Preventing Violence to Retail Staff

Transcription

1 Health ad Safety Prevetig Violece to Retail Staff This is a free-to-dowload, web-friedly versio of HSG133 (First editio, published 1995). This versio has bee adapted for olie use from HSE s curret prited versio. You ca buy the book at ad most good bookshops. ISBN Price 6.95 Violece, ad fear of violece, are serious issues for the retail idustry ad, whilst the work of the British Retail Cosortium s Retail Crime Iitiative seems to demostrate that retailers are havig some success i cotaiig the growth of the problem, much remais to be doe. The BRC therefore welcomes the publicatio of this guidace o Prevetig violece to retail staff as a sigificat step i helpig retailers. HSE Books Page 1 of 28

2 Health ad Safety Crow copyright 1995 First published 1995 ISBN All rights reserved. No part of this publicatio may be reproduced, stored i a retrieval system, or trasmitted i ay form or by ay meas (electroic, mechaical, photocopyig, recordig or otherwise) without the prior writte permissio of the copyright ower. Applicatios for reproductio should be made i writig to: The Office of Public Sector Iformatio, Iformatio Policy Team, Kew, Richmod, Surrey TW9 4DU or licesig@opsi.gov.uk This guidace is issued by the Health ad Safety. Followig the guidace is ot compulsory ad you are free to take other actio. But if you do follow the guidace you will ormally be doig eough to comply with the law. Health ad safety ispectors seek to secure compliace with the law ad may refer to this guidace as illustratig good practice. Page 2 of 28

3 Health ad Safety Cotets Who should use this guidace? 4 Itroductio 5 Violece 6 What is violece? 6 Who is at risk? 6 What causes violece/aggressio? 7 Policy 9 Developig a policy statemet 9 Cosultig staff 10 Fidig out if you have a problem 10 Buildig up the picture 11 Reportig procedures 11 What iflueces the issue? 12 Checkig that measures work 13 Prevetio 14 Prevetative measures 14 Traiig 16 Networkig 17 Support 19 Post icidet support 19 Victim support 21 Police liaiso ad court procedures 21 Specific issues to cosider 22 Small busiesses 22 Workig aloe 22 Appedices 24 1 Kow the law 24 2 Risk assessmet 25 3 Sample icidet report form 26 4 Refereces ad further advice 27 Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 3 of 28

4 Health ad Safety Who should use this guidace? Seior maagers ad shop owers You will be resposible for settig ad puttig ito practice a effective policy ad strategy for maagig the risk from possible violet icidets i the workplace. It is importat that you are see to be actively committed to ad support measures to reduce the risk. You will also be resposible for moitorig their success or failure ad itroducig ew measures or revisig strategies as a result. If you are a small retailer, you will wat to kow what practical steps ca be take to reduce the risk of violece to your staff at work. Shop ad brach maagers You will be resposible for implemetig the health ad safety policy ad strategy whether atioally, regioally or locally. You will therefore eed to be adequately briefed o the issue. This will help you to esure that maagemet systems ad traiig programmes take ito accout the issue of violece ad its impact o staff, ad that there is a upward flow of iformatio to seior policy makers. Those who ca effect chage i the busiess Ayoe who might have a role i developig persoel, safety or security policies ad procedures; for example persoel staff or those resposible for health ad safety or security withi the busiess. Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 4 of 28

5 Health ad Safety Itroductio 1 Violece at work ad the fear of it ca affect ayoe. For retailers, violece ad its impact ca lead to low staff morale, high abseteeism ad staff turover, expesive isurace premiums ad possibly compesatio paymets. For staff, it ca cause physical ad metal pai, stress ad disability. I the extreme, fatalities amog staff ca ad do occur. These ca all have a secodary effect o the success of the busiess. Violece i retail workplaces ca create a bad atmosphere ad ca affect customers as well, ofte leadig to loss of sales ad profit. 2 May retailers are realisig that where their staff are ivolved i a violet icidet ad are abset as a result, their busiess could be losig someoe with vital skills. Valuable time is the lost i retraiig or recruitig other staff. Retailers will therefore have a kee self-iterest i settig up ad maitaiig safe workig practices ad as a result safeguardig their resources. 3 This booklet provides practical guidace for retailers ad their staff o how the problems ad causes of violece might be tackled. It sets out a approach that ca be adopted as everyday practice. Actio eed ot be expesive or complicated. Simple measures such as chagig a patter of work ca help to esure that staff are ot put at risk. 4 The booklet is iteded for all staff i the retail sector. However, much of the iformatio ad guidace cotaied will be relevat to all busiesses ad ca be adapted to suit idividual eeds. 5 Bomb threats require special cosideratio ad measures to deal with them are ot covered by this guidace. Your local police statio will be able to provide further advice o this issue. Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 5 of 28

