April is workplace violence awareness month and statistics show women are nearly three times more likely to be murdered on the job, compared to men, according to a report from the National Council for Home Safety and Security (NCHSS).

I was in law enforcement prior to the term ‘Active Shooter’ became an accepted way to describe someone bent on hurting people, and before Columbine forever changed how police will respond to acts of mass violence.

National Safety Council analysis indicates that women are disproportionately impacted by certain safety issues, most notably nonfatal workplace violence. Females account for 70% of all assault-related injuries involving days away from work.

Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) has introduced legislation to curb rising rates of workplace violence facing health care and social service employees such as nurses, physicians, emergency responders, medical assistants, and social workers.

As someone who has been engaged by consulting clients and full-time employers to conduct threat assessments and write security and emergency preparedness plans, I am often left puzzled by how many organizations go to great lengths to assess their vulnerabilities and create plans to address them, but almost never test their ongoing effectiveness.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce launched the Institute for a Safer Florida (ISF) to “focus its energy and expertise on enhancing school and workplace safety.”

House Bill 1283 in Mississippi that would create the “Mississippi School Safety Act of 2019” would require schools to conduct active shooter drills within the first two months of each semester.

Security leaders should consider investing in analysts dedicated to workplace violence prevention and threat assessment for three major reasons: the issue is becoming a greater concern, the subject matter is becoming more complicated, and small programs are becoming bigger.