Residents in Herne Bay Road have continued to complain to police who say that regular patrols of the area and warnings to men lurking in cars and loitering around the toilets have only slightly lowered the number of men having sex in and around the toilets.
"We have issued warnings to these guys, most of them deny why they are there, but the patrolling officers and residents know what is going on," says Police Diversity Liaison Officer Brent Clark. "Neighbours are observing who these guys are and how long they hang round there and advising police officers." Police are obliged to follow up such complaints.
Clark says that although toilet cubicles are considered to be relatively private, any activities inside which convey sexual activity may breach that privacy, as does sexual activity in the public area of the toilet.
Police patrols have been issuing warnings and are now considering upping the ante to formal trespass notices, says Clark. Any person subsequently found breaching the trespass notice would be charged with an offence.
