front and back cover Violence 10/10/00 11:17 AM Page 2

G u i de
e n t i on
Pre v

Prepared by the Canadian Centre

for Occupational Health and Safety
Violence INTRO 10/10/00 11:02 AM Page 3

Objectives
This is your guide to developing a workplace violence
prevention program. Using the advice in this booklet,
you will be able to:
z identify risk factors
z develop a prevention policy
z conduct a risk assessment
z develop a comprehensive prevention program
z develop procedures for reporting and
investigating incidents
z develop a critical incident management plan
z develop victim support services
z follow-up on and learn from incidents
z develop a training program
z identify relevant legislation

Scope
This guide will assist in the development and implemen-
tation of a workplace-specific violence prevention
program. It is a practical hand-out for participants in
employee training sessions.
The guide does not address the specific needs of police
officers, security guards, prison guards or others whose job
it is to manage potentially violent people and situations.

Target Audience
This guide is written for anyone who wants to learn about
workplace violence and its prevention. It is especially
useful to individuals involved in the development and
implementation of workplace violence prevention programs.
Violence INTRO 10/10/00 11:02 AM Page 7

Table of Contents
Section I Introduction
1. What is workplace violence? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Why is workplace violence an important issue? . . . . . . . 4
3. What factors increase the risk of workplace violence? . . 5
4. What should a workplace violence prevention policy say? . 7

Section II Developing a Workplace Violence .....

Prevention Program
1. Conducting a Workplace Violence Risk Assessment. . . 10
2. Developing Preventive Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3. Reporting and Investigating Workplace Violence . . . . . 16
4. Establishing a Critical Incident Management Plan . . . . 19
5. Providing Victim Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
6. Conducting Incident Follow-up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
7. Providing Workplace Violence Training and Education . . 26
8. Conducting Program Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
9. Using Community Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Section III Preventing Workplace Violence

1. Warning Signs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Physical Signs of a Potentially Violent Person. . . . . . 33
Warning Signs of a Potentially Violent Employee . . . 34
Common Characteristics of Violent Incidents . . . . . . . .
Between Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2. Personal Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Emergency Preparedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Trusting your Instincts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Dealing with Strangers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Elevator Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3. Workplace Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Building Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Violence INTRO 10/10/00 11:02 AM Page 8

Waiting Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Natural Surveillance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Electronic Devices and Surveillance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Workplace Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Parking Lot Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
4. Work Situations and Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Robbery Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Handling Cash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Banking Money. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Working Alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Working Off-Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Working Late . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Working with Young People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Working with Patients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Managing Workplace Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Threats Against Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Stalking Situations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
5. Work-Related Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Walking Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Driving Safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Parking Lot Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Public Transit Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Travel Safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Hotel Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Section IV Responding to Workplace Violence

1. Preparing for the Potentially Violent Meeting . . . . . . . 86
2. Dealing with a Potentially Violent Person . . . . . . . . . . 88
Tips for Verbal Communication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Tips for Non-verbal Communication and Behaviour . . 89
Tips for Problem Solving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
3. Terminating a Negative Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
4. Responding to an Abusive Telephone Call . . . . . . . . . . 93
5. Making an Emergency Services Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
6. Responding to a Physical Attack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
7. Responding to a Hostage Situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Violence INTRO 10/10/00 11:02 AM Page 9

8. Responding to a Robbery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
9. Responding to a Bomb Threat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
10. Lock-Down Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
11. Emergency Evacuation Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Section V Conclusions
Is your organization prepared?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Common misatakes made in dealing with violence issues . . 108

Section VI Occupational Health and Safety Legislation .

1. Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
2. United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
3. Where to Go for Regulatory Advice and Information . . 118

Section VII Key Sources used to Prepare this Publication

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Section VIII Appendices

1. Sample risk assessment questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . 130

2. Sample inspection form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
3. Sample reporting form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Violence body 10/10/00 10:50 AM Page 92

3. Terminating a Negative Interaction

z Interrupt the conversation firmly but politely.
z Tell the person that you:
– do not like the tone of the conversation
– will not accept abusive treatment
– will end the conversation if necessary
z Tell the person that you will ask him or her to leave
the building, or that you will leave (if working off-site).
z If the behaviour persists, end the conversation.
z Ask the person to leave the building, or leave yourself.
z If the person does not agree to leave, remove yourself
from the scene and inform your manager or
supervisor immediately.
z DO NOT return to the meeting if you believe the
person poses a physical threat.
z Advise other staff and have them leave the
immediate area.
z Call security or your local police.
z File an incident report.

92
Violence body 10/10/00 10:50 AM Page 93

4. Responding to an Abusive Telephone Call

z Interrupt the conversation firmly, but politely.
z Advise the caller that you will end the call if the
caller does not stop using abusive language.

If the abuse persists, end the call.

z Advise your manager or supervisor of the incident.

z If the caller calls back, interrupt the conversation
firmly, but politely. Advise the caller that you will
transfer the call to your manager or supervisor,
if necessary.
z Remind the caller that you will not accept abusive
treatment or language.
z Put the caller on hold and contact your manager
or supervisor.
z Advise your manager or supervisor that the caller
is on hold.
z Transfer the call to your manager or supervisor.

93
front and back cover noise 10/31/00 10:44 AM Page 4

Publications
in this series
Groundskeepers Safety Guide for groundskeepers, landscape contractors
and nursery workers
Cold Weather Workers Safety Guide addresses the h&s information
needs of the outdoor worker
School Workers Health and Safety Guide for teachers, custodians,
school administrators and school board officials
Office Ergonomics Safety Guide helps office workers to recognize
ergonomic hazards and take remedial action
Food Service Workers Safety Guide covering all safety aspects of
the food preparation and service industries
Warehouse Workers Safety Guide for workers in warehouses, storage
facilities, bulk stores and the transport industry
Indoor Air Quality Health and Safety Guide addresses
concerns about indoor air quality, and explains everything building
occupants need to know about ensuring their health and comfort
Violence in the Workplace Prevention Guide an essential resource
for anyone who wants to learn about workplace violence and
its prevention
Welders Health and Safety Guide helps workers recognize hazards
associated with welding work and to prevent
injury and illness
Health and Safety Committees Reference Guide provides practical
guidance for the formation and effective functioning of health and
safety committees.
Noise Control in Industry: A Basic Guide helps workers and
employers recognize noise problems, take steps to control
occupational noise exposure and develop a hearing
conservation program.

For more information about these titles

(905) 570-8094 or 1-800-668-4284
Fax: (905) 572-2206 E-Mail: clientservices@ccohs.ca
Web Site: http://www.ccohs.ca