New OSHA Directive Tackles Workplace Violence Concerns…What Are You Doing About It?

In the last 15 years, deaths resulting from workplace violence have ranked among the top four causes of occupational fatalities in American workplaces. In response to this serious threat to worker safety, OSHA released a new compliance directive on Sept. 8. 2010 that offers procedures for agency staff who respond to workplace violence cases or complaints. Caution is always recommended in assuming that compliance is prevention. If you don’t educate compliance merely becomes another checklist.

While incidents of Workplace Homicides are down, incidents of non violent acts have increased. Workplaces should not only look at the homicidal reasons for why employee might “go postal’ but for contributing factors and the unintentional consequences of workplace policies and the unknown risks of such overlooked threats committed by non violent employees (harassment, sabotage to systems and operations, product contamination, theft of sensitive information, compromise of proprietary information, theft of services, identity theft, work slow down etc., etc.,).

Recent acts of defiance by non violent people are your employees. Such behavior gives rise for concern in our workplaces from groups who might resort to non violent act of retaliation as described above.  Do not make the assumption that just because the defiance is focused on the financial community or away from the workplace that, the frustrations of victimization at large can’t find their way into the workplaces. When it comes to justification and rationale, I have seen the gamut in terms of the behavior and reasoning.

Workplace Violence Prevention Policies and Plans can better serve the workplace in identifying potential contributing factors and at risk situations through collaboration and integration of resources.  Violent prone employees become so by their workplace, environmental and societal experiences or perhaps even changes in their mental well being. The lead-in to acts of homicidal vengeance is a methodical choice that, I think is based on their brand of rationale and justification. Exploiting workplaces by the non violent employee doesn’t involve decisions of life and death but ones of retribution and retaliation against organizations that have the financial capability to withstand the threat. The non violent threat can become more destructive if the rationale is tied to the businesses capability to withstand the risks.

Take the implementation of Workplace Violence Prevention and Security Awareness seriously. Begin the process by conducting thoughtful workplace risk assessments. The assessment should include security and business practices alike. Include employees in the process by utilizing surveys that attempt to uncover signs of disgruntled behavior or conditions exacerbated by supervision and management business practices. Reduce existing security gaps in your current operations. Institute countermeasures that provide as early warning signals of problems on the rise. Support employee victims and complaints who come forward. Aggressive monitor and respond to employee hotline or complaint lines. Create an impression that the leadership cares,

Don’t assume that non violent acts of workplace violence will not rise to a level of concern because you will find yourself asking why you didn’t take preemptive measures early on. Know that this threat’s capability is unknown but devastating in terms of impact on many; including the organization’s production, perform standing and reputation along the way.

Take the following 10 steps NOW to minimize your risks and identify contributory practices and procedures:

- Be proactive.

- Implement credible reporting systems.

- Educate supervisors and managers on recognizing at risk situations.

- Conduct a thorough workplace violence risk assessment.

- Review existing security management and emergency preparedness measures.

- Evaluate the effectiveness of your emergency evacuation plans.

- Train your workforce on the consequences of violent and non-violent acts.

- Hold all employees accountable and responsible for engaging in or failing to report at risk situations.

- Conduct annual facility and employee assessments.

- Include workplace violence prevention in your New Employee Orientations.

Felix Nater

I had the opportunity to read Stop Signs authored by my friend Lynn Fairweather who is a threat assessment and domestic violence expert. As a personal safety trainer and consultant and father of two daughters, I was particularly eager to read this book and share the “golden nuggets” with them and those I interact with on a professional level.

I found this book to be well balanced. While I have read several books on domestic violence, I have never seen one as comprehensive as Stop Signs. The book is segmented into three equal parts devoted to recognizing, avoiding, and escaping dating / domestic abuse and violence. It therefore applies to all women: those who have never been abused, those who are currently being abused, and those that have left an abuser.

This book serves as a resource, a safety plan, and offers self-help empowerment all in one. It is an intuitive read and also gives voice to survivors in dialog boxes that are strategically placed to drive home the teachable moments.  This style is in keeping with Lynn’s “lived experience” as she too is a survivor of domestic violence and is therefore able to bring a personal as well as a professional perspective to the topic.

