Yesterday's Cops! at the library: buy your own paper

[depechemodefan]

First thing in the morning, I see a guy leave a brown bag by a computer. Twenty min. latter he did not come back, so not knowing what was in the bag I get one of our carts. The bag looked big but felt light. Looking in, I see chips and bread. I decide it is garbage and toss it. I expected the idiot to come by and bitch but he did not.

The cop story.

CW comes up with patron and a torn newspaper. She tells security she found the guy ripping the newspaper. I am guessing she had called down first and got the cop to come up and get the guy because the cop comes down latter and starts chew out the guy:

cop: Why are you tearing up the paper?
idiot: There's an article about a lawyer ripping off veterans and I want to take it to my lawyer.
cop: So that gives you the right to tear up the Library's paper?
idiot: I guess not.
cop: you guess not?!?!
idiot: I mean, no.
cop: you don't come in here, destroying public property.
idiot: I'm sorry.
cop: you're sorry you got caught.
idiot: but I need to get that article to my lawyer. I'm a Viet Nam veteran.
cop: I'm a Desert Storm veteran.
idiot: ok.
cop: Do you pay taxes? Pay for a home? Have a car payment?
idiot: I pay for my home and for my car, but I rode my bike today.
cop: IF you can pay for a home and a car, you can pay $1.50 for a newspaper.
security: Sir, you are banned for 6 months, until March 6.
cop: 2013!
idiot: *leaves library, gets on his bike*
me: I guess he is mentally ill.
cop: He isn't mentally ill. These homeless people come in here and mess up things, mess up things for other people.

[Mr. Security]

Wow no offense but have you guys had problem with this guy before because a 6 month verbal bar is extreme for tearing out an article from the newspaper. The library i'm security at do also take there newspapers seriously but there's no way administration would allow us to bar someone that long for tearing a newspaper

[depechemodefan]

no way administration would allow us to bar someone that long for tearing a newspaper

He did destroy City property, so I imagin that is why he had a harsh ban. I never noticed this guy before. I don't think he was a problem before since security didn't mention any prior problems with him.

[MoonCat]

All he had to do was make a photo copy of it.

Tearing it out of the paper means other library patrons aren't going to be able to read it, and there are probably plenty of other people like him who could use the information.

[reimero]

Quoth Mr. Security

Wow no offense but have you guys had problem with this guy before because a 6 month verbal bar is extreme for tearing out an article from the newspaper. The library i'm security at do also take there newspapers seriously but there's no way administration would allow us to bar someone that long for tearing a newspaper

A lot of it has to do with where you are and what you're dealing with. I used to work at a public library located only a few blocks from the area homeless shelters. That meant that we had to deal with a lot of people the homeless shelters wouldn't accept for whatever reason (being drunk/high/generally a nuisance). I don't want to sound mean or nasty, but it was generally a constant state of somewhere between "annoying" and "health and safety issue." The library director had to get the police to come many times to deal with panhandlers who were getting *very* aggressive around patrons. We also had numerous hygiene issues to contend with: the furniture in some of those areas was literally urine-soaked because these people would fall asleep and mess themselves or for whatever reason couldn't be bothered to go use the restrooms.

On top of that, there were one or two incidents of indecent exposure to a minor

My point is this: tearing an article out of a newspaper might seem extreme. But in the greater context of this particular public library, it's merely indicative of the sort of nonsense that happens continually to make the library a less helpful and welcoming place. Where we were, it wasn't a matter of tearing up newspapers so much as it was staking claim to "their" computers by doing things like unplugging the keyboard (or removing the keyboard cable entirely - it was detachable at both ends) or even unplugging the computer outright. But the net effect is the same: denying public resources to the public for your own personal gain, wasting public money in the process. Sure, a newspaper is $1.50. A keyboard cable was something like $4 or $5. But the behavior is unacceptable, and I've seen time and time and time and time (and time and time) again that given an inch, many will take a mile or more.

[Mr. Security]

Quoth reimero

A lot of it has to do with where you are and what you're dealing with. I used to work at a public library located only a few blocks from the area homeless shelters. That meant that we had to deal with a lot of people the homeless shelters wouldn't accept for whatever reason (being drunk/high/generally a nuisance). I don't want to sound mean or nasty, but it was generally a constant state of somewhere between "annoying" and "health and safety issue." The library director had to get the police to come many times to deal with panhandlers who were getting *very* aggressive around patrons. We also had numerous hygiene issues to contend with: the furniture in some of those areas was literally urine-soaked because these people would fall asleep and mess themselves or for whatever reason couldn't be bothered to go use the restrooms.

On top of that, there were one or two incidents of indecent exposure to a minor

My point is this: tearing an article out of a newspaper might seem extreme. But in the greater context of this particular public library, it's merely indicative of the sort of nonsense that happens continually to make the library a less helpful and welcoming place. Where we were, it wasn't a matter of tearing up newspapers so much as it was staking claim to "their" computers by doing things like unplugging the keyboard (or removing the keyboard cable entirely - it was detachable at both ends) or even unplugging the computer outright. But the net effect is the same: denying public resources to the public for your own personal gain, wasting public money in the process. Sure, a newspaper is $1.50. A keyboard cable was something like $4 or $5. But the behavior is unacceptable, and I've seen time and time and time and time (and time and time) again that given an inch, many will take a mile or more.

Trust me I understand the Library I'm at is exactly the same it's the main library in the city and smack in the middle of downtown so we deal with the homeless on a daily basis and everything you mention we've dealt with and many many many more including indecent expose to minors. What i'm saying is there had to of been many things that lead up to it. As Most libraries will have many copies of the daily paper and barring someone for 6 months for tearing out an article would seem extreme at my library as administration is hesitant to bar people. Trust me I wish we could bar a ton of of the homeless where I work there a constant problem but realistically it's hard as there has to be many things that have happened with the patron before Admin will approve a barring. In recent years they've started seeing thing our way a bit more but still it's hard to get someone barred where I work. Not to mention to fully bar someone we need there full name and birth date and with the homeless it can be hard to get that info so verbal bars is all we can do and they can be hard to legally enforce and seeing as trespassing is mainly just a fine some of the homeless walk right threw the barrings as they know cops won't come for a simple trespass. Overall i'm just saying that at my library even though it would make the floor supervisor where the papers are ecstatic(she's really strict about papers) tearing out an article would get them kicked out for the day or maybe the week not 6 months so there has to be something more that has happen with this guy

[Teskeria]

I'm thinking he went harsh on the sc because he tried to use 'I'm a Vet' as an excuse to do something he knew was wrong. And security is probably really irritated at that abuse which makes all the decent Vets, who wouldn't be such jerks, look bad.