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Workplace Violence often occurs suddenly and with devastating results. These acts are largely committed against individuals, sometimes randomly as in the Virginia Tech shootings or sometimes they are committed against specific targeted individuals. The individuals who commit these acts may be career criminals, disgruntled employees or may include individuals who are involved in a domestic dispute. Workplace Violence can also result in property crimes, including industrial espionage committed by those who may have a dispute with the targeted enterprise. In some cases, there may be the added intervening variable that these acts of workplace violence are being committed by individuals who are deranged, psychotic and/or chemically impaired.
Any enterprise that has not recently conducted a complete security assessment, inclusive of a workplace violence threat assessment, may be exposing themselves, their customers and their employees to avoidable risk. We have all seen how tough economic times correlate with increased acts of violence in the workplace. We are seeing the spillage of domestic disputes moving into the workplace. The risk for violence cuts across all sectors, including both private and public enterprises.
Security Management Services International, Inc. (SMSI) cannot guarantee the mitigation of all acts of violence in the workplace. No firm can reasonably make such an assertion. However, SMSI can reasonably reduce the probability of such acts occurring through the application of comprehensive threat assessments and the implementation of prudent mitigation strategies.
Critical to reducing the probability of Workplace Violence, is the ability of the enterprise to recognize the potential threat, while that threat is still in the incipient phase. It is also important to remember that acts of workplace violence do not occur in a vacuum. In some cases, factors in the workplace may inadvertently give rise to these acts of violence, thereby requiring security awareness and sensitivity training.
Workplace Violence Prevention programs must therefore be multidimensional. These programs require training for managers and supervisors in early recognition capability as well as the skills required to avoid not becoming part of the problem. Workplace violence prevention strategies also require the application of more traditional crime prevention methodologies; the reduction of motive, means and opportunity. This requires that the integrated design of physical security remedies must also consider the impact of access management, CCTV and locking system, along with security officer training on workplace violence threat reduction. Any complete security assessment security assessment should include workplace violence threat assessment.
Security Management Services International (SMSI) regularly conducts comprehensive security assessments the address a wide range of security risks including workplace violence. SMSI will recommend mitigation strategies and will offer site specific employee training program aimed at early risk identification and mitigation.
Visit www.smsiinc.com or call Security Management Services International, Inc. at 805-499-3800.
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