Duane Hicks
With a rise in the number of concerning incidents regarding some patrons’ behaviour at the Fort Frances Public Library, OPP officers have been asked to stop by the library and check in during their regular patrols.
The library has been seeing an upward trend in patrons either being drunk or under the influence of other substances, or committing vandalism, library board chair Andrew Hallikas told the local Police Services Board (PSB) at its meeting Friday morning at the Civic Centre.
Hallikas, who also sits on the PSB, explained the model for libraries across the province has changed; they’re not just about books anymore but instead are more about community service.
Or, in his words, “being the living room of the community.”
“As such, we are reaching out to all sectors and we are getting marginalized people coming in,” he said.
“Our service model is one of hospitality and welcoming,” Hallikas noted. “People like to come to the library and are very, very comfortable.
“But what we are starting to see, because we are getting so many people come in–often people who don’t have other places to go–we are starting getting an uptick of erratic behaviour.”
Not only is dealing with this putting stress on library staff, but it also raises concerns about the safety of other patrons.
“We have adopted a program of prevention,” said Hallikas. “So we’re tracking any incidents and trying to break them down by category so we can try and see where the problem is and address it.
“We are starting to educate our staff,” he added.
“We just had a webinar on opiates and drugs, and people coming to libraries under the influence.”
At times, patrons’ behaviour has taken a violent turn and library staff have had to call police.
“Our staff is very appreciative,” Hallikas remarked.
“We’ve gotten an excellent response time and are really, really happy with the co-operation we got from the police.”
That said, Hallikas asked new detachment commander Insp. Nathan Schmidt if it would be possible for officers to stop by the library sometimes while out on patrol and do a walk-through.
He added the rationale is that if those patrons who are prone to act out see a regular police presence at random intervals, “that could go a long way.”
“Word would get out that that type of behaviour [is not appropriate],” said Hallikas.
In response to a question from Insp. Schmidt, Hallikas noted library staff have data on incidents and they would be happy to share it with police to help them best utilize their resources.
He added staff has been urged to record not just “extreme cases” of misconduct, but “any cases where they’ve felt uncomfortable in their interaction with a patron.”
Hallikas noted the library does have surveillance cameras, which have proven very useful.
“The officers, when we call them, always request footage from the cameras,” he said. “They’re really providing good data.
“We’re actually getting more and more of them because in addition to the outbreaks of aberrant behaviour, we’re always getting some vandalism,” Hallikas added.
“We’re catching that almost every time.”
In related news, police also have been requested to stop by the A&W parking lot while on patrol.
PSB board member Rick Wiedenhoeft noted a resident informed him of high school students getting into lunch-hour fights there, and requested the police stop by there as a deterrent to future incidents.
Insp. Schmidt said he would meet with his staff to see what can be done.