6 Health ad Safety Violece What is violece? 6 Violece ca take may forms, ragig from life-threateig physical attacks to verbal abuse (for example from customers). Agreeig a defiitio is the first step i settig up a system to prevet, cotrol ad maage the issue of violece at work. This will help you to decide what your policy o violece should cover. It is importat that all staff are aware of the defiitio ad their resposibilities uder the policy. 7 HSE defies violece to staff at work as: ay icidet i which a employee is abused, threateed or assaulted by a member of the public i circumstaces arisig out of the course of his/her employmet. (Poyer B ad Warer C: Prevetig violece to staff) This defiitio may ot quite fit your workplace. If ot, it may be useful to talk over ad agree a alterative with your staff. 8 Verbal abuse ad threats will probably be the most commo type of icidet. Verbal abuse ca be very distressig. If you are aware of the warig sigs that could lead to a violet situatio, you will be better placed to take actio to reduce or prevet future icidets. 9 Physical assaults, explicit threats ad their effect ca be clear, but verbal abuse ad its impact may be harder to determie. People will have differet perceptios about the behaviour they fid threateig or offesive. Some will fid the abuse aoyig; for others it will cause distress. It is importat that you treat each reported icidet seriously to esure that staff are aware of your commitmet to the matter. 10 Here are some examples of violet ad abusive situatios. Would you kow how to deal with them? He smashed a bottle ad threateed me with it. I was pushed ito the storeroom ad the door locked. It was awful to be spat at. She just shouted ad screamed at me. I did t kow what to do. She just grabbed me roud the eck. 11 The guidace cotaied i this booklet will help you to deal with these situatios ad iform you of other sources of help. Who is at risk? 12 Ayoe who has cotact with members of the public is at risk. I particular, people who hadle moey, work aloe o ight shifts or whose work takes them out of the workplace. Specific examples iclude: Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 6 of 28

7 Health ad Safety brach maagers ad shop maagers; checkout operators; retail sales staff; petrol fillig statio staff; car park staff; mobile service workers, for example TV repair staff; staff carryig cash; mobile shops; security staff; delivery staff; maiteace ad repair staff; maagers of small busiesses, particularly whe takig o a security role; restaurat ad fast food operators who work late at ight; drivers of delivery vas; licesed goods vehicle drivers; mobile workers. This ot a exhaustive list of all groups at risk. 13 Some icidets may occur outside the workplace but may still be related to the work activity, for example a attack o a shop assistat by a customer i the street, followig a icidet i the shop. It could also iclude a kidap ad hostage situatio. Although these may be ucommo, maagers with staff i high risk positios may wish to cosider seekig advice from their local Crime Prevetio Officer. It is importat that you are aware of all possible istaces where violece as a result of work might happe. 14 You should look at all the jobs/tasks doe by your staff to idetify which particular groups will be at risk. It will be importat to take ito accout the views of staff themselves. If you have them, there is a legal duty to cosult trade uio safety represetatives (see Appedix 1, paragraph 4). Their traiig ad experiece ca make a valuable iput. What causes violece/aggressio? 15 There are may causes of violet behaviour. Some may be easy to idetify, such as frustratio, ager, misuderstadig, stress, commuicatio problems, coflict with authority ad theft/robbery. Some ca happe betwee staff ad customers because of poor retail service or iferior products. People ca become excited ad tesios ad ihibitios are let out, icreasig the chaces of verbal or physical abuse. How staff react to these could determie whether a situatio is iflamed. For example a usympathetic attitude may result i icreased frustratio, Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 7 of 28

