RISKVUE ARCHIVE | FEATURE STORIES

Workplace Violence: Recent Suburban Tragedy Can Happen Anywhere

By Laurence D. Edelman, CSP, CPCU

Earlier this month in the St. Louis, Missouri, suburb of Kirkwood, a disgruntled citizen shot to death six city officials and seriously wounded the mayor during a city council meeting. Unchecked by barriers or security, the perpetrator strolled into city hall in the evening and, without warning or preamble, shot to death the lone police guard and took his service weapon to use in the killing spree.

Was this tragedy an aberrant incident? A random, non-preventable act?

Well, yes and no.

Aberrant Incident?

Violence in the workplace is a serious safety and health issue. Its most extreme form, homicide, is the fourth leading cause of fatal occupational injury in the United States.1

In 2005, there were 5,734 fatal work injuries in the U.S., of which 564 were workplace homicides. Many violent work fatalities are not recorded in the statistics because they were not reported as workplace injuries or death was delayed and occurred away from the workplace.2

It is estimated that since 1990 there have been approximately 1,000 deaths from workplace violence each year in the United States.3

In the 1980s, homicide was the third leading cause of death in the workplace for all workers and the leading cause of death for women. There were approximately 7,600 deaths during this period, or 12% of all deaths from injury in the workplace. Only motor vehicles and machines accounted for more deaths from occupational injury." Three categories of workplaces had rates that were at least double the average annual rate for workplace homicide in the United States: public administration, retail, and transportation/communication/utilities.4

Non-Preventable Act that Could Happen Anywhere?

If it happened in a city like Kirkwood -- "Queen of the St. Louis Suburbs," a nine-square-mile community of with a population of 27,324 that boasts high property values, quality schools, and safe neighborhoods -- could it happen in your city? In your workplace?

Shortly after the Kirkwood shootings, it was reported that members of the Richmond, Virginia, city council were concerned it could happen there. Two years ago Richmond's mayor got rid of the metal detectors in city hall to make it "more accessible to citizens."

Human behavior is unpredictable, no matter where you are. And while there may be warning signs, "there is no specific profile of a potentially dangerous individual. The best prevention comes from identifying any problems early and dealing with them."5

Action

Nearly all employers should implement some form of workplace violence prevention and mitigation program. This may be as simple as a keen application of common sense approaches to inappropriate behavior or a combination of OSHA-required worker training, enhanced supervision and awareness, and use of written safety and health programs that conform to OSHA and National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) standards. Failure to recognize the risks of workplace violence and lack of appropriate prevention can result in significant employer liability arising from resultant injuries and even death.

Notes
1 http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/index.html
2 http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/index.html
3 http://www.workplaceviolence911.com; www.fbi.gov
4 http://www.cdc.gov/Niosh/homicide.html
5 http://www.usda.gov/news/pubs/violence/wpv.htm

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laurence D. Edelman, CPCU, a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), is a senior safety consultant with Warren, McVeigh & Griffin, Inc., specializing in safety and loss-prevention issues. Larry is highly experienced in developing and auditing written safety loss-prevention and crisis management programs, OSHA-compliance inspections and training, and regulatory liaison. His assignments have included safety program auditing; creating safety, environmental, and HAZMAT programs; employee training; program implementation; and a wide range of specialized safety and loss-prevention assignments. Larry can be reached at 949-752-1058.

riskVue | The webzine for risk management professionals
February 2008