The deputy chief of the Sarnia Police Service is reminding residents to always be alert and aware of one's surroundings when visiting public and private spaces.
Michael Van Sickle spoke with Sarnia News Today in response to online discussions within community group pages claiming incidents of illegal drug use in washrooms at some city parks.
As of May 23, Van Sickle said no reports had been documented by the city officers.
"As a police service, we haven't received any complaints with respect to city facilities and the use of illicit substances within them, however that is a regular call for the Sarnia Police Service at private businesses where individuals seek refuge in essentially private washrooms, or in the stalls of publicly available washrooms, in order to use their illicit substances," said Van Sickle.
He believes drug users think it's a safe way to get out of public view.
"Unfortunately, that then leads to encounters of people coming in to use the facility for its intended purpose and encountering those people," he said. "The city facilities in Germain Park, or Clearwater Arena, or other publicly available ones... will not be immune from these same challenges that the private businesses face on a regular basis."
The Sarnia Minor Athletic Association Baseball shared a warning on its Facebook page earlier this month.
"It has been brought to our attention that there have been incidents in the Germain Park washrooms of men and women using illegal drugs," the message read. "We are asking you to exercise extreme caution in the park. Children should be SUPERVISED at ALL TIMES, especially in the washroom facilities."
Whether incidents have been reported to Sarnia police or not, Van Sickle said it's important to be alert and aware of what's happening around you.
"The potential is there at any time you enter into one of those facilities -- whether it be a privately owned one or publicly owned one -- that there may be somebody in there prior to you going in there. What their intentions of the use of that facility are, are unknown," Van Sickle said.
With summer sports amping up at many parks, Van Sickle encourages parents and guardians to discuss these risks with youth.
"In our world that we're living in today, this is a lot more prevalent in our society. I think that whether those conversations are happening at home, or if the kids are seeing this stuff in their regular travels, they need to be educated on exactly what's happening and the dangers that are associated to it," Van Sickle said.