Types of Crime - Workplace Violence

In 1999 the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) surveyed human resource professionals concerning violence in the workplace. Over half (57 percent) of those responding reported at least one violent incident between 1996 and 1999, an increase from the 48 percent of respondents who reported at least one violent incident in the workplace between 1994 and 1996.

Although violent attacks with firearms, knives, and other weapons receive the most media attention, they are rare in the workplace. Only 1 percent of the SHRM respondents reported shootings, and the same proportion reported stabbings. Verbal threats were the most frequently cited type of workplace violence (39 percent). Pushing and shoving (22 percent) and fistfights (13 percent) were the next most commonly reported incidents. Only 1 percent of respondents said that rape or sexual assault had occurred at work.

Each year the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) gathers data about fatalities from job-related injuries, including homicides. According to the BLS, workplace homicides fell from 1,036 in 1995 to 639 in 2001. Firearms were used in 505 of the 2001 homicides. Males were victims (513) far more often than were females (126). (See Table 2.19.)

According to Workplace Violence: Issues in Response, published by the Critical Incident Response Group, National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime, FBI Academy, Quantico, VA, there are certain factors that can "contribute to negativity and stress in the workplace, which in turn may precipitate problematic behavior." Among those factors are:

• Understaffing that leads to job overload.
• Frustrations arising from poorly defined job tasks.
• Downsizing or reorganization.
• Labor disputes and poor labor/management relations.

The Violence Prevention Center reported on the use of firearms in 65 high-profile shootings between 1963 and 2001. In 71 percent of incidents, a handgun was used, while

TABLE 2.19
Workplace homicides by victim characteristics, type of event, and selected occupation and industry, 1992–2001

	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	20012
Major occupation
Managerial and professional specialty occupations	185	162	149	200	184	156	132	117	141	120
Technical, sales, and administrative support jobs	353	404	426	381	332	305	239	197	235	203
Service occupations	228	212	251	216	188	181	146	156	130	171
Police and detectives	62	68	70	81	55	66	53	47	49	62
Guards	56	55	76	61	52	43	39	36	33	38
Farming, forestry, and fishing	15	11	17	20	18	10	19	19	14	11
Precision production, craft, and repair jobs	43	67	39	40	37	36	41	35	38	34
Operators, fabricators, and laborers	211	204	178	160	154	162	130	118	113	96
Major industry
Agriculture, forestry, fishing	15	13	18	19	18	9	19	19	12	9
Construction	20	20	16	15	12	14	20	6	21	26
Manufacturing	32	46	33	44	40	43	38	26	25	32
Transportation and public utilities	117	126	118	98	76	110	69	70	65	52
Taxicabs	86	96	87	68	50	74	48	51	42	33
Wholesale trade	25	25	20	25	24	21	21	26	16	6
Retail trade	503	525	530	422	437	395	287	264	310	280
Grocery stores	166	176	196	152	146	141	95	78	111	92
Eating and drinking places	145	145	135	121	135	109	69	95	91	93
Gasoline service stations	41	53	41	36	23	34	25	17	14	16
Finance, insurance, real estate	37	35	31	53	41	28	22	34	21	20
Services	175	155	193	141	169	146	139	136	127	125
Detective and armored car services	23	32	49	27	29	21	18	17	16	21
Government7	104	124	104	212	100	88	94	66	78	88
Federal	11	18	12	109	11	7	16	7	6	9
State	11	20	12	17	20	19	22	11	11	10
Local	80	86	80	84	69	60	56	48	61	68
Note: These data were collected through the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries conducted annually by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in cooperation with numerous federal, state, and local agencies. Data were compiled from various federal, state, and local administrative sources including death certificates, workers' compensation reports and claims, medical examiner reports, police reports, news reports, and reports to various regulatory agencies.
1Detail may not add to total because of the omission of miscellaneous categories.
2The workplace homicides that occurred as a result of the events of Sept. 11, 2001 are not included in this table.
3May include volunteers and other workers receiving compensation.
4Includes paid and unpaid family workers, and may include owners of incorporated businesses or members of partnerships.
5No data reported or data did not meet publication criteria specified by the source.
6Persons identified as Hispanic may be of any race; therefore detail will not add to total.
7Includes fatalities to workers employed by government agencies regardless of industry
SOURCE: "Table 3.135: Workplace Homicides by Victim Characteristics, Type of Event, and Selected Occupation and Industry," in Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 2002, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, DC, 2003

a shotgun or rifle was used in the remaining 29 percent of incidents. In over half of such shootings (62 percent), the handguns were acquired legally, and in 71 percent of incidents the rifles or shotguns were legal. From 1999 to 2001 there were 25 high-profile shootings in the United States, 12 of which occurred at workplaces and seven at schools.