U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics March 2011, NCJ 233231 Workplace Violence, 1993-2009 By Erika Harrell, Ph.D., BJS Statisticians ---------------------------------------------------------- This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.csv) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available from http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbse&sid=2377 This report is one in a series. More recent editions may be available. To view a list of all in the series go to http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=dcdetail&iid=56 ----------------------------------------------------------- In 2009, approximately 572,000 nonfatal violent crimes (rape/sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault) occurred against persons age 16 or older while they were at work or on duty, based on findings from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). This accounted for about 24% of nonfatal violence against employed persons age 16 or older. Nonfatal violence in the workplace was about 15% of all nonfatal violent crime against persons age 16 or older. The rate of violent crime against employed persons has declined since 1993. In 2009, an estimated 4 violent crimes per 1,000 employed persons age 16 or older were committed while the victims were at work or on duty, compared to 6 violent crimes per 1,000 employed persons age 16 or older in 2002. In 1993, the rate of nonfatal violence was 16 violent crimes per 1,000 employed persons while at work, a rate 75% higher than in 2009 (figure 1). According to 2009 preliminary data, 521 persons age 16 or older were victims of homicide in the workplace. In about a third of workplace homicides from 2005-2009, the victim worked in a sales or office occupation. The data on homicides in this report are based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI). ------------------------------------------------------------- Highlights *From 2002 to 2009, the rate of nonfatal workplace violence has declined by 35%, following a 62% decline in the rate from 1993 to 2002. *The average annual rate of workplace violence between 2005 and 2009 (5 violent crimes per 1,000 employed persons age 16 or older) was about one-third the rate of nonworkplace violence (16 violent crimes per 1,000 employed persons age 16 or older) and violence against persons not employed (17 violent crimes per 1,000 persons age 16 or older). *Between 2005 and 2009, law enforcement officers, security guards, and bartenders had the highest rates of nonfatal workplace violence. *Strangers committed the greatest proportion of nonfatal workplace violence against males (53%) and females (41%) between 2005 and 2009. *Among workplace homicides that occurred between 2005 and 2009, about 28% involved victims in sales and related occupations and about 17% involved victims in protective service occupations. *About 70% of workplace homicides were committed by robbers and other assailants while about 21% were committed by work associates between 2005 and 2009. *Between 2005 and 2009, while firearms were used in 5% of nonfatal workplace violence, shootings accounted for 80% of workplace homicides. ------------------------------------------------------------- This report provides an overview of fatal and nonfatal violence in the workplace. It discusses differences in workplace violence among various occupations. It includes trend information and discusses victim demographics and crime characteristics such as victim injury and police notification. It also includes comparisons to violence outside of the workplace against employed persons and violence against persons not employed. Workplace violence declined more rapidly than nonworkplace violence from 1993 to 2009 The 2009 rate of workplace violence (4 violent crimes per 1,000 employed persons age 16 or older) was 35% lower than the 2002 rate of workplace violence (6 violent crimes per 1,000). The 2009 rate of nonworkplace violence was 37% lower than the 2002 nonworkplace violence rate. There was no statistically significant difference detected in the 2002 and 2009 rates of violence against persons not employed. From 1993 to 2002, the rate of workplace violence declined by 62%. In comparison, the rate of nonworkplace violence was 51% lower in 2002 than in 1993 and the rate of violence against persons not employed was 47% lower in 2002 than in 1993. Workplace violence declined more rapidly for males than females from 1993 to 2009 The 2009 workplace violence rate for males was 29% lower than the 2002 rate (figure 2). The rate for females in 2009 was 43% lower than their 2002 rate. The rate of workplace violence against males was 69% lower in 2002 than in 1993. In comparison, the rate of workplace violence against females was 48% lower in 2002 than in 1993. There was no statistically significant difference detected in the 2002 or 2009 rates of workplace violence for males and females. ------------------------------------------------------------ Definition of terms Workplace--Place where an employed person is working or on duty. Workplace violence--Nonfatal violence (rape/sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault) against employed persons age 16 or older that occurred while they were at work or on duty. Nonworkplace violence--Nonfatal violence (rape/sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault) against employed persons age 16 or older that occurred while they were not at work or on duty. Violence against persons not employed--Nonfatal violence (rape/sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault) against persons age 16 or older who did not have a job at the time of the crime. Workplace homicide--Homicide of employed victims age 16 or older who were killed while at work or on duty. Excludes death by accident. Source: National Crime Victimization Survey and Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. ----------------------------------------------------------------- The 2009 workplace violence rate was 33% lower than the 2002 rate for whites (figure 3). The 2009 workplace violence rate against blacks was 63% lower than the 2002 rate for blacks. Workplace violence rates against whites, blacks, and Hispanics were at least 60% lower in 2002 than in 1993. Workplace violence occurred at a lower rate than both nonworkplace violence and violence against persons not employed From 2005 through 2009, the average annual rate of violent victimization in the workplace against employed persons age 16 or older was about 5 violent crimes per 1,000 persons (table 1). In comparison, the average annual rate of nonworkplace violence was about 16 violent crimes per 1,000 employed persons ages 16 or older. The average annual rate of violence against persons not employed was about 17 violent crimes per 1,000 ages 16 or older. For each type of nonfatal violent crime examined, rates of workplace violence were lower than rates of nonworkplace violence for employed people and violence against persons not employed. Workplace violence was less likely to include serious violence (rape/sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault) than nonworkplace violence and violence against persons not employed. About a fifth of workplace violence from 2005 through 2009 consisted of serious violent crime, compared to almost two-fifths of nonworkplace violence and violence against persons not employed. The percentage of robbery in the workplace (3%) was a fourth the percentage for nonworkplace violence and violence against persons not employed. Simple assault accounted for almost 80% of workplace violence while it constituted about 61% of violence against persons not employed and 62% of nonworkplace violence. From 2005 through 2009 persons working in law enforcement experienced about 19% of workplace violence while accounting for 2% of employed persons Among the occupations measured, persons in law enforcement experienced the highest proportion (19%) of workplace violence (table 2). Persons in retail sales occupations experienced about 13% of workplace violence while accounting for about 9% of employed persons. About 10% of victims of workplace violence worked in medical occupations. Law enforcement officers, security guards, and bartenders had the highest rate of workplace violence From 2005 through 2009, of the occupational groups examined, law enforcement occupations had the highest average annual rate of workplace violence (48 violent crimes per 1,000 employed persons age 16 or older), followed by mental health occupations (21 per 1,000). Among the individual occupations examined, no occupation had workplace violence rates higher than those for law enforcement officers, security guards, and bartenders. Bartenders (80 per 1,000) had the highest workplace violence rate of all retail sales occupations. Persons working in all mental health occupations had a similar rate of workplace violence. Among teaching occupations, no occupation had a higher rate of workplace violence than persons working in technical or industrial schools. All transportation occupations had a similar rate of workplace violence. Persons working in custodial care, technical/industrial schools, and law enforcement had higher rates of workplace violence than nonworkplace violence The rate of workplace violence was greater than the rate of nonworkplace violence for several occupations examined. For persons in custodial care occupations, workers in technical/industrial schools, law enforcement officers, corrections officers, and security guards, the rate of workplace violence was higher than the rate of nonworkplace violence. For nurses and persons working in preschools and colleges/universities, and convenience store/liquor store clerks, the rate of workplace violence was lower than the rate of violence outside of the workplace. No occupational group had a higher rate of nonworkplace violence than retail sales occupations. All retail sales occupations had an equal rate of nonworkplace violence. While law enforcement officers and security guards were among the occupations with the highest rate of workplace violence, these occupations did not have the highest rate of nonworkplace violence among the examined occupations. For all gender and racial groups examined, the rate of workplace violence was lower than the rate of nonworkplace violence From 2005 through 2009, males had a higher rate of workplace violence and a slightly higher rate of nonworkplace violence than females (table 3). Whites had a higher rate of workplace violence than blacks, while blacks had a higher rate of nonworkplace violence than whites. There was no statistically significant difference between whites and American Indians in the rate of workplace violence. Hispanics were similar to blacks and Asians in their rates of workplace violence. Asians were the least likely of all racial/ethnic groups examined to experience nonworkplace violence. Among employed persons, those ages 20 to 34 had the highest rate of workplace violence while persons ages 16 to 19 had the highest rate of nonworkplace