Workplace Violence as a Major Security Concern

Workplace violence can be classified by its three types of perpetrators: strangers, clients, and employees. Stranger violence includes such acts as robbery and shooting of gas station attendants or retail workers. Client violence is typified by the shooting of a lawyer by a plaintiff. Employee violence is perpetrated by someone employed within the organization. Because stranger violence is considered an external threat (e.g., street crime), this paper will focus on client violence and employee violence. Client violence and employee violence differ from street crime because the former are often foreseeable.

The critical question in minimizing workplace violence has to do with what acts a security system is designed to protect against. Workplace violence not only includes murder, it also encompasses other acts such as assaults, intimidation, stalking, vandalism and sabotage. Client violence and employee violence are particularly insidious because the perpetrators

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pecially with the introduction of "smart cards," which link numerous databases and add various functions to the card. A well thought out system becomes very important, especially with organizations that experience high employee turnover and changing access privileges. Potential perpetrators of violence are almost always armed; therefore, the organization must focus on eliminating weapons in the workplace. Weapons could be handguns, knives, brass knuckles, razors, etc. All have the capacity to inflict considerable damage in the wrong hands, but handguns are by far the most deadly. Handguns are relatively easy to obtain, and it is legal in 40 states to carry concealed weapons (Flynn, 1996, p. 1). For the organization that has experienced repeated incidents of workplace violence, metal detectors at strategic points of entry are a must. A metal detector would have alerted the lottery organization to the potential threat posed by Matthew Beck, which possibly could have resulted in less carnage. Most organizations, however, resist so-called "extreme" strategies like metal detectors, partly because they impede access and egress during critical periods of the day and partly because they give the facility the appearance of an armed
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Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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