Hospitals can be dangerous places. From 2012 to 2014, healthcare institutions reported a 40 percent increase in violent crime, with more than 10,000 incidents mostly directed at employees, according to a survey by the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS).
In 2014, 52 percent of hospitals reported their security personnel carried handguns, while 47 percent reported arming them with Tasers, according to a national survey cited by The New York Times. Those numbers are more than double the estimates from just three years prior.