Dr. Steve Albrecht: “Your Library, Security, and Your Relationship with the Police (2023 Updated Version)”

The relationship between police officers and libraries is complex, ever-changing, and in fact, changeable. Some libraries see the arrival of law enforcement for an emergency or dangerous situation involving threats or violence as a welcome sight; others don’t want the police coming to their library at all, in good times or bad.

Some libraries have a constant police presence, driven by serious crime events that have led them to that decision. This has created an uneasy relationship between the library staff, who want to be safe, but don’t want the police in the library’s daily world, and those patrons who have had negative experiences with law enforcement in their lives. So what to do? Where is the balance? When do the police need to respond to the library and when can the library staff or the presence of trained, qualified, cordial, and supportive security officers make a better difference?

If we all agree that cops are not qualified, trained, or even want to be “armed social workers,” how can we use the police response for serious crimes and not for quality-of-life issues or social services concerns that are best handled by other entities?

About the Speaker

DR. STEVE ALBRECHT. Since 2000, Dr. Steve Albrecht has trained thousands of library employees in 28+ states, live and online, in service, safety, security, and supervision. His programs are fast, entertaining, and provide tools that can be put to use immediately in the library workspace with all types of patrons. In 2015, the ALA published his book, Library Security: Better Communication, Safer Facilities. He is currently writing the sequel, The Safe Library: Keeping Users, Staff, and Collections Secure, for Rowman & Littlefield.  Steve holds a doctoral degree in Business Administration (D.B.A.), an M.A. in Security Management, a B.A. in English, and a B.S. in Psychology. He is board-certified in HR, security management, employee coaching, and threat assessment.  He has written 24 books on business, security, and leadership topics. He lives with six dogs, two cats, and three chickens. (Not all in the same room, of course.)