Gisborne’s library has been called a “hotbed for incidents” after a new report showed the space saw the highest number of council health and safety incidents in the last year.
The data came from the Health, Safety and Wellbeing report, presented to Gisborne District Council (GDC) last week. The report details health and safety risks and incidents at council workplaces.
Over a rolling 12-month period, 79 incidents, six injuries and two near misses were reported at the HB Williams Memorial Library.
The issue isn’t new – in 2024, library staff undertook further de-escalation training following behavioural issues at the library, including an incident where a library photocopier was thrown.
The Gisborne Herald reported library staff were being confronted with abusive behaviour from members of the public, as well as drugs and alcohol being consumed outside the library.
Other incidents at council facilities had occurred in aquatic operations (nine injuries, five near misses/risks, two illnesses) and aquatic customer experiences (three injuries, two near misses).
The report also outlined incidents by event type on a rolling 12-month average.
Overall, 78 incidents involved members of the public and three resulted in injuries. Fifty-eight were listed as abuse/threat to staff and seven were listed as behavioural.
The GDC’s top identified operational risks were conflict, violence and aggression, driving and vehicle safety, working at heights, and isolated, remote, lone working.
The Audit & Risk/Ārai Tūraru Me Te Tātari Kaute committee discussed the findings at a meeting last week.
Councillor Debbie Gregory described the library incidents as “really worrying”.
James Baty, director of internal partnerships and protection, agreed with Gregory and said the library was a “hotbed for incidents”.
“[We’re] working with the library to do some more de-escalation training and personal safety training.”
Baty said the total incident number included a “mix” of workplace injuries and incidents involving abuse, when asked for clarification by councillor Rob Telfer.
Chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann told the committee GDC had looked at options involving security guards at the library. She said the council had considered having staff who were also trained as security guards as an option.
Telfer asked about the potential of using technology, such as facial recognition software, to help protect staff from repeat offenders. Thatcher Swann said people had been trespassed and “a lot of them” were known to library staff.