Workplace violence has grown into perhaps the most significant risk issue facing corporate security departments today. Security professionals have a unique contribution to make in helping the organization to meet its duty of care to anticipate, prevent, respond to and recover from workplace violence incidents.
At the outset, corporate security needs to have a place at the strategic planning table. Due to the multi-faceted nature of workplace violence, a multidisciplinary steering committee should be formed where Security is joined by HR, Health and Safety, Legal, Operations/Facilities and other relevant departments to identify roles and responsibilities, and establish an integrated workplace violence prevention and response strategy.