Integration meetings, activities for children and … drug bags in books. The Swedish police discovered that the popular library in the Tensa district of Stockholm is used by drug gangs to deal with clients. Money and drugs were found between the pages of some of the volumes.
Case was reported to the police by Kristofer Gren, library manager. The librarians reported that when they walked between the shelves they could smell the marijuana. At first they thought it was library customers who smoked weed there, but they could not catch them. When the manager decided to investigate, it turned out that drugs and money are hidden in many books in his institution. The problem has been reported to the police and an investigation is being conducted. Unfortunately, it is very possible that the library may be closed to complete the investigation. Officers do not want to risk the lives of employees and clients who might accidentally come across one of such transactions.
The Tensa district has a bad reputation. It is said that there is a lot of organized crime, as well as small-scale thefts. The library was supposed to be a kind of asylum – a public place where neighbors could meet. Fun and educational meetings for children were organized there, as well as free language lessons for immigrants. Now the future of the facility is at stake.
We need libraries ‘couse social inequalities are growing. – said Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson during the “Library Days” conference in Stockholm
Recently an idea to solve the problem appeared. It has been proposed to hire a security library that would pay particular attention to the problem of drugs. However, it has not yet been decided whether this solution will be sufficient. The police are afraid that the security will not be able to effectively oppose criminals. However, the authorities of the Swedish capital want to co-finance this and other libraries in the district.
