Scott A. Smith, MPA, ASP
Loss Control Representative
Certified ALICE Program Instructor
Workplace Violence
• Some Questions:
• Are workplaces experiencing more violence and
fatalities?
• Causation – How are workers dying?
• What are the main types of workplace violence?
• How can employees prepare and respond to acts of
workplace violence?
Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Workplace fatalities for 2014 Calendar year
and previous years.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Causation of Fatalities
Lets Talk About Preparing and
Responding to Workplace Violence
• You don’t need to obsess about the issue.
• More likely to be hit by lightning or drown in a
swimming pool.
• You should pay attention to your
surroundings.
• Rely on your instincts: Fight or Flight.
• Any action beats no action.
Be Alert and Pay Attention
• If something seems “off” or “strange” – Don’t ignore
it. Report it.
• In Active Shooter situations, the killer will scout the
targeted site several times. They will have a game
plan and be very calm during incident.
• In emotion-based intruder situations, the intruder is
often very emotional and can possibly be “talked
down.” Easier to distract.
• Put in place a Crisis Response and Management Plan.
• Consider conducting Hostile Intruder Training for your
employees.
Can Employees Respond Effectively to
a Hostile Intruder Incident?
•
•
•
•
YES! By alerting and informing others.
YES! By evacuating the facility.
YES! By knocking intruders off their plan of attack.
YES! By effectively barricading themselves against
attackers.
• YES! By countering aggression through distraction
and return aggression.
• The key is to change the rules of the game.
How do we evacuate?
• By actively communicating where the
intruders are – provides info on where they
are not.
• Get out however you can.
• Active Shooters rarely, if ever, chase or target
anyone outside the facility.
How do we barricade?
• Don’t just close and lock the door and turn
off the lights.
• Make entry as difficult as possible.
• Intruders know time is working against them.
• Make getting at you too hard and time
consuming.
How do we counter?
• Distract, Distract, Distract.
• Make OODA Loop work for you.
• Throw anything at intruder or away from them.
• Swarm the intruder.
• Immobilize
• Take down
• Hold
Get Your Head In The Game
• Accept reality:
• This is happening – ACT!
• It will take law enforcement several minutes to
arrive on scene.
- YOU are the first responder. Buy time. Time means
lives saved.
• Save yourself first.
Outcomes
• Incidents end when Law Enforcement
confronts intruders (40% - Death by suicide
or by LEO.)
• Incidents end when targets gain upper hand
and use applied force. (46% of the time.)
• In less than 1% of the active killer incidents
did the attacker flee.
• Taking action saves lives.
Contact Information:
[email protected]
515.330.9397