The City of Ripon now has a law in place that prohibits urinating and defecating in public places.
The ordinance was unanimously approved by City Council at the June 13 meeting.
This came as a result of the Ripon Police Department receiving numerous calls about people who reportedly relieved themselves in public while leaving behind containers filled with human waste.
“At the current time, state laws used to address the issue of urination and defecating in public are inadequate, with officers utilizing catch-all sections of the penal code to address the issue,” said Chief Ed Ormonde in his report to the Council.
He noted that most of the reports regarding this matter had taken place along the Jack Tone Road interchange, downtown alleys, commercial trash bin enclosures, and on the side of the roadways.
Police had recently seen a spike in public urination and defecation.
“In the absence of an ordinance, police had no true method to curb these activities in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the community,” Ormonde noted.
The new law will allow police to effectively “prohibit the deposit of any human waste in specific public places, private property open to the public (excluding a public toilet or restroom designed to receive human waste), and in any place exposed to public view.”
Those in violation will be cited on a misdemeanor.
Possible exemption to this law would be someone with a verified medical condition.

To contact reporter Vince Rembulat, e-mail vrembulat@mantecabulletin.com.