Criminal Violence:
Patterns, Causes, and
Prevention
Riedel and Welsh, Ch. 9
“Workplace Violence”
Introduction
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Costly Workplace violence costs American
taxpayers $4 billion to $6 billion annually.
Psychological Violence In addition to physical
violence, psychological violence includes
ostracism, swearing, name calling, rude
gestures, deliberate silence.
Multiplier Effects Workplace violence has
effects on the victim’s family, organization, and
society.
Types of Workplace Violence

Type I Criminal Intent Offender has no
business relationship with the workplace.
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Most frequent type; includes robbery and theft
Type II Customer/Client Offender is
customer/client of worker.
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Victims are taxi drivers, police, correctional workers.
Type III Worker-on-Worker Offender is
a former or present employee
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“Going postal”
Type IV Offender has prior relationship
with victim carried to workplace.

Example: estranged husband kills wife
Workplace Homicide
Fi gure 9.1
Three M ost Frequent W ork -Rel a ted Fa ta l i ti es
1600
1500
Number of Fatalities
1400
1300
1200
Highway
Homicides
Falls
1100
1000
900
800
700
600
500
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
Ye ar
2002
2004
2006
2008
Workplace Homicide (cont.)
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Figure 9.1 shows the three most frequent
work-related fatalities
Highway Incidents account for the
largest number of work-related fatalities
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Falls showed a gradual increase
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Declined to 1149 in 2008
Number of falls in 2008 were the lowest since 1995
Workplace Homicides have declined
since 1995

There were 517 workplace homicides in 2008
Workplace Homicides (cont.)
Fi gure 9.2
U. S. Homi ci des a nd W or k pl a ce Homi ci des (Z-Scores)
2
Homicides
Workplace Homicides
1.5
Z-Scores
1
0.5
0
-0.5
-1
-1.5
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
Ye ar
2002
2004
2006
2008
Workplace Homicides (cont.)

In Figure 9.2 national homicides and
workplace homicides were made
comparable with z-scores
Decrease in workplace homicides parallels decline in
total homicides.
Females are in more high-risk occupations where they
can be attacked by others.
Most victims of workplace homicides are white and
between ages 20-54.
Most frequent method of killing was shooting.
Nonfatal Workplace Victimization

Nonviolent workplace violence
accounted for 18% of all violent crime
from 1993-1996.
The most frequent form of nonfatal victimization is
simple assault, followed by aggravated assault,
robbery, and rape/sexual assault.
For the 7-year period, most victims were white males.
Highest rate of victimization was for ages 20-49.
Workers divorced or separated had the highest rate
of victimization, while widowed workers had the
lowest rates.
Offender Characteristics

Offender characteristics as reported by the
victim:
Males attack other males 88% and females 13% of
the time.
Females are more likely to attack other females.
Most nonfatal victimizations are intraracial.
More than 85% of the attacks involved a single
offender.
Slightly more that one third of the victims believed
their attacker was using drugs or alcohol.
NCVS reports that 55.6% of the attackers were
strangers and 39.4% were casual acquaintances.
Explanations

Routine Activities Theory posits that
crime occurs when there is a conjunction
of suitable targets, likely offenders, and an
absence of suitable guardians
Routine activities theory is particularly useful to test
workplace violence because work is very routine.
Research seems to indicate that the theory is best
supported where the routine is more or less
predictable, such as full-time occupations.
Explanations (cont.)
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Rational Choice Theory takes the view that all
aggression is instrumental behavior.
Rational choice actors assess the payment and costs
in their aggression, although they are not always
correct.
Aggression may lead to workplace violence because
of a desire for justice:
Distributive justice occurs when an employee becomes
angry and aggressive because he/she feels overworked and
underpaid.
Procedural justice refers to the fairness of the method used
to determine outcomes.
Interactional justice involves situations of showing respect
for others.
Interventions
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Prevention Policies and Strategies
The National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health provides a number of
prevention strategies:
Environmental Designs refers to procedures that
restrict access to cash, bullet-resistant barriers, and
restricted access to the location for nonemployees.
Administrative Controls refers to plans and policies for
escorting patients and controlling movements within
the organization.
Also includes increasing the number of people on duty in
retail establishments
Practices regarding the opening and closing of
establishments need to be reviewed.
Interventions (cont.)
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How Many Organizations Have
Workplace Violence Prevention
Programs?
Literature review shows a small amount of research on
workplace violence.
Suggestions for prevention are common sense rather
than based on research.
In a survey of 299 risk managers, 70% of organizations
had not undergone risk assessment for possible
workplace violence.
Organizations with a stress management plan had a
significantly greater number of workplace violence
events.