Details on the following Anti-social behaviour categories at libraries and Customer First Centres (CFCs) each year since 2017:
– Assaults on staff and customers
– Threats of violence against staff and customers
– Verbal abuse
– Alcohol/drug use in the centre (including finding needles)
Number of times police have been called to attend these sites each year since 2017.
Devon County Council does not record Incidents in the specific categories requested. To reclassify over 900 health and safety incidents recorded in the time outlined into the themes specified would exceed the £450 cost limit.
Under the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004 public authorities are not obliged to comply with requests which exceed the cost limit of £450 (equating to 18 hours of time). As such, we consider that Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 applies.
However, to provide advice and assistance, under the Section 16, exporting data from our system as categorised provides the following which can be approximated to the request:
| Years | |||||||
| Type | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | Grand Total |
| Harassment – Other | 24 | 41 | 11 | 5 | 13 | 7 | 101 |
| Harassment – Racial | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Harassment – Sexual | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 12 |
| Needlestick | 6 | 11 | 21 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 44 |
| Violence – control and restraint | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Violence – physical assault (intentional) by member of public / other | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Violence – threatening behaviour | 42 | 16 | 31 | 16 | 13 | 5 | 123 |
| Grand Total | 77 | 73 | 68 | 32 | 32 | 13 | 295 |
Incident reports where the keyword, police, is mentioned have been reviewed and they were called to attend incidents on approximately 80 occasions since 2017. Incidents where the police were called but were unable to attend have been included. Incidents which have been reported to police but were not called to respond have not been included.