workplace violence prevention and response

Adopted by Spokane Public Library Board of Trustees on January 25, 2006.

1. GENERAL

• This document supplements Board adopted Policy 2.3, Workplace Violence Administrative plans and procedures regarding workplace violence prevention and response are outlined herein, as well as in the library’s emergency procedures.
• This document is divided into the following sections:

SECTION 1 – GENERAL

SECTION 2 – VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN AND PROCEDURES

SECTION 3 – VIOLENCE RESPONSE PLAN AND PROCEDURES

SECTION 4 – PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING AND INVESTIGATING COMPLAINTS OR INCIDENTS

2. VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN AND PROCEDURES

• The objectives of the Workplace Violence Prevention Policy and these accompanying procedures are to reduce the potential for violence in and around the workplace, encourage and foster a work environment that is characterized by respect and healthy conflict resolution, and mitigate the negative consequences for employees who experience or encounter violence in their work lives. To that end all employees will:
  • Seek assistance to resolve issues that may lead to acts of violence in the workplace.
  • Report any dangerous or threatening situations that occur in the workplace to management.
  • Monitor the work environment and report any condition they believe to be unsafe to their branch or department manager.
  • Protect the personal information of fellow employees and customers. To that end employees are prohibited from releasing the personal information of other staff members (i.e., home address, home telephone number, work location, hours of work, marital status) to callers or visitors. An appropriate response when such information is requested might be to offer to personally assist the customer, refer them to another employee who can help them, or take a message so that the individual they are attempting to contact may contact them.
  • Take steps to ensure their own personal safety, such as always being aware of their surroundings, keeping staff doors locked at all times, securing all doors when working alone in a building, asking the manager or a co-worker to accompany them to their vehicle after dark.
  • Follow all safety rules and work with management to develop practices that will enhance workplace safety.
  • Participate in training designed to enhance safety and prevent workplace violence.

• Managers will:
  • Provide for appropriate staffing levels, ensuring that at least two employees are present whenever a building is open to the public.
  • Monitor all cases where a subordinate deals with potentially violent persons and provide assistance and training whenever necessary.
  • Assess situations and make judgments on the appropriate response, and then respond to reports of or knowledge of violence.
  • Recommend appropriate action to be taken to reduce or eliminate, whenever possible, high-risk factors such as those related to building layout or design, isolated locations and job activities, lighting problems, availability of communication devices during emergencies, areas of easy unsecured access, and areas with previous security problems.
  • Document all incidents of threatening or violent behavior in the workplace, including threats received by telephone or electronically.
  • Follow up with employees who have experienced a threat or act of violence in the workplace. Revise worksite plans and procedures, and provide employee coaching, to improve the response to a similar situation in the future.
  • As deemed necessary and prudent, provide information about the Employee Assistance Program to employees who have experienced a threat or act of violence in the workplace.

3. VIOLENCE RESPONSE PLAN AND PROCEDURES

• When dealing with an agitated individual, employees should remain calm and assess the Verbal intervention techniques should be used in an attempt to diffuse the situation. Employees will avoid physical contact with agitated individuals and should attempt to leave the area and/or seek shelter if an individual becomes physically violent or displays a weapon. If it is not possible to get away, stay calm and cooperate with the individual. Never approach an individual who is displaying a weapon or who is violent or threatening violence. Physical intervention should be used only in order to minimize or avoid physical harm, and as a last resort if and when there is no other option.
  
  
• In immediate emergency situations:

Call 911 – As with any emergency involving fire, medical incidents or violence the first action is to call 911 and report as many details as possible so that the appropriate emergency response units can be dispatched. Panic buttons are placed at most service desks and should be used if it is not possible to call 911 during an emergency.