Who should read this book and keep it on the shelf as a domestic violence resource? Anyone from a mother with young daughters, to someone in an abusive relationship all the way over to a threat assessment / security professional or HR personal in the corporate sector.

The book is available at Amazon.

Lynn is the founder and president of Presage Consulting & Training, an Oregon based organization specializing in fatality reduction through threat assessment and management.

Lynn’s contact details appear below.

Lynn Fairweather, M.S.W.

Presage Consulting and Training

Portland, OR

www.presagetraining.com
www.stopsignsbook.com

Having a lone worker safety and communications plan outline in place is critical for any agency that has staff in the field.  This includes those that work from home part or full time.

Your office based employees may have the benefit of a secure facility. Your lone workers face a completely different set of personal safety and security issue.

I’ve invited Kevin Dogen, Executive Director of SafeTeam, a technology leader in this space, to a write a guest Blog that illustrates the importance of including an Emergency Notification System in any Safety and Communications plan you devise.

 •

A lone worker in the field (we’ll call him Jim) is confronted with a situation that compromises his safety.  He’s in a difficult spot and doesn’t have time to call for help.  Since his company’s safety procedures are based on human communication, his supervisors have no idea he’s in trouble and won’t for some time… while Jim’s need for help is immediate.

With an Emergency Notification System in place to alert Jim’s supervisors, his lone worker safety  scenario is quite different:

It starts at 9:00 AM with Jim “Checking In” to the system via cell phone upon arrival at his destination.  It’s a 2 hour visit.  The system prompts him to provide details on where he is, what client he’s visiting, and the color and make of his vehicle.  Once completed, it stands by for him to call no later than 11:00 AM to “Check-Out”.

When 11:00 AM comes and he hasn’t “Checked-out”, the system calls his cell phone but he doesn’t pick up.  The system waits 5 minutes and calls again. Again he doesn’t answer.  This raises a potential red flag where the system triggers as escalation procedure by contacting 3 designated contacts.

They’re able to listen to Jim’s Check-In call so they know his location.  One of the designated contacts places a call to the client.  They don’t answer.  He next calls the police, providing the address.  In an instant, the response time has been dramatically reduced in what might be a serious situation.

While the odds of this happening are slim, you need only do a quick Google search to see how often it does occur.  The question then is whether to presume that it won’t happen to your people or be pro-actively cautious by including an ENS into your Safety and Communication Plans.

In some ways, it’s like an insurance policy and without it, not only are your employees exposed, your company is as well, based on the financial implications that come into play.  The National Center for Victims of Crime notes that the average cost for a single episode of violence in the workplace is $250,000 in lost time, medical expenses & legal costs.

Having an ENS in place not only reduces your company’s legal exposure, it also sends a strong message to your field workers that their safety is your primary concern.

In the end it’s a numbers game.  You can consider that because you’ve never had an incident in the field, the probability is too small to be concerned.   On the flipside, you might count your blessings, recognize that the risk is ever-present and take your Safety and Communication Plans to the next level.

To see Safe Team’s Emergency Notification System in action click here

Kevin’s Contact information appears below

Kevin Dogen

Executive Director

SafeTeam

650-560-9934

kevin@safetyinthefield.com

Related:

Lone Worker Personal Safety Training

 Social Worker Personal Safety Training (6 Hours NASW Continuing Education Units)

Property Risk

Reuters recently cited findings from a study by Legal & General, a multinational financial services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The company was looking into the impact social media has on risk with regard to property and content. The report was called the “Digital Criminal”

Legal & General polled 2,092 people:

• 38%- posted where and when they were going on their next vacation
• 33%- posted where and when they would be on the upcoming weekend

Of 100 “friend requests” sent out during the study

• 13 percent were accepted on Facebook – without any checks.
• 92 percent on Twitter — without any checks.

Obviously Legal & General’s concern is revolves around risk to property and theft as people share way too much information online to include photos of the interior of their homes and valuables.

(More on the Reuters article written by Belinda Goldsmith)

 Employees and Family Personal Safety

It goes without saying that broadcasting where we will be or where we presently are at in real time, gives another set of criminals, those that would want to do harm to you, a family member or one of your employees, easy targeting opportunities.

Despite good access control and security which makes your place of work much safer,  social media is offering alternate non-worksite targeting venues and opportunities as employees broadcast where they will be and at what times.

