W Kplace Violence & Security Presentation

Crisis Negotiation Detail
Security Issues
&
Workplace Violence
Faheem Ul Hasan

Program Highlights
Situations that fit the definition of workplace violence
Key statistics associated with non-fatal assault
Key statistics associated with workplace homicide
The types of workplace violence
Ten risk factors associated with workplace violence
Warning signs of possible workplace violence

What Is Workplace Violence?
Workplace violence is any physical assault, threatening behavior, or verbal abuse occurring in the work setting. Examples of workplace violence include:

What Is Workplace Violence?
Shootings
Stabbings
Rapes
Beatings
Suicides
Psychological traumas
Threats or obscene phone calls
Intimidation
Harassment of any nature

TYPES OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
The problem of workplace violence is huge and the circumstances surrounding it are diverse, making it difficult to fully comprehend. To make it easier, we divide the problem of workplace violence into smaller categories. Specifically, we classify it by the type of relationship between the victim and the offender.

Using this classification, there are four types of workplace violence:
Violence by Strangers
Violence by Customers or Clients
Violence by Co-workers
Violence by Personal Relations

Violence by Strangers
Perpetrator
In this type of violence, the perpetrator has no relationship to the worker or workplace.
Examples
The most common examples of stranger violence include:
Robbery
Mugging
Rape
Acts of terrorism are also considered examples of violence by strangers.

Violence by Strangers (continued)
Statistics
Violence by strangers is the most frequent type of workplace violence. Between 1993 and 1999, in more than half of all workplace victimizations, the perpetrator was a stranger. For workplace homicide, the percentage of violence by strangers was even higher.
Violence by strangers accounted for:
56% of non-fatal workplace victimizations
84% of workplace homicides
In contrast, outside of work, people are far more likely to be victimized by people they know than by strangers. For example, in all locations (including but not limited to work) only 14% of homicides between 1976 and 1999 were committed by strangers.
Source: NCVS

Violence by Customers or Clients
Perpetrator
Perpetrators of this type of workplace violence include:
Customers
Clients
Patients
Passengers
Criminal suspects
Prisoners

Violence by Customers or Clients (continued)
Examples of violence by customers or clients include:
A customer complaint escalating into a fistfight
A former client with a grudge against a business deciding to "get even"
A patient acting out due to mental illness or drug use
A passenger violently protesting a fare
A criminal suspect or prisoner resisting arrest or attempting escape
Statistics
Between 1993 and 1999, 4% of workplace homicides were committed by customers or clients.
Source: NCVS

Violence by Co-Workers
Current or former employees
Current or former supervisor or manager

Violence by Co-Workers (continued)
Examples of co-worker violence include:
Bullying or threatening co-workers
Dispute with supervisor becoming violent
Office shooting triggered by a personnel action such as a firing or mass layoff
Co-worker violence could also include threats to family members made by a co-worker in the workplace, for example, a disgruntled employee threatening to harm his supervisor's family.
Statistics
Violence by co-workers accounted for 7% of workplace homicides between 1993 and 1999.
Source: NCVS

Violence by Personal Relations
Current or former intimate (spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend)
Relative
Friend
Examples
After a victim of domestic violence seeks shelter, the workplace may be the only place that the perpetrator can locate her.
A relative may enter a workplace to confront the victim over a family dispute.

Violence by Personal Relations (continued)
Statistics
In cases of non-fatal workplace victimization between 1993 and 1999:
1.1% were committed by intimates
0.5% were committed by other relatives
However, in cases of workplace homicide over the same period:
3% were committed by intimates
1% were committed by other relatives
1% were committed by friends or other acquaintances
Source: NCVS

More Than Numbers
Even though violence by personal relations accounts for a relatively small percentage of workplace violence, it is still devastating to the victim and disruptive to the workplace. Also, there is considerable risk that the perpetrator may assault other people attempting to protect the intended victim or who simply happen to be nearby.

