English Librarians May Start Wearing Body Cameras to 'Protect Staff' Following Streak of Abusive Behavior From Patrons

Librarians at the Witham Library in Essex may start wearing body cameras to "protect staff" following a streak of abusive behavior from patrons.

Despite hiring a security guard, the library has been plagued by an increasing number of local teens causing disruptions across the facility, Essex Live reported.

"When they are in there, they can often be causing a nuisance to other library users, and they also are not being the most polite to members of staff and, unfortunately, the security guard who we have in the library, which is also quite sad. It is a very sad state of affairs to have bodycams on librarians," Essex County Council Member Ross Playle told the outlet.

"If you had told me a few years back that librarians would be wearing bodycams and our libraries would have a dedicated security employee, I would have thought it was bizarre," he added.

The ongoing disturbances are symptomatic of a larger issue as teens across the county shoplift from local businesses and cause mayhem at other libraries in the area, forcing one facility to install doors recommended by police to curb "antisocial behavior."

The reasons behind officials' decisions are similar to that of Walmart in the US, after the company shared that they were testing a pilot program of employees wearing body cameras to help combat customer rage.