Library officials are crediting the increased police presence and other safety measures with a significant decrease in illegal activity this summer. The downtown library has also added cameras, increased waste clean-up around the building and stocked overdose kits on site to treat patrons.
“Just observing how the building feels, there’s been a remarkable change,” said Michelle Jeske, the city librarian. “I don’t see the same activities I did a month ago.”
Typically police have only visited the library when called, but officers began regular visits in May. Police patrolled inside and outside the building for 219 hours between May 11 and June 16, according to a library news release. Both undercover and uniformed officers are are stationed in the library, said John White, a police spokesman.
“It used to be a lot worse here,” said John McClaugherty, a 61-year-old homeless man and library regular who said he stopped using the library briefly due to rampant drug use by others. “It was terrible going in the bathroom, there were needles. I feel a lot safer in here (now).”
Pairs of officers tend to monitor the library for four hours every afternoon, said Chris Henning, a library spokesman.
14 comments:
The Denver Library
Decades ago, I'll never forget a trip to the library. The homeless man in the section I needed to be in - he was so pungent, it made me gag. Literally wretch. *This was before the big Michael Graves addition.
Michael Graves did a good job on the architecture. At least I thought so at the time it was built. It's not that exciting now and it's weird inside. I don't like it in there.
Surprised the diving platform isn't used more often.
If you click on the Denver library link - then scroll down to the 2nd photo (under the top 2 photos) you'll see the Denver skyline with the library mixed in. I see a building with an architectural feature (a Cupola) that is often in Chip's photos from his balcony.
As far as druggies and homeless people taking over the library - anyone shocked? oooo - Police put an end to it - no wonder the lefties hate the cops.
That is a great looking library. My close personal friend Tom Wolfe spoke highly of Graves' work. I was in my Gehry phase at the time, but I been edumacated by the master.
You ask for it, you get it.
How long before the public wants out?
I like Gehry. I appreciate brave strange unusual architecture. I'm a big fan of Gaudi.
the druggies in this care are not pot users, but the needle druggies. Heroin and the like.
Happy birthday Sixty. A day late.
Aw, Nick, now I am embarrassed. Thank you. And as of yesterday I am 70% closer to Seventy Grit than those golden days of only being Sixty Grit.
Ignore my math fail - I misstated the actual values involved.
Happy Birthday, Sixty.
I was a security guard at the San Francisco library in the mid 70's. Great fun if you enjoy associating with bums, addicts, perverts, thieves and a lot of liberal book readers who were all too willing to share their view of the world with me. I was allowed to evict the bums and perverts but couldn't do anything about the liberals.
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