NYC Leads the Fight Against Flashers and Gropers with "Operation Exposure"

From latimes.com: Lewd public behavior — especially in the cramped confines of a subway car — has long been regarded as a quotidian hassle of New York living. But lately there are signs that the city is no longer taking it in stride, with the police and citizens turning their attention to exposing the culprits.

In the last few months, the New York Police Department has orchestrated undercover stings — including one called "Operation Exposure" — to catch gropers and flashers in the act.

With subway crime down overall this year — a 19% drop over last year — the transit bureau has been able to devote more resources to targeting lewd behavior, and now regularly deploys plainclothes officers onto the trains to look for gropers and flashers. In some cases, men have been caught after fondling female officers posing as businesswomen.

This year, police have made 245 arrests for forcible touching, lewd behavior or sexual abuse on the subways — an increase of 131% over last year. Rest of Article. . . [Mark Godsey]