The move comes after a survey found amorous university students in Guadalajara had been threatened and extorted by police officers in the city. (Photo: AFP)

Couples in Mexico will now be able to have sex on the street without being bothered by police, that is, unless someone complains.

According to a report published in The Sun, officials in Guadalajara have ruled that "sexual intercourse or acts of exhibitionism of a sexual nature on the road or public place" is no longer an offence. The story was first reported in El Universal.

The reforms in the City Council Regulations means that police are prevented from acting against couples copulating on the street unless a complaint is made in a bid to crackdown on crooked cops.

The move comes after a survey found amorous university students in Guadalajara had been threatened and extorted by police officers in the city.

The initiative was presented by the Citizen Movement councillor Guadalupe Morfin Otero who said the reforms will stop police extorting people who "give their love" in a consensual way on public roads, especially young people.

Speaking about it, she said that the act can cause annoyance but if there is no complaint the police cannot act.

She added: "If the act involves a minor or rape, the police must certainly intervene because it is a crime. Displays of affection in the public highway are free and no police of Guadalajara will be able to bother you if there is no denunciation.”

The councillor cited a survey among local students in which 90 per cent said they had experienced extortion by police officers who threatened to take them to jail for sexual acts or exhibitionism.