Urinating in Public Places Could Attract Stiffer Fines

The Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) will be seeking to increase the fine for urinating in a public place from the current $1,000 to $20,000 to dissuade persons from carrying out such acts and to use sanitary public conveniences.
Mayor of Kingston Councillor Desmond McKenzie made the disclosure on Tuesday (April 13) during the KSAC’s monthly press briefing at its Church Street offices. “We are urging the public to desist from this practice within the Corporate Area and we are warning those persons who fail to voluntarily stop it,” he stated.
The Mayor said the Council would be seeking the full backing of the police in enforcing the law. He further informed that the KSAC would be rehabilitating public sanitary conveniences that were out of order, to restore them to working condition so that the public could access these facilities at a minimal cost.
“In every developed country, in capital cities in the world that you go, to use public sanitary conveniences, you are asked to pay a minimal fee,” he noted.
Councillor McKenzie pointed out that the act of public urination, although mainly carried out by men, was sometimes perpetrated by women.
“We consider this an example of the rapid deteriorating morals and a sign of a worsening situation that prevails in our city,” he said. The Mayor noted that the areas surrounding Mandela and St. William Grant Parks were prime areas for persons to urinate in public, although sanitary facilities, in working order, were provided in these areas.
Mr. McKenzie said as part of the public education drive, he and other Councillors would be going to a number of schools to speak to students on the matter. The message will also be spread to the wider population through public media services such as the Jamaica Information Service.
Meanwhile, Town Clerk Errol Greene said numerous complaints had been made to the KSAC about the situation. “There ought to be some level of civic pride that is restored in our citizenry so that we can have a greater appreciation for public spaces and treat them with the respect that they deserve,” he added.