According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, workplace violence typically falls into one of four categories. Customize the following information to the type or types for which your workplace is most at risk.
Type I: Criminal intent
In this kind of violent incident, the perpetrator has no legitimate relationship to the business or its employee(s). Rather, the violence is incidental to another crime, such as robbery, shoplifting, or trespassing. Acts of terrorism also fall into this category. Your workplace may be at higher risk of Type I violence if your business:
- Handles cash or drugs
- Could be a target for terrorists
Type II: Customer/client
When the violent person has a legitimate relationship with the business—for example, the person is a customer, client, patient, student, or inmate—and becomes violent while being served by the business, the violence falls into this category. A large portion of customer/client incidents occur in the healthcare industry, in settings such as nursing homes or psychiatric facilities; the victims are often patient caregivers. Police officers, prison staff, flight attendants, and teachers can also become victims of this kind of violence.
Your workplace may be at risk for Type II violence if your business involves dealing with:
- Violent individuals such as criminals or those who are mentally ill, or
- Individuals who are confined and under stress, such as airplane passengers who have been sitting on the plane for a long period of time or customers waiting in long lines for a store to open.
Concerned about the potential for an active shooter in the workplace? Find out what to do in our upcoming September 11 webinar, “Active Shooter in the Workplace.” Learn more.
Type III: Worker-on-worker
The perpetrator of Type III violence is an employee or past employee of the business who attacks or threatens other employee(s) or past employee(s) in the workplace. All workplaces are at risk for this type of violence, but workplaces at higher risk include those that:
- Do not conduct a criminal background check as part of the hiring process, or
- Are downsizing or otherwise reducing their workforce.
Type IV: Personal relationship
The perpetrator usually does not have a relationship with the business, but has a personal relationship with the intended victim. The category includes victims of domestic violence who are assaulted or threatened while at work. This type of violence can occur in all workplaces, but is most difficult to prevent in workplaces that:
- Are accessible to the public during business hours, such as retail businesses, and/or
- Have only one location, making it impossible to transfer employees who are being threatened.
Here are some general statistics regarding the four types of workplace violence:
- The vast majority of workplace homicides (85 percent) are Type I violence.
- Only about 3 percent of all workplace homicides result from Type II violence, but this category accounts for a majority of nonfatal workplace violence incidents.
- Type III violence account for approximately 7 percent of all workplace homicides.
- Type IV violence accounts for about 5 percent of all workplace homicides.
Once you’ve identified which types of violence are most likely to occur in your workplace, train your workers on the specific security procedures your employer has developed to prevent these workplace incidents.
Learn what to do if the unthinkable happens and an active shooter enters your workplace. Attend our upcoming September 11 webinar, “Active Shooter in the Workplace.” Register here.
Learn How to Respond to Active Shooter Events
In addition to the traditional health and safety hazards on the job, millions of workers also experience the threat of violence in the workplace every year ranging from physical assault to homicide. A key area of concern surrounds “active shooter” events, which occur when an individual—or, in some cases, more than one individual—is actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area, typically through the use of firearms.
Join us for this in-depth webinar to learn what to do in these frightening events:
Active Shooter in the Workplace:
How to Effectively Respond with a Survivor’s Mindset & Reduce the Risk of Devastating Consequences
Live webinar coming Tuesday, August 19, 2014
1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern / 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Pacific
The presenter, the former head of OSHA and a seasoned safety lawyer who has helped many effectively address workplace violence and active shooter concerns, will provide a proven strategy for developing and implementing an effective and comprehensive workplace violence prevention program with a focus on active shooter events. He will demonstrate that making the right preparations ahead of time will eliminate active shooter incidents and/or significantly reduce their impact.
You and your colleagues will learn:
- Statistics and case studies highlighting recent active shooter incidents in the United States
- How to identify behaviors of concern, causes, and red flags typically associated with active shooter incidents and workplace violence
- Best practices for developing an effective workplace violence program with a focus on active shooter prevention
- How to communicate with management to gain support and backing for an effective workplace violence program
- Key strategies for developing “enhanced situational awareness” and a “survival mindset”
- Approaches for training employees to ensure that they know how to safely respond to an “active shooter” event
- What needs to be done after an active shooter event to minimize trauma to your workforce
- How you can identify and evaluate resources to help you develop and implement a workplace violence program
* And, as a bonus for attending, you’ll get a 12-point action plan for handling violence in the workplace, as well as an OSHA inspection checklist!