Plainclothes officers to patrol downtown troublespots

More police, including plainclothes officers, will patrol Edmonton's Stanley Milner Library to help crack down on violence and drug deals.

"We need to ensure that our citizens feel safe and secure and ... when they're walking in that area, and they don't right now, we have to change that and we will," Mayor Stephen Mandel said.

The heightened security comes after a 14-year-old girl was stabbed in the neck last Thursday near the library in a dispute over a cigarette.

The 24-year-old woman now facing charges in the attack was escorted out of the library at least once earlier that day due to intoxication and was twice prevented from entering again.

Mandel met with Police Chief Mike Boyd and Edmonton Public Library CEO Linda Cook, Friday to look at solutions.

Along with the plainclothes officers, civic leaders agreed to remove several newspaper boxes outside the library often used as tables or beds by homeless people. They also discussed moving the bus shelter in front of the library to ease congestion on the sidewalk.

Mandel said Thursday he was concerned about the violence and drug deals in and around the library.

Although reports of drug dealing inside the library haven't been substantiated by library security, Boyd said officers plan to investigate. Using plainclothes officers is part of the strategy.

"Obviously we will be having officers … more frequently working out of uniform for that reason," Boyd said.

Library patrons worry about safety

Some library patrons have told CBC they worry about their safety inside the Stanley Milner library.

In addition to last week's stabbing, a 30-year-old man was stabbed in what police described as a swarming in front of the library in early April.

"There's a lot of kids hanging out," said web designer Mohammed Hassan who uses the library to do research, but says he's afraid to go there because of fights and other problems there.

"I saw some of them even selling drugs inside," he said.

But the head of library security, Kevin Kramers, said staff see about one fight every three months and only one drug deal has been discovered since February.

City police use the library to train their drug dogs after hours, and nothing has been found, he said.

"So if there was any residue or anything they would find it."

Peace officers said this week the library is outside their jurisdiction so they can't ban people from the building. That has led some people they've kicked out of Churchill Square to take refuge inside, even taunt them from inside the doors.

Library officials insist they need to keep the downtown branch as accessible to as many people as possible.