City tightens security at library

Petty crimes have increased at Cape Town’s libraries, necessitating stricter visitor rules

PETTY crimes at public libraries have prompted the City to implement a string of new rules as safety precautions.

These include visitors to the Central Library in Cape Town having to remove their caps and sunglasses.

A perpetrator was recently caught on camera stealing a visitor’s cellphone. But he was hiding his face from the camera with his peaked cap, said Mayco member for community services Zahid Badroodien.

“The library has been victim to incidents of theft and all measures are being employed to promote safety. The most recent incident involved three men – the one who took the cellphone of a patron and hid his face from the cameras with the peaked cap he was wearing,” he said.

“The cameras have been installed at great cost to the taxpayer Zahid Badroodien Mayco member, Community Services

Badroodien said signage is present at the facility to ensure library users abide by the rules.

“The cameras have been installed at great cost to the taxpayer and we need to do everything in our power to safeguard users against the criminal elements who sometimes enter our premises. I hope our patrons will work with us. Asking patrons/visitors to remove hats is not unique to Central Library and is a standard request at many facilities,” he said.

Library user Eric Balebanye said he was taken aback when he was told to remove his cap recently.

He said the librarian threatened to call law enforcement to remove him from the library if he did not do so.

“I have been using the Central Library for years now and no one has asked me to take off my cap. Whatever the reason for the new rules, I and many library users feel like we have been violated, humiliated, and harassed. Why must library users be treated like criminals in a place like a library? I thought a library was supposed to be a friendly place of learning.

“We are treated more like prisoners and criminals yet we are at the library to learn. How can library users be told what to and what not to wear, it’s totally wrong,” he said.

The City apologised for Balebanye’s experience at the library, but maintained that the rules were put in place to safeguard users.