Why Every Business Needs A Workplace Violence Prevention Plan
I’ll bet you have a plan. Or at least a policy. For every major part of your job, including workplace violence.
One employee harasses another; we have a plan. One employee threatens another; we have a plan. Someone shows up with a gun; we have a plan.
Maybe that plan is as simple as a six-minute Run-Hide-Fight video (which we don’t recommend) or as complex as Tactical Ted’s Ten Tricks to Defeat Any Attacker (which we just made up.)
Either way, you have made an effort to answer the question of what to do if a bad guy shows up with a gun. Which is an important question to answer. But this question is even more significant:
What if the bad guy never shows up with a gun?
I don’t know about you, but it seems like that would be better. No stabbing or clubbing or shooting. No violence at all. Yep, that’s definitely the preferred outcome. We can easily agree on that. Then the question becomes:
What is your violence prevention plan?
My guess is you don’t have one. Which is sad but probably not your fault. Businesses are just now learning what protection agencies have known for decades. Prevention is possible. The next few paragraphs represent an opportunity to position your organization at the forefront of stopping violence before it occurs.
The Four Elements of a Violence Prevention Plan
Warning Signs – There are always pre-incident indicators of violence. Always. And we know precisely what they are. When you are educated on them, they become easy to spot.
Eyes and Ears – Every single person in your company should be taught the warning signs, so they know which behaviors indicate when someone is on a path to destruction or simply having a bad day.
Communication – When someone recognizes warning signs, your plan must make clear who they need to tell.
Partnership - You must partner with a Threat Manager who can conduct an accurate assessment of the danger level and work with you to manage the threat out of existence.
Currently, for most organizations, the prevention plan lands somewhere between “Hope nothing happens” and “Call the police.” Obviously, the first option leaves our fate entirely in the hands of the bad guy. Not good. And the alternative, calling the cops, all to often results in a statement like “Call us when he does something.”
It’s not their fault. It’s just that their mission, first and foremost, is to enforce the law. Thus, the term “law enforcement.” We are working to change that, but it’s slow going when you deal with the government. We know. Most of us used to be cops.
The final question is how effective violence prevention efforts are in real life. Well, we utilize the gold standard methodology known as Threat Assessment and Management. In managing threats nationwide over the last ten years, our results are 100% effective. Meaning that, once we get involved in a case, there has never been a single incident of violence.
And if you count those of us who’ve been managing threats for decades before our company even existed (as corporate threat managers or U.S. Marshalls or Secret Service agents), the numbers hold. One hundred percent effective in preventing violence.
Please don’t take chances on your safety or that of your people. Let’s change the question to “What if the bad guy never shows up with a gun?” Threat Assessment and Management can make that happen.
Modify your workplace violence plan today. Call us if we can help.
Chief Tim D. Keck, ret.
Vice President and Partner
SafeHaven Security Group, LLC
844-SAFE-GROUP
www.safehavensecuritygroup.com
