Violence is a substantial contributor to occupational injury and death, and homicide has become the second leading cause of occupational-injury death. Data from the National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities (NTOF) Surveillance System indicate that 9,937 workplace homicides occurred during the 13 years from 1980 to 1992, with an average workplace homicide rate of 0.70 per 100,000 workers.(120) Over the course of the 1980s, workplace homicides lessened, but in the 1990s the numbers began to escalate C surpassing machine-related deaths and approaching the number of workplace deaths related to motor vehicles.(120)
Although the 1992 workplace homicide figure was lower than that of 1991, it exceeded the 1990 figure and did not include 1992 data for New York City or the State of Connecticut.(120) (See Exhibit 5.) The majority (80 percent) of workplace homicides from 1980 to 1992 occurred among males. The leading cause of occupational injury death varied by sex, with homicides accounting for 11 percent of all occupational-injury deaths among male workers and 42 percent among females.(120) The majority of female homicide victims were employed in retail trade (45.5 percent) and service (22.2 percent). A large number of male victims were employed not only in retail trade (36 percent) and service (16 percent) industries, but also in public administration (11 percent) and transportation/ communication/public utilities (11 percent). Although homicide is the leading cause of occupational-injury death among female workers, males have more than three times the risk of work-related homicide.
The largest number (2,020) of workplace homicides occurred among workers aged 25-34, whereas the rate of workplace homicide increased with age ; for example, from 1980 to 1988, the homicide rate per 100,000 was 89 among males aged 25-34 and 2.59 for men aged 65 and older.(120) Although the majority (7,239) of workplace homicide victims were white (73 percent), the highest rates were among black workers (1.39 per 100,000) and other nonwhite workers (1.87 per 100,000).(120) Homicide was the leading cause of occupational-injury death over the 13-year period in Alabama, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Michigan, and South Carolina.(121)
From 1980 to 1992, 76.4 percent of work-related homicides were committed with firearms C slightly higher than the firearm rate in the general population (71 percent)(5); and another 12.4 percent resulted from wounds inflicted by cutting or piercing instruments.(120)
During this period, the number of firearm-related homicides declined, then gradually increased, with the number in 1991 exceeding that of 1980. Firearms accounted for an increasing percentage of the total workplace homicides over the 13-year period: 74 percent in 1980 and 84 percent in 1991. The number declined slightly to 79 percent in 1992, but data for that year are incomplete.
From 1980 to 1992, the greatest number of deaths occurred in the retail trade (3,774) and service (1,713) industries, whereas the highest rates per 100,000 workers occurred in retail trades (1.6), public administration (1.3), and transportation/communication/ public utilities (0.94).(120) Broken down into more detail, the largest number of deaths occurred in grocery stores(330), eating and drinking places(262), taxicab services(138), and justice/public-order establishments(137).
Taxicab services had the highest rate of work-related homicide during the three-year period from 1990 to 1992 (41.4 per 100,000) C nearly 60 times the national average rate of work-related homicides (0.70 per 100,000). Next were liquor stores(7.5), detective/protective services (7.0), gasoline service stations (4.8), and jewelry stores (4.7). Rates were up from the earlier figures (1980 to 1989) for taxicab services, detective/protective services, grocery stores, and jewelry stores. Rates dropped in liquor stores, gasoline service stations, justice/public order establishments, and hotels/motels and remained the same in eating and drinking places.(120)
From 1980 to 1989, Michigan experienced 1,640 traumatic occupational fatalities. The three leading causes of worker death during this period were homicides (19 percent), motor-vehicle incidents (19 percent), and machine-related incidents (15 percent). The Michigan workplace homicide rate in the eighties was 50 percent higher than the national rate of approximately 12 percent.(27) In 1992 assaults and violent acts accounted for 35 of Michigan's work-related deaths or 24 percent of the total workplace deaths. There were 26 Michigan workplace homicides (18 percent of the total workplace deaths)C23 shootings and 3 stabbings.(122) Eight individuals died from self-inflicted injuries. In that year, Michigan ranked fourth among all states and the District of Columbia in the number of workplace homicides. In 1994, 39 Michigan workers died from violent acts or assaults; these comprised 22 percent of all Michigan workplace deaths; by comparison, the violent-death figures for neighboring states were lower: 13 percent in Illinois and Ohio, 9 percent in Indiana and Wisconsin, and 6 percent in Minnesota. Consistent with national statistics, the vast majority of Michigan workplace homicides result from firearms; in 1992, for example, 88.5 percent of the workplace homicides were so committed.(122)
