COEUR d'ALENE - The city of Coeur d'Alene's criminal prosecutors want to close a legal loophole that can make it difficult to prosecute those who expose themselves indecently.

The prosecutors are requesting the city adopt an amendment to the city's obscene conduct law that specifically includes indecent exposure for offenders who drop trou to annoy or offend people rather than those who do so with lewd intent.

Lewd intent means the offender did it to satisfy his or her lust, making it difficult to prosecute anyone who flashes or otherwise acts out of line in too much birthday suit if they do it not out of lust, but just to get a reaction.

"It is a problem," said Wes Somerton, chief criminal deputy city attorney. "It's been an issue that we've dealt with for a number of years."

The state statute addresses indecent exposure but requires lewd intent. The closest rule the city has on the books when there isn't lewd intent would be to prosecute under disturbing the peace.

"A lot of our exposure cases don't have the lewd intent component," Somerton said.

The new rule, which will go before the Coeur d'Alene City Council Tuesday, Feb. 21, would zip up the legal loophole and allow the city to crack down on people who may want to get indecent for pure shock value.

The reported cases aren't isolated to one area, Somerton added.

Coeur d'Alene Police Sgt. Christie Wood said the department didn't have the number of disturbing the peace calls that focused on indecent exposure complaints, but the department did respond to 138 disturbing the peace reports in 2010, and 147 in 2011, according to department records.

The new rule would be a misdemeanor crime, as is disturbing the peace, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and $1,000 fine.

Has anyone ever dropped 'trou' in front of you in public?