Off-Duty Police Paid To Patrol Downtown Everett Library

In addition to security guards, off-duty Everett police officers are now patrolling the downtown Everett library 30 hours a week.

The City of Everett is paying between nine and fifteen hundred dollars per week for the off-duty uniformed patrols.

MyEverettNews.com reached out to the city for an explanation and received the following in an email from city communications director Meghan Pembroke…

This week we added overtime police officers to the main branch of the library to help respond to behavioral incidents at the site. As with many City facilities, the library and library staff are affected by the challenges we’re facing on our streets, including homelessness, mental illness and addiction. In recent months we’ve seen an increase in more severe incidents, such as overdoses, and the police officer is there to support the library staff and security guard and to provide a quick response to incidents when needed.

A police officer will be there 30 hours a week on an interim basis, similar to an emphasis patrol. In March, the City will put out a new request for proposals (RFP) for security services at the library. When that new contract begins, likely in May, we will add additional hours for security services at the library, and will ramp down the police presence. Currently, there is one guard on duty during the library’s open hours, plus a half hour before opening and after closing.

In addition to the police presence, we are also making additional adjustments at the library to respond to these challenges. For instance, we are making changes to the restroom doors (exterior and stalls) to increase visibility and discourage criminal activity. In the coming months we will reconfigure the circulation area to make staff more visible near the entrance to the library.