Risk Factors
Ten factors that may increase a worker's risk for workplace assault have been identified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
To make it easier to understand and remember the factors, we'll look at them in four groups. Specifically, we'll look at risk factors that are related to:
People
Mobility
Time and place
Money and property

Risk Factors – People
Some risk factors for workplace assault are related to working with people, including:
Contact with the public
Working with unstable or volatile persons, such as in health care, social services, or criminal justice settings
Basic Principle
These factors are related to people from the outside, such as strangers or clients, coming into the workplace.

Risk Factors - People (continued)
Strangers
Most workplace violence is committed by strangers. Therefore, locations that are accessible to the public are more vulnerable than workplaces that are not.

Risk Factors - People (continued)
Customers, Clients, Patients, etc.
Although any type of work that involves contact with people in the broad category of customers, clients, patients, etc. involves a certain degree of risk of this type of violence, higher risk is associated with contact that is:
Frequent (as opposed to rare)
Face-to-face (as opposed to telephone or mail contact)
Examples of higher risk activities include:
Taking someone into custody
Refusing a request
Taking a complaint
Repossessing property
Requesting payment

Risk Factors – Mobility
Some risk factors apply to work that involves moving among locations or working without a permanent location, including:
Delivery of passengers or goods
Having a mobile workplace such as a taxicab or police cruiser
Working in community-based settings

Risk Factors – Mobility
Basic Principle
Instead of the risk of offenders coming into the workplace, these factors revolve around the risks associated with the worker going out. Mobility increases the potential for unpredictability and isolation.
Mobility increases the risk of violence by strangers and violence by customers or clients. In these cases, the risk may be compounded because the victim may be going into an unfamiliar setting, but one that the offender knows well.

Risk Factors – Time and Place
Some risk factors are related to time and place, including:
Working alone or in small numbers
Working late at night or during early morning hours
Working in high-crime areas

Risk Factors – Time and Place
Basic Principle
The basic principle behind these factors is simple: people are more likely to do something wrong if they are less likely to be caught. Similarly, they are more likely to pick an easy target than a difficult one.
These factors apply in cases of stranger violence such as robbery or rape, but also in customer or co-worker violence such as intimidation or attack.

Risk Factors – Money and Property
Some risk factors are associated with money and property, including:
Exchange of money
Guarding valuable property or possessions

Risk Factors – Money and Property
Basic Principle
Because robbery is the motive in a high percentage of workplace violence, having access to something worth stealing substantially increases the risk of workplace violence motivated by robbery.
Violence from strangers would be the most frequent concern associated with these factors, but co-workers or former co-workers, as well as customers or patients, may also be involved in robbery of money, property, or medication.

Risk Factors – Summary
These risk factors are:
Contact with the public
Working with unstable or volatile persons, such as in health care, social services, or criminal justice settings
Delivery of passengers or goods
Having a mobile workplace such as a taxicab or police cruiser
Working in community-based settings
Working alone or in small numbers
Working late at night or during early morning hours
Working in high-crime areas
Exchange of money
Guarding valuable property or possessions

Warning Signs
Warning signs are clues that may indicate situations in the workplace and personal factors that may precede, predict, or contribute to the cause of a violent outburst. Nevertheless, warning signs only indicate potential and not certainty. Even though someone exhibits some warning signs, they may never act out violently. In contrast, an individual may act violently without any detectable warning signs.

Personal Problems
Individuals who commit workplace violence may have problems in many areas of their lives
Problems with family or social environment
Desperation over finances
Medical or mental illness
Domestic violence
Romantic obsession
Substance abuse
History of conflicts
History of violence

Aggressive Behavior
Although it's possible for violence to erupt without warning, a physical assault is often preceded by other aggressive behavior. This behavior can be verbal or physical behavior that does not qualify as an assault. For example;
Intimidation
Harassment
Bullying
Belligerent behavior