violence. Persons who had never married had a higher rate of workplace violence than those who were married and the same rate as persons who were widowed, divorced, or separated. Persons in households with annual incomes of $50,000 to $74,999 had similar rates of workplace violence as persons in households with annual incomes of $7,500 to $14,999. Individuals in households with lower annual incomes had a higher rate of nonworkplace violence than individuals in households with higher annual incomes. From 2005 through 2009 victims of workplace violence had a higher percentage of males, whites, married persons, and persons in households with larger annual incomes than victims of nonworkplace violence Males accounted for about 63% of victims of workplace violence and 57% of victims of nonworkplace violence (table 4). Whites made up a larger percentage of workplace violence victims (78%) than nonworkplace violence victims (66%). Both blacks and Hispanics accounted for smaller percentages of victims of workplace violence (9% black, 8% Hispanic) than victims of nonworkplace violence (13% black, 15% Hispanic). Workplace violence had a larger proportion of older victims than nonworkplace violence. About 54% of workplace violence victims were ages 35 or older while 39% of nonworkplace violence victims were of similar ages. About 17% of workplace violence victims were ages 16 to 24 while about 36% of nonworkplace violence victims fell into this age category. About 35% of victims of workplace violence had never married, compared to about 52% of victims of nonworkplace violence. Married persons accounted for about 47% of workplace violence victims and about 25% of nonworkplace violence victims. About 46% of victims of workplace violence were in households with annual incomes of at least $50,000, compared to about 28% of victims of nonworkplace violence. Strangers committed the greatest proportion of workplace violence From 2005 through 2009, strangers committed about 53% of workplace violence against males and about 41% against females (table 5). Similar proportions of males and females were victims of intimate partner violence in the workplace. About a quarter (26%) of workplace violence against males and about a third against females were committed by someone with whom the victim had a work relationship. ***Footnote 1 Work relationships include offenders who were customers, clients, patients, and current or former supervisors, employees, or coworkers of the victim.*** Among the work relationships examined, coworkers were the most likely to attack persons in the workplace. Current or former coworkers committed 16% of workplace violence against males and about 14% against females. Patients committed a higher percentage of workplace violence against females than males. Victims of workplace violence were slightly less likely to have resisted their offenders than victims of nonworkplace violence Three in 5 incidents of workplace violence involved victims who resisted their offenders (table 6). From 2005 through 2009, victims resisted their offenders in about 60% of all incidents of workplace violence. While equally likely to use nonconfrontational tactics, victims of workplace violence were less likely than victims of nonworkplace violence to threaten or attack an offender without a weapon. Workplace violence was less likely to involve an offender under the influence of alcohol or drugs than nonworkplace violence A smaller percentage of workplace violence (25%) involved an offender under the influence of alcohol or drugs than nonworkplace violence (37%), according to victims (table 7). About 40% of workplace violence did not involve an offender under the influence of alcohol or drugs, compared to about 22% of nonworkplace violence. Firearms were less likely to be present in workplace violence than nonworkplace violence Weapons were less likely to be present in workplace violence than during nonworkplace violence (table 8). From 2005 through 2009, weapons were present in about 18% of workplace violence and about 27% of nonworkplace violence. Firearms were present in about 5% of workplace violence and about 10% of nonworkplace violence. From 2005 through 2009, victims of workplace violence (13%) were less likely to be injured than victims of nonworkplace violence (29%) (table 9). The percentage of workplace violence victims who had serious injuries (2%) was lower than the percentage of victims of nonworkplace violence (4%) (table 10). Workplace violence was slightly less likely than nonworkplace violence to be reported to police About 47% of workplace violence was reported to police, compared to about 52% of nonworkplace violence (table 11). A smaller percentage of nonworkplace violence against males was reported to police than nonworkplace violence against females. However, police notification of workplace violence did not differ by the victim's gender. No statistically significant differences were found between the percentages of nonworkplace and workplace violence against whites, blacks, American Indians, and Asians reported to the police. For Hispanics, a slightly higher percentage of nonworkplace than workplace violence incidents was reported to the police. For victims ages 34 or younger, there was no statistically significant difference in the percentages of nonworkplace and workplace violence reported to the police. For victims ages 35 or older, workplace violence was at least slightly less likely than nonworkplace violence to be reported to police. About 77% of workplace robberies were