The board of trustees for Saint John’s public libraries is calling for more security after its branches have seen an increase in safety-related incidents which have, in some cases, left staff afraid to be at work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s the hard part because we are a community area where people come to either read or take part in some of our programs,\u201d said Johanne McInnis, who chairs of the board.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should be a safe environment for our patrons as well as our staff.”<\/p>\n
McInnis sent a letter to Saint John council asking for more security funding for the three public library branches \u2014 one each on the east and west sides of the city and a central branch uptown in Market Square.<\/p>\n
The letter was a part of the city council\u2019s Feb. 9 agenda and is currently being reviewed by city staff.\u00a0The city said in a statement that staff did not have additional comment to share at this time.<\/p>\n
The frequency of incidents, McInnis said, grew in 2025 and has so far continued in the early months of 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that these are escalating at such a high rate just in the last year is what caused the board of trustees to go back to the City of Saint John and look for a larger budget for security services,” she said.<\/p>\n
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Johanne McInnis, the chair of the Saint John libraries board of trustees, said a sharp rise in disruptive and violent incidents has left some staff feeling unsafe and prompted a request for more security funding from Saint John city council. (Megan Goddard\/CBC )<\/p>\n
McInnis said library management has tried different mitigation strategies, including procedures for reporting violent incidents and monthly safety talks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut regardless of everything that we’ve tried to put in place, it is a rattling effect when someone comes in and very disruptive and sometimes a little scary,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel at this point that we don’t want to risk anyone getting harmed, be they patron or otherwise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Province says safety incidents increasing in major cities<\/p>\n
Saint John police spokesperson Staff Sgt. Shawna Fowler said in a statement that police responded to public safety-related calls a total of 48 times across all three branches in 2025 \u2014 the previous two years it was between 37 and 39.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Police responded 39 times to the central branch in 2025. So far in 2026, police responded to the three branches a total of nine times. Those are the calls that needed \u201coutside intervention.” <\/p>\n
In total, McInnis said that 179 incidents were documented in the past year. She said she couldn\u2019t give specifics but said 45 incidents in 2025 and 15 this year so far involved \u201cintolerable\u201d or \u201cunacceptable\u201d behaviours.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those include drug use or paraphernalia in the library, disruptive behaviour, refusing to leave the library when asked, verbal or physical harassment and others, including criminal acts according to the library’s conduct policy.<\/p>\n
WATCH | \u2018We should be a safe environment for our patrons as well as our staff,\u2019 board chair says:![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773020018_532_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Saint John library board seeking extra security to manage rise in safety incidents<\/p>\n
The chair of the board of trustees for Saint John\u2019s public libraries is pushing for more security funding to address an increase of public safety incidents \u2014 many which have required police intervention.<\/p>\n
The central branch does have Commissionaires security. But the guards can only work in an observational capacity and can\u2019t intervene if need arises, McInnis said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said the municipal board of trustees will be meeting with city staff in the coming week to discuss the request and next steps.<\/p>\n
Libraries in the province fall under a provincial department \u2014 the New Brunswick Public Library Service \u2014 but, according to the department’s website, “participating municipalities\u00a0are responsible for providing and maintaining library facilities.”\u00a0 <\/p>\n
\u201c[Funding] usually falls to the municipalities because we usually have a memorandum of understanding when a library is set up in a city, village or a town for that matter,\u201d McInnis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that’s basically who provides the funding for our operational day-to-day budget.\u201d <\/p>\n
CBC News contacted the library directors of both Fredericton and Moncton\u2019s libraries, but requests were referred to the Public Library Service.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Communications officer Rebecca Howland said in a statement that libraries have seen an increase in the frequency and severity of incidents in the larger cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Howland would not provide an interview but said Moncton\u2019s libraries saw 21 \u201cintolerable\u201d incidents \u2014 mostly verbal abuse \u2014\u00a0 since library reporting policies changed in 2025. Fredericton saw 27 and Saint John\u2019s main branch 26.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roughly a quarter of both Saint John\u2019s main branch and Moncton\u2019s libraries involved \u201cphysical violence.” Ninety per cent in Moncton and 42 per cent in Saint John involved verbal abuse.<\/p>\n
A nationwide problem\u00a0<\/p>\n
Libraries across the country have been facing similar public safety challenges for years.<\/p>\n
Mary Chevreau, executive director of the Canadian Urban Public Libraries Council, said that libraries nationwide have been seeing issues steadily increase since 2017.<\/p>\n
Previous reporting showed sharp increases in security incidents in 2022 and 2023 in cities like Toronto and Winnipeg.\u00a0<\/p>\n