A 20-year old borrowed two books from the library and then ignored telephone calls and letters that told her the books were overdue.
Next she ignored a notice to appear in court.
The Grafton, Wisconsin police were then brought into the case.
Heidi Dalibor found herself being arrested, handcuffed, and processed into the jail.
Her mother had to pay $175 for her release as well as $30 for the overdue library charges.
Although it was the library books that got the headline space,
her not showing up in court was the reason she was arrested.
Periodically all over the country, those with overdue traffic tickets are rounded up and also taken to jail.
Do you think the publicity might have a deterrent effect?
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3 comments:
I think this action will leave a brief negative effect on the Police and the local jail because the public will percive their local law enforcement as having warped priorities. The public will argue instead of arresting a violent offender or even processing an actual misdemenor the police are hunting down library delinquents. That is a misuse of the tax payers dollars unless the only crime in that town is overdue books.
No matter where you live, if you ignore an order by a court to appear, the court can and usually does issue a bench warrant.
How is keeping books which you have not paid for different than taking something belonging to others?
Grafton is listed as a village of about 10,000 citizens. Most village police deal with misdemeanors much more frequently than felonies.
The differance between keeping a book and taking a book is intent. The 20 year old may have forgotten the book or deliberatly kept it but a bench warrant for a $30 dollar library fine would seem excessive to the public. In a town that small something like this could hurt police/public relations for a breif moment.
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