brought to the attention of the police. This percentage is lower than the percentages found for workplace rape/sexual assault and simple assault and similar to the percentage found for workplace aggravated assault. Robbery in the workplace was slightly more likely to be reported to police than robbery outside of the workplace. The most common reasons for reporting workplace violence to the police were to stop or prevent an incident from happening (31%), prevent future incidents (21%), and stop attacker (20%) This rank ordering of reasons was similar to that for nonworkplace violence (41%, 31%, and 13%) (table 12). However, a lower percentage of workplace violence (31%) was reported to the police than nonworkplace violence (41%) to stop or prevent the crime from happening. Reports intended to prevent the offender from committing future crimes against the victim were less likely for incidents of workplace violence (21%) than for incidents of nonworkplace violence (31%). About 14% of workplace violence was reported out of duty to inform the police about crime compared to 7% of nonworkplace violence that was reported for such a reason. The most common reason why workplace violence was not reported to the police was that the incident was reported to another official About 38% of workplace violence was not reported to the police because the incident was reported to another official, compared to about 7% of nonworkplace violence (table 13). Similar to the percentages of nonworkplace violence that were not reported to police, about 22% of workplace violence was not reported to police because the victim thought the incident was a personal matter. About 24% of workplace violence was not reported to police because the victim believed that the incident was not important enough to be reported. The number of homicides in the workplace decreased by 51% between 1993 and 2009 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), the number of victims ages 16 or older of workplace homicides decreased by 39% from 1,068 in 1993 to 648 in 1999 (figure 4). The number decreased again in 2004 to 559. In 2009, based on preliminary data, there were 521 workplace homicides, a decrease from 2008 when there were 526 workplace homicides. From 2005 through 2009, a third of workplace homicide victims worked in sales-related occupations In about 33% of workplace homicides that occurred from 2005 through 2009, the victim worked in a sales or office occupation (table 14). This includes sales-related occupations, which made up 28% of the occupations of workplace homicide victims. A third of workplace homicide victims worked in service occupations, including persons working in protective services. Persons in protective service occupations accounted for 17% of workplace homicide victims. The majority of victims of workplace homicide from 2005 through 2009 were male and middle-aged Males accounted for 4 in 5 victims of workplace homicide (table 15). From 2005 through 2009, about 48% of all workplace homicide victims were between the ages of 35 and 54, about 21% were ages 55 or older, and about 10% were ages 16 to 24. Whites accounted for about half of all workplace homicide victims while blacks represented about a fifth of all victims. In comparison, Hispanics accounted for 16% of all workplace homicide victims; Asians accounted for 11% Robbers and other assailants accounted for the majority of workplace homicide offenders From 2005 through 2009, about 38% of workplace homicide offenders were robbers (table 16). Work associates accounted for about a fifth, and customers and clients represented about 10% of all workplace homicide offenders. Current and former coworkers committed 11% of workplace homicides. Spouses constituted about 3% of offenders in workplace homicides. Most workplace homicides resulted from shootings Shootings accounted for about 80% of workplace homicides from 2005 through 2009 (table 17). About 14% of workplace homicides resulted from stabbings, hittings, kickings, or beatings. Methodology Data sources This report presents data on rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault against persons age 16 or older while they were at work or on duty as measured by the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). The NCVS gathers data on crimes against persons age 12 or older, reported and not reported to the police, from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. The NCVS provides information about victims (e.g. age, gender, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, income, and educational level), offenders (e.g., gender, race, approximate age, and victim/offender relationship), and the nature of the crime (time and place of occurrence, use of weapons, nature of injury, and economic consequences). Respondents to the NCVS age 16 or older are asked to select one occupation that best describes their job. More information on the National Crime Victimization Survey can be found here: http://bjs. ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=dcdetail&iid=245. Data on workplace homicide were obtained from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Workplace homicide information for 2009 is based on preliminary data. Data for 1993-2008 are based on final data from the CFOI. As reported on the BLS website, CFOI produces comprehensive, accurate, and timely counts of fatal work injuries. CFOI is a federal-state cooperative program that has been implemented in all 50 States and the District of Columbia since 1992. To compile counts that are as complete as possible, the census uses multiple sources to identify, verify, and profile fatal worker injuries annually. Information about each workplace fatal injury from all workplaces--occupation and other worker characteristics, equipment involved, and circumstances of the event--is obtained by cross referencing the source records, such as death certificates, workers' compensation reports, and federal and state agency administrative reports. To ensure that fatal injuries are work-related, cases are substantiated with two or more independent source documents, or a source document and a follow-up questionnaire. Data compiled by the CFOI program are issued annually for the preceding calendar year. The National Safety Council has adopted the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries figure, beginning with the 1992 data year, as the authoritative count for work related deaths in the United States. More information about CFOI can be found here: http//www.bls.gov/iif/oshfat1.htm. Occupational categories in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) and the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) use different systems of categorizing occupations of victims. The NCVS began using the occupation categories displayed in this report after the 1992 redesign. In 2001, the employment questions were revised on the incident form using the Industry and Occupation coding of the 1990 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) coding system. However, the screening questionnaire remained the same. In order to generate rates of workplace violence by occupation, the occupation categories on the incident form were collapsed into the occupation categories used on the screening questionnaire. Population estimates were generated from the screening questionnaire and incidents of workplace violence were generated using the collapsed categories from the incident form. Beginning with the 2003 reference year, CFOI began using the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for industries, and the Standard Occupational Classification System (SOC) for occupations. Prior to 2003, the program used the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system and the Bureau of the Census occupational classification system. For more information, see www.bls.gov/iif/osh_wtre02.htm. Due to the methodology of the NCVS involving victim interviews, it was impossible to obtain information on the occupations of workplace homicide victims. Therefore, CFOI was used to gain this information despite differing systems of classifying occupational Methodological changes to the NCVS in 2006 Methodological changes implemented in 2006 impacted the estimates for that year to an extent that the estimates were not comparable to those of previous years. An evaluation of 2007 and 2008 data from the NCVS conducted by BJS and the Census Bureau found a high degree of confidence that estimates for 2007 and 2008 are consistent with and comparable to those for 2005 and previous years. For this reason, discussion of trends in the rates of crime in this report excludes the 2006 data. Data from 2006 are included in tables displaying aggregate estimates because the effects from methodological changes implemented in 2006 did not impact the distributions across the variables describing the characteristics and consequences of crime. The effects on the 2006 estimates were on the levels and rates of crime,requiring omission from discussions of crime trends. Inclusion of 2006 data in tables providing aggregate estimates does not affect the comparisons presented in these tables. Standard error computations Comparisons of percentages and rates made in this report were tested to determine if observed differences were statistically significant. Differences described as higher, lower, or different passed a hypothesis test at the 0.05 level of statistical significance (95% confidence level). The tested difference was greater than twice the standard error of that difference. For comparisons that were statistically significant at the 0.10 level (90% confidence level), "somewhat," "slightly," or "marginally" is used to note the nature of the difference. Significance testing calculations were conducted at the Bureau of Justice Statistics using statistical programs developed specifically for the NCVS by the U.S. Census Bureau. These programs take into consideration many aspects of the complex NCVS sample design when calculating estimates. Standard errors for average annual estimates were calculated based on the ratio of the sums of victimizations and respondents across years. Estimates based on 10 or fewer sample cases have high relative standard errors. Care should be taken when comparing such estimates to other estimates when both are based on 10 or fewer sample cases. -------------------------------------------------------------- Office of Justice Programs * Innovation * Partnerships * Safer Neighborhoods * http://www.bjs.gov --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. James P. Lynch is the director. This Special report was written by Erika Harrell, Ph.D. Lynn Langton verified the report. Doris J. James and Vanessa Curto edited the report, Tina Dorsey produced the report, and Jayne E. Robinson prepared the report for final printing, under the supervision of Doris J. James. March 2011, NCJ 233231 This report in portable document format and in ASCII and its related statistical data and tables are available -------------------------------------------------------------- 3/21/2011/JER/2:35