Workplace Violence

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Workplace Violence

• PUBH 3310
• December 8, 2010

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Supplemental Resources

• The Basics of Occupational Safety (course text)
• Chapter 7, Violence in the Workplace
• Selected Internet websites, as noted in this
  presentation

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OBJECTIVES

• Become aware of workplace violence
• Rates and trends
• Risk factors
• Homicides
• Other violence
• Know how to reduce risk of violence
• Late-night retail establishments
• Taxicabs
• Healthcare

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Going Postal

• Patrick Henry Sherrill
• College dropout
• 2 years in the Marines
• Series of odd jobs
• Uncooperative and rude behavior
• Did not take direction well
• Preferred to work alone without any hindrance or
  supervision
• Neighbors and fellow workers described him as
  ''loner,'' ''strange'' and ''weird''

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Going Postal

• Patrick Henry Sherrill (cont.)
• 1985 job with the Post Office in Edmond, Oklahoma
• 18 months as full-time substitute letter carrier
• Supervisor requested a meeting to talk about his
  performance, but Sherrill apparently believed he
  would be fired ''

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Going Postal

• Patrick Henry Sherrill (cont.)
• Morning of August 20, 1986
• Entered post office with his mail satchel
• Two .45 Colt semi-automatic handguns
• .22 caliber pistol
• Ammunition
• Shot two supervisors
• Went around the building locking doors and
  shooting everyone he encountered
• 15 minutes and 50 rounds of ammunition before
  shooting himself
• 14 co-workers dead, 7 wounded
• One of the worst cases of mass-murder in the US

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Homicide Facts

• High-profile incidents create an false impression
  that workplace homicides are common and
  increasing
• Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows a
  decreasing trend
• Most victims were killed by robbers
• http//www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/video/violence.html
  

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Occupation (1998 data) Homicides per 100,000 workers
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs 17.0
Public police and detectives 4.4
Private police and detectives 4.1
Sales supervisors 2.5
Food and lodging managers 2.5
Cashiers 1.5
Truck drivers 0.7
All occupations 0.5
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Industries (1998 data) Homicides per 100,000 workers
Taxicabs 35.8
Food stores 3.1
Eating and drinking places 1.0
Government 0.5
All industries 0.5
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Workplace homicides have declined in recent years
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Risk Factors

• Risk factors for workplace homicide
• Working with the public
• Working with cash
• Working alone
• Working at night
• Working in high-crime areas

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Workplace Violence

• Bureau of Justice Statistics data on all
  workplace violence, 1993-1998
• Includes all types of violence
• Rates have consistently declined

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Category 1993-99 rate per 1000 workers
All violent crime 12.5
Homicide 0.01
Rape/Sexual assault 0.3
Robbery 0.5
Aggravated assault 2.3
Simple assault 9.4
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Occupation 1999 rate per 1000 (rates were down 44 since 1993)
Law enforcement 74.1
Mental Health 46.1
Retail sales 14.1
Teaching 12.4
Medical 10.0
Transportation 8.4
Other 5.3
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Risk Factors

• Risk Factors for workplace violence
• Contact with the public
• Exchange of money
• Delivery of passengers, goods, or services
• Having a mobile workplace such as a taxicab or
  police cruiser
• Working with unstable or volatile persons in
  health care, social service, or criminal justice
  settings

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Risk Factors

• Risk Factors for workplace violence (cont.)
• Working alone or in small numbers
• Working late at night or during early morning
  hours
• Working in high-crime areas
• Guarding valuable property or possessions
• Working in community-based settings

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Recommendations

• Taxi cabs
• http//www.osha.gov/OSHAFacts/taxi-livery-drivers.
  pdf
• Late night retail establishments
• http//www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3153.pdf
• Healthcare
• http//www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/hospital/hazards/w
  orkplaceviolence/viol.html
• http//www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2002-101/

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Taxi Cabs

• Safety measures for taxi cabs
• Automatic vehicle location systems (GPS)
• Caller ID to help trace locations of callers
• First-aid kits for emergencies
• In-car surveillance cameras
• Partitions or shields to protect drivers
• Protocol with police to track high-crime areas
  and perpetrator profiles
• Radios for emergency use (open mike switch)
• Safety training
• Silent alarms
• Cashless transaction

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Late Night Retail Establishments

• Violence Prevention Program
• Elements
• Management Commitment and Employee Involvement
• Worksite Analysis
• Hazard Prevention and Control
• Training
• Evaluation
• Prevention Strategies
• Reduce the risk of robbery by
• increasing the effort that the perpetrator must
  expend
• increasing the risks to the perpetrator
• reducing the rewards to the perpetrator

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Late Night Retail Establishments

• Engineering Controls
• Visibility and lighting
• Drop safes
• Video surveillance
• Height markers
• Door detectors, buzzers
• Alarms
• Bullet resistant barriers

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Late Night Retail Establishments

• Administrative and Work Practice Controls
• Integrate violence prevention into daily
  procedures
• Minimal cash in register
• Emergency procedures, systems of communication
• Procedures to use barriers enclosures
• Increase staffing at high risk locations/times
• Lock delivery doors
• Establish rules for workers leaving facility
• Lock doors when not open, procedures for opening
  and closing
• Limit access
• Adopt safety procedures for off-site work

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Violence Prevention Strategies for Healthcare

• Environmental Designs
• Emergency signaling, alarms, monitoring systems
• Metal detectors
• Cameras and good lighting in hallways
• Security escorts to the parking lots at night
• Accommodate visitors/patients who have delayed
  service may have a delay in service.
• Design public areas to minimize the risk of
  assault
• Staff restrooms and emergency exits.
• Enclosed nurses' stations.
• Deep service counters or enclosures for reception
• Arrange furniture and other objects to minimize
  their use as weapons.

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Violence Prevention Strategies for Healthcare

• Administrative Controls
• Design staffing patterns to prevent personnel
  from working alone and to minimize patient
  waiting time.
• Restrict the movement of the public in hospitals
  by card-controlled access.
• Develop a system for alerting security personnel
  when violence is threatened.
• Behavior Modifications
• Provide all workers with training in recognizing
  and managing assaults, resolving conflicts, and
  maintaining hazard awareness.

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Other references

• Work-related Homicides The Facts
• http//www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/archive/spring2000art1
  .pdf
• Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99
• http//bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/vw99.pdf
• Occupational Violence
• http//www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/violence/
• Violence on the Job (video)
• http//www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/video/violence.html