A perpetrator might be a disgruntled worker or the batterer of one of your staff. The incidences of opportunistic targeting, which can lead to stalking, also increase with careless use of social networks.

 Social Media Security and  Safety Tips: Common Sense but Not Commonly Adhered To

• Spend a moment vetting “friend” requests. The fact that you have “mutual friends” with someone you know well means nothing given the information revealed in the above study.
• Never let people know where you are or will be; only where you were of have been! This includes posting photos upon return from an outing or vacation.
• Try and be vague about where you have been and what time you were there. This makes it more difficult for someone to build a predictive profile on your habits and patterns.
• Be cognizant of which photos you are included in and ask friends not to “tag” you.
• Never tag your children in any photos.
• Turn off the GPS feature on your Smart Phone before you use its camera. If not, the coordinates of where the photo was taken will remain embedded in the image code.
• Think like a criminal. The layout of your home and valuables that appear in the background of any photo are useful pieces of information.
• Be sure to disable the GPS feature on individual apps as well. If not, your location will be broadcast with each post or Tweet once again leaving a convenient trail as to your patterns and habits.
• Ask yourself who benefits when you “Check in” via a location based app? We have polled audiences during our trainings. 95% of them say they really don’t care where you are and what you are doing. The only people that care as much as you are the criminal element mining social networking platforms for easy targets.
• Is the “Out of Office” reply really necessary?  It is often the data point that alerts prying eyes to start tracking you online, since they know you are not at work.

Social Media Security and Safety Training for Companies

Social media safety and security are a growing concern. As more people engage in social media the amount of information being shared in relatively open forums continues to grow.

Best practice is to post information and photos after an event rather than letting people know where you will be or where you are right now. It is also a good idea to be cautious about “checking in” when using locations based services. Geo location is a growing concern amongst social media safety experts.

If you exercise the discipline of only posting after an event, keep this tip in mind; if you frequent the restaurant or establishment mentioned in your post, you are still leaving a criminal with enough information to start building a predictive profile on you.

What do I mean by this? Simply put, our predictability is one of our primary vulnerabilities. It provides criminals a good map of when and where we will be.  This information helps them streamline their planning and victim selection process whether it may be a burglary or a violent crime on a person.

Humans are creatures of habit. We tend to walk and drive the same routes and stick to schedules that become quite obvious to those who might be observing. This is why those charged with protecting dignitaries and high profile people continuously change the routes, vehicles and departure times while transporting their clients.

Even if you are careful, but mention several times over the course of a few weeks that you are home from a specific location; a restaurant you frequent, your gym, your child’s school or a more regular after work activity, you have supplied enough information for someone to predict when you will be back at one of those locations.  This information greatly enhances the targeting opportunity.

So keep in mind, even if posting after an event, keep the specifics and location vague. Predictably is our Achilles Heel.  Again keep the specifics and location very vague!!

You might think that only friends and family in your social media network are privy to anything you share. You also might think that your friends have vetted the friends they share their platforms with.  Think again!

A Reuters article on a British company, Legal & General published some statistics from a study they did several years ago.

Their study revealed that only 13% of Facebook users vetted a friend request and a staggering 92% accepted new follows on Twitter without doing any checks!!

They also found that 38% of people on Twitter and Facebook would post about an upcoming vacation.

Social Media Safety Training Available onsite or in webinar format / One hour duration

Related:

Back to School Safety Tips — Social Media, Device Security, Malware by Christopher Burgess (For the Huffington Post )

Password- Creation and Usage – Online Safety & Security by Christopher Burgess

If you are able to, make three left (or three right) turns in a row.  You have essentially just driven in a “square circle” as it were, and the likelihood that you are NOT being followed is now almost zero; anyone who is still following you after this route detection / evasion maneuver should be considered a serious threat. A less brazen person would probably terminate their pursuit knowing they have been spotted.

Now proceed at safe speeds to the closest busy road, preferably a well light boulevard or even a highway.  Drive below the posted speed limit and turn on your hazard lights. This will draw attention to your vehicle.(In this situation you want to be pulled over by the police!) Slowing down also will allow you to get your bearings while operating the vehicle safely. While doing so initiate a 911 call. Try maintaining a consistent heading and make note of the cross streets. Most states require a hands free headset this making talking to the operator easier and safer.

