 - The Riverton Police Department presented data to the Fremont County Library Board this month showing that the Riverton Branch Library is a “low-crime environment.”){kind=link}
(Riverton, WY) – The Riverton Police Department presented data to the Fremont County Library Board this month showing that the Riverton Branch Library is a “low-crime environment.”
“It is a safe place, (and) our stats are showing that,” RPD Lt. Levi Martson said during the presentation. “The majority of the calls for service are service-oriented calls – not a response to violent crime (or) something major happening like we’ve seen in the news. It’s very predictable.”
Call volumes
The criminal activity that does take place at the Riverton Branch has been declining over the past few years, Martson said, pointing to statistics showing that the RPD received 66 total calls for service from the library in 2024 – down from 73 in 2023 – and so far in 2025, “with less than two months left in the calendar year,” the RPD has only responded to 41 calls for service there.
“So we’re seeing a decreasing trend in criminal activity on campus,” Martson said. “The data that we’re pulling and reviewing shows a moderate and consistent level of criminal activity for a facility of this size and nature.”
The library is open to the public and sees “foot traffic all day long,” Martson explained, with peak activity occurring on weekday afternoons between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
That’s when the majority of calls for service tend to come in, he noted.
The RPD data also shows an increase in activity at the library in the summertime, when local children aren’t in school, Martson said.
“So even though our trend from year to year is going down … you’re going to see an ebb and flow throughout the year,” he said. “This is very seasonal traffic. Typically your early spring, late winters, you’re going to see far less calls for service than you would during the summer months.”
Call types
During the daytime hours, Martson said the most common calls for service the RPD receives from the Riverton library are requests for citizen assistance or welfare checks.
“These are public assistance, welfare concerns, lost property – things like that,” Martson said. “(They) aren’t criminal in nature.”
The RPD also receives “suspicious person” calls to the library regarding “things like loitering, disturbances, (or) trespassing” – but Martson said “those happen everywhere,” and the numbers for the library are “actually pretty low.”
When it comes to issues involving disorderly conduct, behavioral problems, or intoxication, Martson acknowledged that “we do have a lot of people who are on public library property who are publicly intoxicated.”
“Those are typically the No. 1 arrests that you’ll see (on) library property,” he said, explaining that, “in Riverton, we arrest on every public intoxication … so that’s where those arrest numbers are going to see a rise.”
But, he pointed out, public intoxication “in and of itself (is) not a violent crime.”
The RPD also responds to alarm activations and security checks at the library – mostly after hours, Martson said – and officers are sometimes asked to help ambulance crews with lift assistance or other support.
‘No big deal’
The types of calls mentioned during the RPD presentation make up about 78 percent of all police activity at the library, Martson said, pointing out that none of the categories listed refer to violent crimes.
Instead, he said, they’re “just typical, run-of-the-mill, misdemeanor crimes” that are “low-level – no big deal.”
“(And in) the reports I saw, we haven’t had any use of force situations on library property,” he added.
The takeaway, Martson said, is that the situation at the Riverton library is “manageable,” and RPD statistics reflect “a positive safety profile for the library.”
“There’s nothing here to not feel safe about, because the stats are showing good, low levels of criminal activity,” he said.
Prevention
From a prevention angle, Martson said the RPD makes sure to maintain “visibility” at the library, with officers regularly patroling the property and “making sure everything’s good.”
He also pointed to lighting improvements and camera coverage as effective strategies for preventing crime on any property and recommended ongoing deescalation and situational awareness training for library employees.
Library Director Anita Marple said those security measures have already been evaluated at the Riverton Branch, and staff members participated in a deescalation training with a behavioral specialist in April that could be reinforced at a later date with “a different angle from law enforcement.”
“(It would be) great to kind of do that on a regular basis with the staff,” she said, thanking the RPD for being “great to work with” and “always responsive.”
“Whenever I’ve wanted to meet with you all, you’re right there,” Marple said. “You’re eager to help, and I just appreciate the city and the department really being focused on having a fully staffed department and being responsive to the community.”
The Library Board had previously discussed forming a committee to address safety concerns at the Riverton Branch Library, but last week they decided not to move forward with that idea based on the report from the RPD.
“I’m personally satisfied with what I heard today,” Board Chair Kristen McClelland said.
Board Member Karen Wetzel agreed, adding that “we can always discuss again any problems that might arise.”