Banning policy

What this document covers:

• Types of ban
• Length of bans
• Audit Trails and paperwork relating to bans
• Procedure, roles and responsibilities relating to each type of ban
• Communication with customers about bans
• Breaches of bans
• Contested bans

Types of ban

There are four types of ban – a caution, a cooling off period, a ban for general misuse of the service, and a ban for incidents that relate to misuse of IT.

Cautions and Cooling Off periods

A caution or cooling off period is for minor incidents and:

• Cautions – last for the rest of the day
• Cooling off periods last for a set period of time, between 1 day and up to 3 weeks.

A caution or cooling off period only applies to the library where the unacceptable behaviour occurred, so the customer can still use other libraries if they choose to.

Library Misuse ban

Where a caution or cooling off period hasn’t worked, i.e. there’s a repeat of the unacceptable behaviour, or a first incident is too serious for a caution or cooling off period, a ban of between one month and up to one year may be issued.  If this happens, the customer will be told they are banned from entering all of Derby’s libraries for the duration of the ban and this will be followed up by an email or letter. 

IT Misuse ban

Where a caution or cooling off period hasn’t worked, i.e. there’s a repeat of the unacceptable behaviour in relation to IT, or a first incident is serious enough to warrant it, an IT ban may be issued.  An IT Misuse ban means that an individual is banned from using the PCs at all of Derby’s libraries for the duration of the ban.  The customer will be told this, and it will be followed up by an email or letter. 

If an IT ban is imposed, the customer will still have access to other elements of the library service: they will still be able to enter libraries, borrow books and access eBooks, eAudiobooks, eNewspapers and eMagazines.

Length of bans

A caution would usually last a day.

A cooling off period can last between one day and a maximum of three weeks.

A Library Misuse or IT Misuse ban can range from 1 month to 1 year, depending on the severity of the incident.  However, for both IT and non-IT related incidents:

• a ban for longer than a year may be issued if the nature of the incident is deemed serious enough to warrant it
• in exceptional circumstances an indefinite ban can be imposed but this can be reviewed once per calendar year on request of the banned individual

Audit Trails relating to bans

It is important to create an audit trail for all types of ban, including cautions and cooling off periods in case:

• the customer’s behaviour escalates, as the audit trail will provide evidence to support our actions and responses to the incident
• the customer appeals against the ban

Details of the paperwork and other tasks that are required to create an audit trail, and who is responsible for meeting these requirements, are below.

Please note:

A ‘banning log’ is mentioned below. This is a new document designed to help us keep track of banned customers. It will be available on Sharepoint and, once a ban is served, it will be completed and updated by Library Managers. The information contained in the log will be retained for 3 years from the date the ban expires.

Procedure, Roles and Responsibilities when issuing bans

Caution/Cooling off periods

Library Managers may issue a caution or cooling off period without recourse to the Senior Team.  The procedure for this is:

• caution – these are issued by Library Managers for minor incidents but may be issued by Library Assistants if a Library Manager is not on site.  The customer is given an explanation as to what they have done wrong, asked to stop it and are told that if they continue/repeat they will be asked to leave and not come back for the rest of the day. 
• cooling off periods – these are issued by Library Managers, usually when a caution hasn’t worked or where the Library Manager judges that the incident warrants it.   The customer is given an explanation as to what they have done wrong, asked to leave the library and not come back for a set period of time, between 1 day and up to 3 weeks.

In both cases an audit trail must be created, so Library Managers must ensure that the following paperwork/tasks are completed:

• Abuse, Aggression and Violence incident form is completed
• the Banning Log is updated (not necessary for cautions)
• a note is placed on the customer's ticket, which must include the date the incident occurred

Please note:

• Volunteers are not expected to issue cautions or cooling off periods but should raise concerns about a customer’s behaviour with their Library Assistant/Library Manager.
• If Library Assistants/Library Managers need support regarding cautions or cooling off periods, they should contact a member of the senior team.  Support may also be sought from PCSOs, the Police, the Neighbourhood Team and, if based at the Council House, FM Security.

Bans of between one month and one year

If an incident is deemed serious enough that a ban of between one month and one year needs to be considered, Library Managers will report this to these members of the senior team:

• Manager: Service Delivery, Communities and Engagement, or
• Manager: Learning, Systems and Operations, or
• Manager – Information, Research and Digital Services (This is for incidents at Local Studies only.

If it’s decided that a ban should be issued, the:

• senior team member will arrange for the customer to be contacted. 
• Library Manager will:
  • complete the paperwork/tasks listed in the caution/cooling off period section
  • ensure the customer’s ticket is blocked.  They must ask the Manager: Learning, Systems and Operations (Mark Eldridge) to do this.
  • if necessary, complete a CHST8 - Incident investigation form (This is a corporate Accident and Incident and is for an incident so serious that it not only justifies a ban but also triggers additional, possibly corporate, actions/sanctions). 

In the absence of the senior team members listed above, Library Managers should contact:

• Manager: Library Services Manager
• Manager: Children’s, Families and Literacy
• Stock Librarian: Performance and Management

Bans of more than one year

If an incident occurs that may warrant a ban of more than one year, Library Managers will:

• report the incident to the senior team members listed above
• complete the paperwork/other tasks listed above

 The managers to whom the incident has been reported will then discuss it with the Library Services Manager before any action is taken/communicated to the customer.

Communication with customers about bans

If a customer has received a ban (other than a caution or cooling off period) they will be contacted about it either by email or letter.  The communication will cover the terms of the ban, including:

• the type of ban e.g. IT ban
• why the ban has been issued
• that they are banned from all libraries
• what services, if any, are still available to them while the ban is in force
• the duration of the ban, when it will end and how they are notified of its end
• what will happen if they breach it

It will be sent by:

• Manager: Service Delivery, Communities and Engagement, or
• Manager: Library Services Manager, or
• Head of Service (if both of the above are absent)

Where the recipient of a communication is a child under 12, a copy of the communication will also be sent to the parent(s)/guardians.

PCSOs or the Police may communicate with the customer in some cases.

Breaches of bans

Library colleagues should report any customer who breaches a caution/cooling off period or ban to:

• Manager: Service Delivery, Communities and Engagement, or
• Manager: Library Services Manager, or
• Head of Service (if both of the above are absent)

A breach may result in the ban being extended for a further period of similar length to the initial ban and all relevant documents will need to be updated, and an updated letter/email sent to the customer.

Contested Bans

If a customer contests a ban, they must notify the Head of Service for Neighbourhoods & Libraries who will review it and aim respond to the customer within 14 working days.

If the ban is upheld, the customer will be advised that they can appeal to the Director of Communities and that they will need to provide further evidence. On receipt of the appeal and further evidence, the Director will review the case and aim to respond to the customer within 14 working days.

In the event that a customer contests a caution or cooling off period, staff should contact:

• Manager: Service Delivery, Communities and Engagement, or
• Manager: Library Services Manager