A man has been arrested on suspicion of exposure after university students were targeted in Birmingham. West Midlands Police investigated reports that students in the Selly Oak area were victims of flashers over two months.
An off-duty officer spotted a man suspected of being linked to the probe on Tuesday, May 5. The officer detained the 38-year-old suspect before handing him over to on-duty colleagues who took him into custody.
In a separate incident, a 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of outraging public decency and indecent exposure following reports of exposure on Aldridge Road in Perry Barr on the same day.
West Midlands Police are hunting scores of flasher perverts as exposure reports rise. According to data from a Freedom of Information request, there were 501 crime reports of indecent acts in the region last year, a 10.3 per cent increase from 2024.
A police statement said: "Two men are in custody following enquiries into reports about indecent exposure in Birmingham. One man, 38, was arrested on suspicion of exposure after reports from the Selly Oak area over a period of two months. We'd been investigating reports that university students had been targeted, and our officers have been following several lines of enquiry. Yesterday evening, an off-duty officer spotted a man suspected of being linked to the investigation – detaining him before handing him over to on-duty colleagues. Elsewhere, we'd received reports of exposure on Aldridge Road in Perry Barr yesterday. Officers quickly attended and arrested a man, aged 28, on suspicion of outraging public decency and indecent exposure. We understand how distressing this kind of crime can be, and we always take reports of it seriously."
The police encourage anyone with information or who has been a victim to report incidents. Support is available for those affected.
