Local Government Responses to Workplace Violence: A Status Report

This article reports on the findings of a national survey of local governments' efforts to deal with workplace violence on the policy and program levels. Directors of departments of human resources and personnel in 472 jurisdictions with populations of 100,000 or more were mailed a questionnaire, and a 66.7% response rate was achieved. Highlights of the findings include: (1) about one-third of these cities and counties have workplace violence policies and related programs in operation, (2) human resources directors were major actors in developing these policies, and their offices typically play a major role in implementing them; and, (3) violence by terrorists is not a major concern, while assaults and homicides arising from interpersonal conflicts, drugs and alcohol abuse, and adverse actions received considerable attention