For many years, a section of Veale Gardens was known as a "homosexual meeting place". There had been much debate over the years about whether to police Veale Gardens more closely due both to public complaint about loitering and lewd behaviour, or to provide more availability of security as a deterrent against violence and murder of vulnerable gay men (or any other soft target) who may have been visiting the park; at the hands of homophobic or otherwise abusive and violent people.