Socialists and anti-police activists have voiced opposition to the deployment of armed police at the Central Library in San Antonio, Texas, to combat a sharp increase in attacks by homeless people.
San Antonio Public Library Director Ramiro Salazar said:
san antonio report In December, it was announced that libraries had been able to get by without police presence, but after an increase in attacks, a new pilot program was launched to provide additional security.
Salazar said there have been 18 incidents of assault at the library, including one in which a patron kicked a staff member in the face at the downtown library.
“Assaults at the Central Library are on the rise,” Deputy Library Director Kathy Donnellan told the San Antonio Public Library Board of Directors.
“By allowing police into these spaces, we are literally inflicting violence on these spaces.”
Officials have instituted a pilot program in which armed police officers roam the San Antonio Central Library for about 10 hours a day.
Socialists and other local residents were furious and expressed their anger at the December board meeting.
“Libraries are one of the last truly public and free spaces where people can access a wealth of resources,” Ruby Jimenez, a member of the Socialism and Liberation Party, told the board.
“By allowing police access to these spaces, we are subjecting these spaces to further unnecessary intimidation and literal violence.”
Anti-police activists also said the presence of armed and uniformed police officers could intimidate people from marginalized communities.
“If we continue to have armed police here, we will continue to lose community partners, community members, and library patrons. That will impact the longevity and funding of the San Antonio Public Library System,” police reform activist and founder said Ananda Thomas. ACT 4 SA.
Jimenez went on to tell the board that her group prefers social workers trained in de-escalation tactics rather than police officers.
“If something more serious happened, I wouldn't be able to live according to my conscience.”
Salazar told the San Antonio Report that he feels bad about leaving library staff vulnerable.
“We hesitated, but felt we needed to do more to protect our employees. If something more serious happened, I wouldn't be able to protect myself in good conscience.”
He also explained how library staff will measure whether the program is working.
“We don't make decisions based on assumptions,” Salazar says. “We make decisions by looking at best practices and testing some ideas. And that's what we're doing now.”
For more information about violence in libraries:
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