Weapons
Shootings and other armed assaults have demonstrated the devastating destructive power of weapons in the workplace.
Any of these warning signs about weapons should be taken seriously and brought to the attention of law enforcement:
Bringing a weapon to the workplace
Making inappropriate references to guns
Making threats about using a weapon to harm someone

Warning Statements
Perpetrators of workplace violence may make statements before an incident that reveal violent intentions and attitudes.
Be alert for statements that indicate:
Fascination with incidents of workplace violence
Approval of the use of violence to resolve a problem
Identification with perpetrators of workplace homicides

Working Toward a Solution
Engineering controls
Administrative and work practice controls

Engineering controls are preventive measures that do one of two things:
Remove the hazard from the workplace
Create a barrier between the worker and the hazard

Recommended engineering controls include:
Physical barriers such as bullet-resistant enclosures or shields, pass-through windows, or deep service counters
Alarm systems, panic buttons, global positioning systems (GPS), and radios ("open mike switch")
Convex mirrors, elevated vantage points, clear visibility of service and cash register areas
Bright and effective lighting
Arrange furniture to prevent entrapment
Cash-handling controls, use of drop safes
Height markers on exit doors
Video surveillance equipment, in-car surveillance cameras, and closed circuit TV

What are administrative controls?
Administrative and work practice controls are preventive measures that rely on changing employer and employee behavior in the workplace instead of the physical aspects of the workplace.
Specifically, administrative and work practice controls affect the way jobs or tasks are performed.

Recommended administrative and work practice controls include:
Adequate staffing
Emergency procedures to use in case of robbery
Training in identifying hazardous situations and appropriate responses in emergencies
Establish liaison with local police

Post-Incident Response
Even with the best workplace violence prevention program, it is impossible to completely eliminate the possibility of workplace violence. Violent incidents can occur anywhere. As a result, employers need to be prepared to respond after a violent incident.

Post-Incident Response (continued)
To prevent serious conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and to help the workplace return to normal, workplace violence programs should provide treatment and assistance after a violent incident.
All workplace violence programs should provide treatment for:
Victimized employees
Employees who may be traumatized by witnessing a workplace violence incident

Several types of assistance can be incorporated into the post-incident response including:
Trauma-crisis counseling
Critical incident stress debriefing
Employee assistance programs to assist victims

After a violent incident, the circumstances surrounding the incident should be studied and the workplace violence prevention plan should be evaluated. If it is determined that the incident might happen again or could have been prevented, the workplace violence prevention program should be revised.

OSHA Recommendations
In response to the increased hazard of workplace violence in those industries, OSHA has produced guidelines and recommendations for implementing workplace violence prevention programs.

OSHA Recommendations
In 1996, OSHA published Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Health Care and Social Service Workers. These guidelines were updated and republished in 2003.
In 1998, OSHA published Recommendations for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs in Late-Night Retail Establishments.
In 2000, OSHA published Risk Factors and Protective Measures for Taxi and Livery Drivers.
In 2002, OSHA published a Fact Sheet on general types of workplace violence.
These documents are available online at http://www.osha.gov/

Ramifications of Workplace Violence
OSHA
OSHA’s General Duty Clause(29 USC 19005 (a) (1)
requires employers to provide a safe and helpful environment for all workers covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970.
Employers are subject to OSHA investigations, citations, fines / penalties.

Ramifications of Workplace Violence
Judgments have been entered for $55m, $12m, $5m, and $4.5m for deaths on job site to workers, guest or third parties.
Negligence-”Reasonable care to prevent a foreseeable risk of injury to others.
Negligent Hiring
Negligent Retention
Negligent Supervision

PUT IT ON PAPER !!!
Written Plans
Medical Emergencies
Building Emergencies
Natural Disasters
Workplace Violence
Emergency Response Plan (Procedures)
Business Continuation Plan
Crisis Management Plan

Source:
National Crime Victimization Survey
OSHA
CDC

W Kplace Violence & Security Presentation

by Faheem Hasan

Accessibility

Upload Details

Usage Rights

Statistics