Salem, OR Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Salem Revised Code Sec. 125 makes it unlawful for any person to intentionally or recklessly urinate or defecate in any public place except a restroom or toilet facility maintained for that purpose. The section traces to the Prior Code and Ordinance No. 69-99, the same ordinance year that added the neighboring disorderly conduct rewrite in Sec. 120. Because Sec. 125 does not set its own penalty, it falls under the citywide general penalty clause at Sec. 00 fine, or both. Salem Police and Municipal Court enforce the section, and each day a violation continues can be charged as a separate offense under Sec.

070(d). The section requires only that the act occur in a public place; it applies whether the person is intoxicated, homeless, or simply caught without access to a restroom, and there is no carve-out for children or medical necessity written into the text itself. Officers commonly pair a citation under this section with disorderly conduct charges under Sec. 120 when the conduct also involves offensive or hazardous behavior toward bystanders.