Arrest as ‘man flashes himself to Police Officer on Southampton Common (article in Daily Echo, 4/7/24)

We wanted to share an update with you after officers investigating an indecent exposure in Southampton yesterday afternoon (Wednesday 3 July) arrested a man.

It comes after officers were proactively patrolling Southampton Common and Cemetery Lane following concerns raised by local residents after a spate of incidents involving men exposing themselves indecently to lone women in the area.

An officer conducting patrols in plain clothes noticed a lone man – who was known to police – following them down a footpath at around 3.25pm.

As the officer turned around to engage with the man, it is alleged that the man indecent exposed himself to the officer for their own sexual gratification.

A 58-year-old man from Southampton was arrested on suspicion of exposure. He has since been release on conditional bail, pending further enquiries.

Police Sergeant, Becky Veal, said: “We appreciate that recent incidents on the Common and surrounding areas will have caused concern in the community – especially women who have been targeted.

“We will be continuing to patrol in the area to provide reassurance to the local community around their concerns, but to also act as a deterrent to those seeking to cause harm, alarm and distress through committing such acts.

“Our message is clear – we will not tolerate this behaviour in the City. It is always our intention to take robust action against those committing such offences and we hope that the swift action to make an arrest on this occasion shows local residents that we are committed to tackling these sort of offences.

“If you do see any of our uniformed officers out on patrol, please do stop them and raise any concerns with them.”