Let the operator know you are being followed and then let the operator ask the questions. If you see a red light ahead, slow down and try time arriving at that intersection when the light is green so you don’t have to come to a full stop. If you have to come to a stop, leave a car length between you and the vehicle in front of you giving you space to maneuver if you have to. (You should make this a habit even if not being followed)

The operator will keep you on the line and he or she will direct a police car to intercept you.

This scenario is one reason it is always good to have more than half a tank of gas and to be always be generally aware of your location. A report in Seattle several years ago indicated that 25% of cell phone callers to 911 did not know enough about where they were making it almost impossible for emergency services to respond. Situational awareness is key.

In a situation like this it goes without saying you should not drive to work, home, your child’s school or any destination you frequent. This includes a friend’s house. If you will drive to a fire station or police station, let the operator know to which one you are heading so that a first responder can be curbside when you arrive. There have been cases where the person being followed has pulled into a busy grocery store lot in broad daylight and the perpetrator was brazen enough to still have tried to cut them off as they made their way on foot into the store.

Psychologically we are able to fathom a cagey burglar breaking in and stealing something when he knows we are not home. The notion that two or more criminals would burst in and invade when they know we are home is chilling.

This is not just a property crime. Home invasions include a display of power and a desire to control and terrorize, rob, kidnap, rape, assault or flat out murder the victim(s).  A growing number of invaders wear soft body armor and brandish intimidating weapons.  More often than not these are hardened criminals with extensive records who will not hesitate to resort to violence. The good news is that overall, home invasions tend to be on the decline, but solid safety and security protocol should always be in place. After all, favorable statistics mean nothing if heartless criminals target your dwelling.

Here are some things you can do to harden your home and make it less vulnerable to a home invasion.

If the home is recessed from the road, does the driveway have good lighting? A British study reveals that dusk-to-dawn low level lighting is thought to be a more effective deterrent than motion detector lights. I like both! Be sure the garage, parking area and sides of the dwelling are also well lit. Prune or remove bushes and shrubs that offer natural cover, especially near ground floor windows and all entrances.

If your property is fenced, take the time to close and lock gates. Ask yourself if your 230 pound nephew on football scholarship can kick in your front or side doors. If the answer is yes it’s time to beef up the frame, the door itself and all hardware. Deadbolts should have no less than an inch of travel into the frame.

Applying modern laminates to the glass makes breaking through a window more difficult.  Sliding glass doors must be reinforced. Windows to the basement should have bars.  A bed of small river pebbles strategically placed in front of windows make a quiet approach more difficult.

If you have an alarm, use it. Criminals know that most home owners never arm their systems. Know how to use the panic features. If you have a wireless panic button fob, keep it on you. Teach your children how to use the panic button too. When you park in the driveway, bring the remote to the garage in with you. Always lock your internal garage door. This is a common entry point since invaders know we tend to leave that door unlocked.

It is best to close drapes at dusk, dawn and during night time hours.  During their surveillance phase, criminals will feel less sure about attacking if they cannot establish who is at home, in what rooms, and if they can account for everyone in the dwelling.  Be aware that an invader might have done pre-crime surveillance of the home when delivering something, or working as an installation technician etc. Instruct children to never open the door for a stranger and be wary of any unexpected visitor, even during the day.

Don’t leave stepladders on the side of the house. They offer easy access to upper floors.  So always lock upper story patio doors and easy to access windows.

Keep all doors to the home locked, even during the day.  You would be surprised at how many people don’t, stating, “But we live in a safe neighborhood”.  Long gone is that nostalgic and care free Norman Rockwell existence. Anything can happen anywhere at any time. If someone is determined to get in, make them work for it. Anything that allows you detect and delay an entry buys you time to react. An unlocked door gives you neither.

Designate a “Safe Room” with a sturdy door where you can retreat with your cell phone if need be. Be sure that you receive a cell signal in this room. Keep an index card with your home address, a flash light, bottles of water and a fire extinguisher in the safe room. If you are not calling from a land line, the 9-1-1 operator will not know your address. You can easily read your address from the card if you are in a state of fear.  Make your children aware of this room and why it exists. Practice moving to it efficiently as a family. If you live in a larger or two-story home, you may want to setup more than one safe room.

