Editors Message


This month I am very pleased to proclaimed April as National Workplace Violence Awareness Month. I believe this is a significant step towards increasing awareness of the


danger that workplace violence poses and to increase awareness about how to prevent violence in the workplace. The Alliance Against Workplace Violence (AAWPV) and The National Institute for Prevention of Workplace Violence, Inc. are championing this awareness month. Our goal is to build this into a major movement across the country to increase the visibility of this issue and expand efforts to eliminate violence at work. We welcome your ideas, input and collaboration to join us in the journey to stop violence at work and save workers lives. Please visit National Workplace Violence Awareness Month web site, http://workplaceviolenceawareness.org to find out about planned events or contact Patricia Biles at patricia@aawpv.com.


I think the following statement is significant. A few years ago, New Jersey's Homeland Security Director lamented that the state was failing to train personnel to handle a school shooting. "More people have died from active shooters than from school fires," he complained. "Why aren't we drilling active shooters at least as much?"


What about your organization? Are you conducting more fire drills than active shooter drills?


Copyright Notice: Please note that all summaries of articles and the actual articles are copyrighted informa- tion and all rights are reserved. No portions of summa- ries or articles may be extracted, copied or duplicated without the express written permission of The National Institute for Prevention of Workplace Violence, Inc.


Bryar The Workplace Violence Epidemic in Healthcare


In the high-tension hospital atmosphere, threats must be mitigated by diligent adaptation of security policies and procedures. Few organizations contend with the level of daily turbulence and pressure that


hospitals do. In the last 5 years alone, hospitals have experienced a 200 percent increase in violent crimes. Along with this dramatic increase in violence, hospitals are also seeing an increase in healthcare-specific regulatory oversight of workplace violence, according to Bryan Warren, senior manager of Corporate Security at Carolinas Healthcare System and president of IAHSS. Zero-tolerance policies, well-trained staff, management commitment, nurse station panic buttons, locked/coded emergency department entries, security signage, well-lit areas, and an excellent security staff are several factors proven to drastically decrease workplace violence.


“Workplace violence isn’t something you can solve by putting in a lock and a camera. You have to have the human component with the ability to recognize and report so the proper mitigation can be undertaken,” said Warren.


To read more, click here


The Aftermath of Violence and Aggression at Work: Trauma By Dennis A. Davis, Ph.D


I recently received an email from a long time associate who owns several independent


fast food restaurants.


He described how one of his restaurants was robbed in the beginning of the year. The robber had his hand in his pocket, said he had a gun, and insisted on getting the money from the manager. The manager emptied the register and the robber was gone in minutes. Here is what prompted his email to me:( continued on page11)


Campus Shooting: Rare Event, Common Pattern Once again a


horrific event has occurred on a college


campus. In the latest horror at Oikos University in Oakland, a 43-year-old man of Asian descent has been implicated. He had failed to complete a degree in a professional


to earlier campus shootings with multiple victims. The fortunate news, however, is that no matter how


shocking and headline-grabbing, shooting rampages on college campuses are extremely rare.


(continued on page 3) field is eerily consistent with the pattern


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