Develop a procedure for employees to report incidents

Credibility for any reporting system will be dependent upon whether reports are handled quickly and effectively. Word spreads quickly among employees when a report is made and nothing is done, when a report is handled improperly, or when the allegations are not treated confidentially. Therefore, before a reporting procedure is announced to employees, ensure that the staff who will be responding to reported incidents are trained and able to handle any reported incidents.

Incident reports should be reviewed on a periodic basis to provide feedback on the effectiveness of existing intervention strategies and prevention efforts.

Threat Incident Report System

• Name of the threat-maker and his/her relationship to the company and to the recipient.
• Name(s) of victims or potential victims.
• When and where the incident occurred.
• What happened immediately prior to the incident.
• The specific language of the threat.
• Any physical conduct that would substantiate an intention to follow through on the threat.
• How the threat-maker appeared (physically and emotionally).
• Names of others who were directly involved and any actions they took. How did the incident end?
• Names of witnesses.
• What happened to the threat-maker after the incident.
• What happened to the other employees directly involved after the incident.
• Names of any supervisory staff involved and how they responded.
• What event(s) triggered the incident.
• Any history leading up to the incident.
• The steps which have been taken to ensure that the threat will not be carried out.
• Suggestions for preventing workplace violence in the future.

Take a look at a sample threat incident report.

When the violent or threatening incident occurs

• When a serious threat is made, consult the sources available to you to help evaluate the level of risk posed by the threat-maker.
• When appropriate, obtain fitness-for-duty evaluations of employees exhibiting seriously dysfunctional behaviors at the workplace.
• Maintain an internal tracking system of all threats and incidents of violence.
• When a threat has been made or an incident has occurred, evaluate the situation and, if warranted, notify the potential victims and/or police.
• The employer must respect the privacy rights and confidentiality rights of employees during any investigation.

The supervisor hears the details of the incident that is causing the employee to feel threatened. Now the supervisor has to do something. The incident can't be ignored. It must be reported. Once reported, the members of the incident response team (along with the supervisor) have to look into it.

Types of Investigations

• Threat assessment investigation - in response to behaviors that have the potential to become violent in some way.
• Administrative investigation - in response to violent behaviors that might result in administrative action.
• Criminal investigation - in response to possible criminal behavior.

Your decision on which type of investigation is required will depend on whether the facts as presented indicate possible criminal behavior. Since arriving at a decision generally involves discussion with employee relations specialists and possibly law enforcement personnel, it is imperative to coordinate efforts fully with these departments ahead of time.

Threat assessment investigations

Gathering information. It is also a good idea to work out ahead of time who will gather which types of information on an individual who makes a threat. Multiple sources of information need to be consulted to better understand the person's behavior.

In some cases, the company's incident response team can collect current and reliable information (which would include an investigative report) and then consult with a threat assessment professional to develop options for managing the situation. In other cases, the company's incident response team uses a threat assessment professional to conduct the initial investigation, assess the risks, and make recommendations for managing the situation.

Administrative Investigations

if It is important to use an investigator who conducts the investigation in a fair and objective manner. The investigation should be conducive to developing truthful responses to issues that may surface. It must be conducted with full appreciation for the legal considerations that protect individual privacy. It is imperative that the investigation, especially the interview, create an atmosphere of candor and propriety.

Use a qualified investigator. If a decision is made to conduct an administrative investigation, it is important to use a qualified and experienced professional workplace violence investigator. The company planning group should train and qualify one or more such investigators before the need for an investigator arises. Investigation and Evaluation

After an incident occurs, a detailed investigation is imperative. All incidents, including near misses, should be investigated as soon as possible. A delay of any kind may cause important evidence to be removed or destroyed intentionally or unintentionally. The investigation should focus on fact-finding to prevent recurrence and not fault-finding. Employers should maintain comprehensive records of the investigation.

When conducting the investigation:

• Get statements from witnesses, photograph
  damage/injuries where appropriate.
• Identify contributing causes.
• Recommend corrective action.
• Encourage appropriate follow-up.
• Consider changes in controls, procedures or
  policy.
• Use an Threat and Assault Log to collect facts on who, what, when, where and how the incident occurred.

In a case where a decision is made to conduct an administrative investigation, and there is potential criminal liability, be sure to work closely with your legal department and law enforcement organization. In potentially violent situations, it is often difficult to determine whether the misconduct is a criminal offense. When there is any doubt, check it out.

Ensure that criminal prosecutions are not compromised. Criminal prosecutions must not be compromised by actions taken during administrative investigations. It is necessary to ensure that the administrative investigator, management, and all members of an incident response team understand that actions taken during an administrative investigation may compromise potential criminal prosecutions.

Assignment: Evaluate your company's current incident reporting procedures. Are they adequate? Why or why not?

As you can see, reporting incidents early on will benefit the company in many ways. Conducting incident investigations can get rather complicated. It will be imperative that investigators are trained thoroughly on their duties. The only task left is the review quiz. Answer each question as best you can. Scroll up the page to review if you like.

Module Review Quiz 1. All of the following were given above as ways to encourage employees to report all incidents, except: Choose oneHotlinesArrange for incident response team members to take callsRequire employees to report incidents to a supervisorReport incidents directly to resource management 2. The threat incident report should contain all of the following except: Choose oneThe specific language of the threat.When and where the incident occurred.How the threat-maker appeared (physically and emotionally).Names of others who were directly involved.The attitude of the threat-maker.Names of witnesses. 3. When an incident occurs, bring together all the necessary resources, which may include help from outside the company. Choose oneTrueFalse 4. Investigation categories include all of the following except: Choose oneThreat assessment investigationIncident/Accident investigationAdministrative investigationCriminal investigation 5. Actions taken during the administrative investigation will not compromise potential criminal prosecutions. Choose oneTrueFalse

I'm sure you learned some interesting information in this module. I'd like to know if you have any comments or suggestions.  Also please write your name in this section to assure that you get credit for this module.