Remain alert when leaving or returning to your neighborhood.  If you think you are being followed do not drive home. Proceed back to a well lit busy area or a police station and call for help.  In the case of the home  invasion and murder of Dr. Petit’s family in Cheshire Connecticut last year, the perpetrators first noticed Mrs. Petit and her daughters when they were in town shopping and then followed them home.

If you don’t already have one, get a dog. Large or small, they are excellent early warning systems with far better special senses than ours.  Dogs are also consistent in their vigilance unlike us humans who become complacent, take short cuts and eventually forget about the golden rules of home and personal safety.

Missed Opportunities with Red Flags and Warning Signs

We want to thank Rick Shaw, founder and CEO of Awareity for providing this timely guest blog entry.

Already in 2011, tragedies in Tucson and Omaha have reminded each of us about the consequences of missed opportunities involving red flags and warning signs.  Lives were lost and lives will be changed forever because of these and many other tragic incidents.

We are now learning numerous red flags and warning signs existed involving the gunman in each tragedy, which has many people asking why these two tragedies were not prevented and how can we prevent future incidents like these from occurring?

Some people are suggesting new gun control laws in Arizona or new laws that do not allow guns within 1000 feet of government officials.  In Omaha, some are suggesting school metal detectors and cameras.

Unfortunately these suggestions are knee-jerk reactions that miss the point.  The ‘big picture’ issue is prevention and what organizations need to do differently to improve their prevention and intervention efforts.

For example, what are schools’ responsibilities for sharing information with appropriate entities in the community and how can we ensure all dots are connected across multiple locations, multiple levels of law enforcement, mental health professionals, etc.?

Organizations need to encourage and empower people (students, faculty, staff, law enforcement, parents, employees, community members, etc.) to report suspicious incidents, red flags and warning signs as soon as they identify them.

All personnel should be trained to look for early indicators – behaviors and warning signs (bullying, intimidation, threats, harassment, targeted violence, etc.) – that require immediate reporting.

Organizations need to offer anonymous incident reporting options and the ability to automatically deliver incident reports to the right people…even if the right people are in multiple locations or at multiple organizations.  Once incidents have been reported it is also critical to ensure all necessary follow-up actions are documented, appropriate authorities are notified and red flags do not continue to fall through the cracks.  Traditional and status quo incident reporting systems rarely offer this level of holistic functionality.

Organizations need to centralize and securely share information more effectively across silos, organizations and communities.  Sharing has been difficult because of paper-based methodologies and because of lack of awareness involving privacy regulations such as FERPA and HIPAA, as well as political and authority breakdowns.

Organizations need ongoing training based on individual roles and responsibilities, more comprehensive policies and procedures, increased awareness on how to recognize behavioral changes, secure access to professional threat assessment and behavioral analysis teams, and effective ways to continually connect the dots (people dots and process dots). Organizations need to empower their people (and third-parties) with proactive prevention tools that replace status quo and reactive approaches that are not working.

With improved situational awareness, improved information-sharing and proactively identifying red flags, organizations will be able to prevent incidents, rather than reading about them in the news.

About Awareity  & Rick Shaw

Awareity’s Founder and CEO, Rick Shaw has over 27 years of experience with managing risks, technology, processes, clients and people at both large and small organizations. In addition to Rick’s
experiences, hundreds of case studies, incidents and failures have played a key part in Rick’s vision and the development of Awareity’s innovative and forward thinking web-based services.  Rick is passionate about helping schools and organizations implement comprehensive safety procedures, behavioral intervention teams and threat assessment team programs that ultimately help them prevent expensive and embarrassing incidents.

Rick’s Blog

Rick can be reached at rick.shaw@awareity.com

She states her daughter was riding in an elevator with her on the way to their room on the 5^th floor of their hotel.  An ordinary-looking young man entered the elevator when it stopped on the second floor. The elevator doors opened again on the third floor at which time a young women boarded.

The executive said she got a bad vibe from the young man and woman but was not able to pinpoint why.  Her gut-feeling that something was amiss was intensified when she noticed these apparent strangers make very brief eye contact, as if communicating with one another.

