

I suggest you move to another community.

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Quoting Pampurrs

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We all have our likes and dislikes, and pet peeves. I'm sure you have some of your own. Mine happens to be that I dislike seeing my communty trashed up with these ugly signs.

You're the one that needs the chill pill. Move on to another thread if all you have to offer is a negative and useless remark.

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Quoting Mr. Knowitall

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They have no intent to abandon their signs. So there is no distinction.

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Furthermore, unless you are law enforcement or some other authorized authority, you have no authority to confiscate or remove items, even if they are possessed or placed illegally.

If you see a gun in the car of someone whom you know for a fact is a convicted felon, do you think you can just remove the gun from the car and dispose of it, since it's illegal for the convicted felon to possess it?

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Quoting Disagreeable

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I suggest you move to another community.

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Is that what you advocate, simply run from a problem rather than confront it? That's a pretty spineless position to take, no matter what the issue.

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Quoting Pampurrs

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Is that what you advocate, simply run from a problem rather than confront it? That's a pretty spineless position to take, no matter what the issue.

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The way you are confronting the problem is ILLEGAL. Deal with it. If you want to confront the problem as you say, then petition your local government to pass an ordinance banning these signs, and then go out and do community out reach in order to ensure that you have enough votes to pass said proposed ordinance. Easy peasy. Or ignore the signs. Or, remove the signs, after having been warned, and deal with the repercussions.

The easiest way to deal with someone acting irrationally and risking arrest is to advise them to remove themselves from the situation. I suggest you launch a massive self funded campaign, passing petitions, going door to door, donating to your state and local politicians the max contributions possible, in an effort to change the law and make a realtor or construction company remove their plastic signs.

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Quoting Pampurrs

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Is that what you advocate, simply run from a problem rather than confront it? That's a pretty spineless position to take, no matter what the issue.

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As I have previously stated, bandit signs ARE illegal in this county. The fact is, they are illegal in just about every jurisidiction in the U.S. I have been photographing bandit signs and providing locations to the County Code Enforcement Department, and they are doing what they can to get out and pick them up. The problem is that they are short staffed due to budget restraints, and are not able to get to the signs in a timely manner. I have offered to volunteer my time, and that of a few others in the county who feel the same as I do, but have been told that a citizen picking up the signs would be a criminal act. That is what raised the question that I posted here.

I really don't think that my asking this question is "Acting Irrationally". I'm just having a hard time wrapping my brain around the concept that it's ok to pick up trash along the roadway, but unlawful to pick up an illegally placed sign.

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Quoting DeputyDog

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Furthermore, unless you are law enforcement or some other authorized authority, you have no authority to confiscate or remove items, even if they are possessed or placed illegally.

If you see a gun in the car of someone whom you know for a fact is a convicted felon, do you think you can just remove the gun from the car and dispose of it, since it's illegal for the convicted felon to possess it?

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That's a good point.

If you wish to enforce the law, become a law enforcement officer.

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Quoting Disagreeable

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If you wish to enforce the law, become a law enforcement officer.

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Disagreeable, you are just another one of those idiotic half life people who hang out at forums for the sole purpose of arguing and picking fights with people. You contribute nothing. You don't know anything, yet pretend you do.... I knew that the minute I read your reply stating that taking signs is illegal in the U.S. For your information, the Federal government does not rule on replevin or petty crime matters, those are left up to the individual states. You don't even possess the most basic knowledge of the law, yet you sit here in a law forum and pretend you do.

Thank you to those that have provided intelligent and helpful answers. I will continue my research on the local level.

You keep asking questions, I keep answering them. The fact that you do not like the answers, because they do not permit you to engage in irrational, illegal, behavior does not change their accuracy.

You should gather up all the signs and pile them up in front of your city hall or town hall or whatever, dump gasoline all over them, and set 'em ablaze. That would destroy the signs that you are so offended by, and also draw a huge amount of attention to the problem so that your city/town council can adequately address it.