Some additional facts about workplace violence are the following:(123)
Workplace homicide must be addressed in order to continue the trend of decreasing numbers and rates of occupational injury deaths.(124-125) Elevated rates of workplace homicide among workers aged 65 and older may be attributable to a number of factors, including a decreased ability to survive injury or the perception that such workers are softer targets.(126)
Changes in the risk of workplace homicide in specific industry and occupation groups between the 1980s and the early 1990s may be attributable to a number of factors, including increased recognition and recording of cases as work-related, changes in training or other work practices, increased levels of crime in certain settings, and the distribution of resources in response to perceived levels of crime. The shift in risk to public police officers and private security guards is particularly noteworthy, as the data indicate a decline in rates among public police officers and a dramatic increase among private security guards. It is possible that such a shift in risk may be attributable to one of more of the following:
The extent to which these factors contribute to risk is unknown, but further research is warranted.
A number of factors that may increase a worker's risk for workplace assault have been described in previous research,(127-131) and include the following:
A number of environmental and behavioral measures have been proposed for reducing occupational homicides in high-risk businesses and occupations.(131-136) Commonly implemented cash-handling policies in retail settings include such procedures as using locked drop safes, carrying small amounts of cash, and posting signs and notices advising that limited cash is on the premises or in the employee's possession. Physical separating workers from customers, clients, and the general public, through using bullet-resistant barriers or enclosures, is proposed for such retail settings as gasoline stations and convenience stores, hospital emergency departments, and social service agency claims areas.
Visibility and lighting also are important environmental design considerations; making high-risk areas visible to more people and installing good external lighting can be expected to reduce the risk of workplace assault. With regard to access to and egress from a workplace, the following are important:
There are numerous security devices that may reduce the risk of assault against workers and facilitate identification/apprehension of perpetrators: closed-circuit cameras, alarms, two-way mirrors, card-key access systems, panic-bar doors locked only from the outside, and trouble lights or geographic locating devices in taxicabs and other mobile workplaces.
Staffing plans and workplace practices (such as escorting patients and prohibiting unsupervised movement within and among clinic areas) are included in the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration's "Guidelines for the Security and Safety of Health Care and Community Service Workers."(137) Workplace practices and staffing patterns during the opening and closing of establishments and during money drops and pickups should be carefully reviewed for the increased risk of assault they may pose to workers.
Policies and procedures for assessing and reporting threats also are effective. Establishments that have such policies/procedures indicate zero tolerance of workplace violence, provide mechanisms by which incidents can be reported and handled, and can assess whether prevention strategies are appropriate and effective. Such policies/procedures should include guidance on recognizing the potential for violence, methods for defusing or de-escalating potentially violent situations, and instruction about using security devices and protective equipment. Procedures for obtaining medical care and psychological support following violent incidents also should be addressed. Training and education must accompany policies.
A July 1996 review of selected Michigan employer responses to workplace violence was undertaken by the Michigan-based Center for Workplace Violence.(25) Cutting-edge workplace violence intervention programs were identified at the following businesses: Macomb County Community College, Detroit Edison, Blue Water Plastics, City of Dearborn, and Chrysler Corporation. Interviews with key management staff identified common features of these apparently successful programs, which include the following:
In 1995 the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University
conducted a national review of 10 "leading edge" companies (including 3 from
Michigan) in workplace violence prevention;(138) 6 had experienced a fatality from a
violent act. Forty-two components ; which correspond closely with the major categories
identified by the Center for Workplace Violence and listed just above, were identified.
These studies can help Michigan companies concerned about the possibility of workplace
violence.