Travis County tapped to help address growing safety concerns at Austin libraries

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin City Council approved Thursday authorizing negotiations for an extended contract with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office to support security services at Austin Public Library branches. The now-approved $40,000 contract will support 12 months’ worth of security assistance, with the possible of four additional 12-month contract options in the future for a total amount capped at $200,000.

The request for additional security help comes amid increasing safety concerns, city officials noted in council documents.

“The Austin Public Library’s Central Library, as well as its neighborhood branches, experience serious safety and/or security-related incidents daily,” documents read. “The nature of these incidents has grown increasingly worse, including the destruction of property, threats, violence (physical attacks against employees and customers), weapons, theft, and the possession and/or use of drugs or alcohol, which has led to the need for increased safety and security measures.”

Baylor Johnson, spokesperson for APL, told KXAN the library system has seen an uptick in rule violations across branch sites since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Those violations vary anywhere from a visitor eating food in a non-designated area to criminal activity happening on library premises.

He said some of the higher-priority incidents flagged by library personnel and TCSO officers include vandalism and theft; the hope, he said, is that TCSO’s presence will help deter those activities from happening.

“Because of the public nature of libraries, library staff are very much on the front lines of some of the issues that affect a large city, a large and growing city like Austin — issues like mental health issues or substance abuse,” Johnson added. “And so our staff have to be kind of on the front lines of responding to those kinds of issues in a way that other city staff maybe don’t. And so having this additional law enforcement presence is going to help us make sure that these spaces continue to be safe and welcoming to everybody.”

Johnson said APL has been running a pilot-esque partnership with TCSO at its Central Library location to help assist if any incidents escalate. The partnership is designed to serve a supplement to APL’s existing security division, which employs 37 full-time employees, he added.

“The library is a really welcoming place to everyone,” Johnson said. “Even though we have seen this increase in incidents involving rule violations and occasional criminal activity, library staff have been doing a really, really great job of responding to that and managing to maintain the safety and welcoming nature of all APL locations.”

Following council’s approval and once negotiations are finalized, TCSO will use and station department vehicles at various library branch sites, with Travis County peace officers aiding with library security efforts.

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