FRANKLIN, Ind. (WTHR) - The heroin epidemic gripping our state now has a new danger affecting people who don't even use drugs.
It's one you and your children could come into contact with in a restaurant, at a gas station or in the park.
Police in Johnson County are warning that more and more people are discovering needles used for illegal drugs in public places.
At Franklin's city pool Monday, a patron made a disturbing discovery by the diving boards.
"We found the end of a syringe," the caller said to police dispatchers. "It has blood on it."
Families and staff immediately feared: illegal drugs.
"It had a little bit of blood on it, which was concerning, so they did the right thing. They called police and we came and recovered it," said Franklin Police Chief Tim O'Sullivan.
In this case, narcotics detectives determined the needle was for medical use, not illegal drugs. But investigators say that's the exception lately, rather than the rule.
They warn there is an increasing problem of used needles being left by drug addicts in public places.
"They literally turn up everywhere," said Greenwood Assistant Police Chief Matthew Fillenwarth.
"It's been a problem for awhile now," O'Sullivan said. "It's getting a little out of control and there's a little bit of a fear base from the public because of it."
On patrol, police are finding more needles.
Johnson County sheriff's deputies just arrested two women over the weekend after finding needles, spoons and white powder in their car, while the women were trying to fix a flat tire on the side of US 31.
From July 25, 2016 to July 25, 2017, police across Johnson County made 238 arrests for possessing a drug injection device. It is against the law to have a needle, unless it's for a medical purpose.
But it's not just police making these dangerous discoveries.
City workers and neighbors are finding needles, too, in very public places.
"We found a couple near the city building. A supervisor said they found one at a couple parks," said Wendy Emshwiller, a seasonal worker with Greenwood Parks & Rec. "Any kid could touch that. We could touch that while working."
"People are finding them in their yards, where addicts are just throwing them out the window, had a report a neighborhood playground - found needles there," Fillenwarth said. "We get calls all the time from restaurants and gas stations.
"We've gotten reports from patrons at gas stations and restaurants that they find them in the bathroom. So it's kind of scary if you're going to take your child - I'd always say take your child in and be supervised as sad as that is to say, but you never know who's in there. You never know what they've left behind. So it's a safety issue."
One they say anyone could stumble upon.
Police say it may seem like common sense, but if you see a needle on the ground, don't touch it. Call your local police department right away for safe disposal.