Take steps to ensure the safety of yourself and others – depending on the circumstances it may be necessary to:

• Clear the area – move observers away from the area in which the incident is taking place and post staff members around the perimeter to ensure that individuals do not inadvertently expose themselves to danger or disturb the scene before an investigation is complete.
• Clear the building – if it is unsafe to remain inside the building, conduct an orderly evacuation per the library’s emergency procedures. Be aware of others who are unable to evacuate, pay particular attention to their location and circumstances so that the building captain or the police can be informed. Any employee who remains behind in order to assist others who are unable to leave should inform an evacuating employee of the Unless it is unsafe to do so, employees will gather at the designated gathering place (as specified in the library’s emergency procedures) and remain there until given further instructions. If the regular gathering place is unsafe employees should do whatever is necessary to ensure their safety, such as moving further away from the building or taking cover. Employees should not leave the area or re-enter the building until told to do so by the building captain or the police.
• Isolate individuals who were involved in the incident to prevent a recurrence of the hostilities and/or to keep those involved from talking with others before the incident is appropriately documented.

Notify others:

• Branch Manager or Building Captain – if the person in charge of the branch or department was not involved in the decision to call 911 or evacuate the building, and if it is possible given the circumstances, apprise that individual of the situation.
• Library Director – the branch manager or building captain will be responsible for notifying the Library Director of the situation as soon as When a serious incident has occurred outside normal business hours, attempts should be made to reach the Library Director at home or by cell phone.
• Human Resources Manager – the branch manager or building captain should also notify the Human Resources Manager as soon as practicable. When a serious incident has occurred outside normal business hours, attempts should be made to reach the Human Resources Manager at home or by cell phone.
• Family members or other emergency contact of employees – if employees have been injured and are unable to contact family members themselves, it may be necessary for library employees to contact them. The Human Resources Manager will work with others to determine who must be contacted and how best to accomplish that given the circumstances surrounding the incident.

In non-emergency situations:

• Remain calm – use a steady tone of voice and inflection. Keep your hands visible and avoid using broad gestures.
• Treat the individual courteously. Listen to the individual’s concerns and attempt to find resolution. It may be necessary to allow the person to vent and then to set clear, reasonable and enforceable limits in order to diffuse a situation.
• Respect the individual’s needs regarding personal space, keeping in mind that personal space issues may also attach to information and belongings.
• Summon help if necessary – enlist the help of your manager or co-workers to keep yourself safe and to assist you in diffusing the situation.
• Remove the audience – move the agitated individual away from others where you can have a more private conversation about the issue. However, keep your own safety in mind. Do not isolate yourself or position yourself so as to cut off your escape route. Do not touch the individual or use any physical force to move them away.
• Take any threats seriously and document them whether delivered in-person, by telephone, or electronically.
• Notify your immediate manager as soon as possible. The branch manager will be responsible for officially documenting the incident, if necessary. When a customer is the alleged offender the report will be submitted to the Library When an employee is the alleged offender the report will be submitted to both the Library Director and the Human Resources Manager.

Suspension with pay:

If the situation is serious enough that possible termination may be involved and/or the continued presence of an employee at the worksite would not be appropriate given the particular circumstances, an employee may be immediately suspended with pay and told not to return to the workplace until further notice.

During any suspension with pay the employee must remain available during normal working hours to perform work from home or to return to work on short notice. The decision to suspend an employee with pay will usually be made with the concurrence of the Human Resources Manager or the Library Director.

Refer inquires to library administration:

All public information about violent incidents that take place at a library workplace will be released only through library administration.

4. PROCEDURES FOR REPORTING AND INVESTIGATING COMPLAINTS OR INCIDENTS

 Reporting the incident:

Any incident involving a threatening remark or act of physical violence against a person(s) or property, whether reported or observed, should be documented by the branch or department manager using the Incident Report form, found as Appendix ‘A’ of this document. When a customer is the alleged offender the report will be submitted to the Library Director. When an employee is the alleged offender the report will be submitted to both the Library Director and the Human Resources Manager.