The doors opened on the 5^th floor; the young man and woman exited before the executive and her daughter. The young man went left and the young woman right, again looking as if they were not together.

The executive pulled her daughter back into the elevator just as the doors began to close. Her daughter looked confused by her mother’s actions until she explained.  The young man and woman were working as a team but entered the elevator on separate floors to camouflage this fact. The executive’s daughter was looking down at her Smartphone during the elevator ride and missed the subtle cues her mother noticed:  the incongruent body language, darting eyes and very brief eye contact.

Because her mother was paying attention, she connected the dots and understood these pre-crime indicators for what they were. This information led her to understand that the man and woman going in opposite directions upon exiting the elevator were not as they appeared.  On the surface, it looked like two people that did not know one another, but, in fact, it was two people setting up to position and trap the executive and her daughter in the quiet hallway.

Law enforcement reminds us that criminals are working more frequently as male/female teams, often to look like couples. This is because so many of us assume females are less inclined to engage in crime, especially violent crime and because a couple will draw less attention from law enforcement than a pair or group of young males.

Human beings are the most cunning predators of all.  Remember to “think outside the box” Not every situation is what it appears to be. An observant person will be able to pick up on subtle cues that something is amiss. Those that are not paying attention miss those critical moments in which a ruse may be seen for what it is and too often become victims of an avoidable crime.

The Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence  is a national nonprofit organization founded by businesses with a mission to address domestic violence as a workplace issue.

Below are some very sobering statistics and facts on the troubling issue of partner violence and its impact on the individual and workforce.

What can you as an employer do and where should you start? At the bottom of this article you will find a link to the “six steps” that the Corporate Alliance suggest for creating a successful domestic violence in the workplace policy. (PDF Format)

So how does domestic violence impact the workplace?

Here’s some insight from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• In February of 2008, the CDC released the most comprehensive US survey regarding intimate partner violence – 23.6% of women and 11.5% of men reported at least one lifetime episode of intimate-partner violence.
• According to the CDC, intimate partner violence victims lose a total of nearly 8.0 million days of paid work a year—the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs—and nearly 5.6 million days of household productivity as a result of the violence.
• The cost of domestic violence to the US economy is more than $8.3 billion. This cost includes medical care, mental health services, and lost productivity (e.g., time away from work).

And some additional insights into productivity losses:

• Researchers from the University of Arkansas found that women who were victims of recent domestic violence had 26 percent more time lost to tardiness and absenteeism than non-victims.

If you think that this does not happen to people who work, think again.  The Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence did a national survey of full-time employed adults, and found the following:

• 21% of the full-time employed adults polled identified themselves as victims of domestic violence; 64% percent of them indicated their ability to work was significantly impacted
• 31% of co-workers felt obliged to cover for a co-worker who as a victim; 38% of co-workers were concerned for their own safety

What about abusers? The Maine Department of Labor found that:

• 78% of surveyed perpetrators used workplace resources to express remorse or anger, check up on, pressure, or threaten their victim
• 74% had easy access to their intimate partner’s workplace
• 21% of offenders reported they contacted the victim  at the workplace

And why is it that victims don’t just leave?

• In cases of homicide related to domestic violence; 75% of the time it is when the victim is leaving or has left the abuser. This means leaving is potentially VERY dangerous for a victim—a victim who may be your employee.

What about workplace safety?

• Domestic violence coming to the workplace accounts for 24% of workplace violence incidents (BLS, October 2006)

So why should employers care about this? If you haven’t already gotten the sense (and there is more information available in the Facts and Stats section of our website):

• It is an absenteeism issue
• It is a productivity issue
• It is a turnover issue
• It is a presenteeism issue (this means you are present, but not really focused and able to work)
• It is a workplace safety issue

And who in your workplace is potentially impacted by domestic violence coming to work?

• Victim
• Abusive person
• Co-worker
• Manager
• Family member

So what can an employer do?

There are the “six steps” that we suggest at the Corporate Alliance for creating a successful domestic violence in the workplace policy. Click here to take you to our site from which you many download the PDF.

Kim Wells may be reached at 1-309-664-0667 or email her at caepv@caepv.org.

Additional Resources:

Eastside Domestic Violence Program(Greater Seattle Area)

Human Resource Essential