Essex County Ontario Provincial Police are sounding the alarm over continuous mischief and intentional damage to restrooms located at parks across Essex County.
Damage has reported in all five detachment areas - Essex, Lakeshore, Leamington, Kingsville and Tecumseh - both this year and in 2021.
This past Friday, the Town of Tecumseh reported the washrooms at Weston Park, Optimist Park, Lakewood Park and McAuliffe Park were all vandalized and would be closed.
The vandalism ranged from damage towel racks, clogged and over flowed toilets, to even small fires, at an estimated repair and replacement cost of between $5,000 and $7,000.
Constable Steven Duguay says no one area has been immune to this damage.
"These are just senseless acts of vandalism. Yeah, some people might think these are minor crimes but in the end it costs us all, as taxpayers and residents of these communities," he says. "If these bathrooms get locked down because of all the damage, that affects everyone's enjoyment of the facilities we have in the community."
In Sept., 2021, the Town of Tecumseh was forced to close the washrooms in its parks due to extensive vandalism.
In Oct., 2021, the Municipality of Lakeshore closed nine public restrooms due to damage caused by vandalism. The problem resulted in Council approving over $37,000 in spending in June, 2022 to add security cameras around park washrooms to combat the issue.
Constable Duguay says if anyone sees anything suspicious, they need to contact police, because they can't be everywhere.
"We will have officers out patrolling these parks more frequently in the later evening or early morning hours to try and curb this behaviour," he adds.
Police say if anyone is found committing acts of mischief, appropriate charges will be laid.
Anyone with information regarding these incidents should contact Essex County OPP at 1-888-310-1122.