Investigating the incident:

Once the situation is controlled, the Human Resources Manager and/or the Library Director will determine whether an investigation is needed and who will conduct the investigation. If an internal investigation is conducted all persons involved, including any witnesses, should be interviewed separately in order to obtain an accurate account of the incident. If it is not possible to conduct interviews, then written statements should be obtained from persons involved in or witnessing the incident. This should be done as soon as possible following the incident. Staff should not discuss the incident with each other until it has been thoroughly investigated. Statements of all those interviewed must be documented in written form. Represented employees who may be the subject of disciplinary action based on the incident must be informed of their right to union representation before beginning the interview. If union representation is requested it may be necessary to postpone an interview until a representative is made available. During the interview the role of the union representative is to act as a witness and to protect the employee’s rights. The union representative may ask clarifying questions but should not answer for the individual being questioned or coach the individual’s responses.

Interviewing the alleged victim:

When talking with the alleged victim, speak clearly and non-judgmentally. Approach the interview in a sensitive, supportive manner. The goal of the interview is to develop a true and accurate account of the incident. Even though the alleged victim is not suspected of wrongdoing and need not be informed of his/her right to representation, if the individual is a bargaining unit member and requests union representation for the interview, allow it. It may be necessary to postpone the interview until a representative is made available.

• Verify and document the date and time of the incident.
• Find answers to the questions: who, what, when and where. Find out what specifically happened in this and any other incident(s) involving the same individual(s).
• Determine the background of the situation, including the relationship between the parties before the incident.
• Obtain the names of anyone else who saw or heard the incident, anyone who the person has talked with about the incident, or who the person believes has also had encounters with the alleged offender.
• Find out what the person did in response to the encounter.
• Find out whether the person has documented the incident, or any other encounters that the person has had with the alleged offender.
• Reassure the person that the Library is actively responding to the incident and that any retaliation will not be tolerated.
• Ask the person not to discuss the incident with others in the organization until a full investigation can be completed.
• Depending on the circumstances it may be appropriate to provide information on the Employee Assistance Program.

Interviewing the alleged offender (employee):

Approach the interview in a non-judgmental, sensitive manner. Keep in mind that a person is innocent until proven at fault. Assumptions of guilt before an investigation has been completed can impede an appropriate investigation.

• If the alleged offender is a member of the bargaining unit apprise him/her of his/her right to representation. If representation is waived get a signed statement to that effect. If representation is requested and a union representative is not immediately available, postpone the interview until one is made available.
• Present the incident or incidents described by the alleged victim, and/or your own observations if you directly saw the incident.
• Get the alleged offender’s side of the story. Investigate with such questions as: “Describe what happened yesterday between you and Paul from your perspective,” “Describe your relationship with Paul and any other interactions that you have had that may be relevant to this situation,” “Who else should we talk with about this incident?”
• Advise the alleged offender of the seriousness of any form of retaliation against the recipient/alleged victim, or any action that might be interpreted as retaliation.
• Advise the alleged offender to refrain from discussing the incident with anyone in the workplace, except their union representatives, until the investigation is complete and any resulting disciplinary action has been determined.

Interviewing the alleged offender (customer):

Once everyone has calmed down it may be necessary to interview a customer who is alleged to have behaved inappropriately in order to determine whether further action is necessary, such as denial of library privileges or involving law enforcement. In such circumstances, follow the same general format as outlined above, eliminating those items that refer to the alleged offender’s status as an employee.

Interviewing observers or others in the workplace:

In your investigation, realize that observers may also be disturbed by the interaction they have witnessed. Even though witnesses are not suspected of wrongdoing and need not be informed of their right to representation, if an individual is a bargaining unit member and requests union representation for the interview, allow it. It may be necessary to postpone the interview until a representative is made available.

Investigate with questions such as:

• Did you observe an interaction between Paul and Mary yesterday afternoon at approximately 3:00? Please describe what happened. How would you characterize that interaction?
• Describe your relationship with Mary. With Paul?
• Are you aware of others who might be able to comment, or who observed the same incident?
• Have you discussed the incident with anyone else?
• Do you have other information that you believe might be relevant?
• Ask the witness not to discuss the incident with others in the organization until a full investigation can be completed.
• Depending on the severity of the incident it may be appropriate to provide information on the Employee Assistance Program to witnesses.