8 Health ad Safety ager etc leadig to a violet icidet, although of course poor service by staff does ot justify violece. 16 There will be particular icidets where it will be impossible to aalyse why a perso behaved i a particular way, but it will still be possible to thik of ways of prevetig or alleviatig such situatios. Acceptig that there are risks ad watig to fid a solutio is vital i dealig successfully with the issue. 17 Traiig will help to idetify some causes early o. It ca also provide iformatio ad practical skills o how to deal with potetially violet situatios ad o avoidace techiques. (Further iformatio o traiig is set out i paragraphs 64 to 69.) Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 8 of 28

9 Health ad Safety Policy Developig a policy statemet 18 The policy will be a clear ad well-defied statemet of your views o the issue ad what actios you propose to take to tackle violece at work. The policy will show that you cosider the risk of violece towards your staff to be a serious matter. I a large retail compay the policy should be agreed at a very seior level to esure commitmet from the top dow. A seior maager should be give the overall resposibility ad cotrol of the policy. This should ot be delegated to juior staff. 19 The policy should provide a authoritative statemet o how the risk will be cotrolled. It should also set out how prevetative measures will operate, for example traiig, chagig work patters or the eviromet. It will also eable all staff, particularly those who will be ivolved i implemetig the policy, to be aware of their ow resposibilities as well as those of their employer. 20 It is importat that seior maagemet provide support ad commitmet to the policy to esure that it is carried through effectively. The support should be visible, strog ad active i order to have a effective impact o the culture of your busiess. 21 A successful policy ad its measures will eed the support ad co-operatio of all staff. Cosultatio with maagers, supervisors, security, persoel, safety officers, staff ad trade uio safety represetatives o the cotet, implemetatio, moitorig ad review is a valuable way to secure support, ad is vital i determiig its success. This may take you more time, but it will produce better results. 22 A itegrated policy will eed to iclude: recogitio of the problem ad a commitmet to itroduce measures for dealig with violece to staff; arragemets throughout the process for cosultatio ad commuicatio with staff ad trade uio safety represetatives, where appoited; settig up reportig arragemets for formally reportig, classifyig ad recordig all icidets; arragemets for security ad safety issues, decidig who is resposible, i terms of idividuals or a committee; declaratio of full support of all staff who have suffered verbal abuse or physical ijury; arragemets for after-care support, icludig cousellig, special leave, advice o legal actio; appropriate moitorig ad ivestigatio of all icidets ad idetifyig actio to be take; otificatio to the appropriate authorities; traiig for all staff o all aspects of violece, for example how to recogise it, how to deal with the potetial impact etc, iformatio o staff procedures for support; traiig for maagers ad supervisors o how to idetify the impact of violece which may develop at a later stage ad how to deal with it whe it happes; actio, where possible, to miimise risks by cosiderig practical measures: this could iclude chages i the desig of the workig eviromet, whether istallatio of safety ad security devices etc will be effective; moitorig ad reviewig the effect of all the measures. Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 9 of 28

10 Health ad Safety 23 Oce you have agreed the policy, staff eed to be aware of its existece. You could publicise the policy by circulatig a copy to all staff; holdig staff eetigs o the issue; icludig a item o the policy i iductio courses ad health ad safety courses. 24 The policy is ot a ed i itself, but provides a framework for actio ad iitiatives. A successful policy will require effective moitorig ad regular review to esure that it is meetig its prime objective, the cotrol of risk. Cosultig staff 25 Cosultig ad ivolvig staff throughout the process will have sigificat beefit to your busiess: it will show a geuie commitmet to tacklig the problem; it will esure that ay reportig or moitorig scheme is practical ad effective; the kowledge ad experiece of staff are valuable resources whe decidig o practical prevetative ad protective measures; staff who have bee fully cosulted will have a stroger commitmet i helpig to implemet the policy ad measures. 26 Regular cosultatio will help to moitor ad review the policy, to make sure that prevetative measures are useful, that protective procedures are beig followed, ad that traiig is workig. If you have trade uio safety represetatives appoited uder the Safety Represetatives ad Safety Committees Regulatios 1977 (see Appedix 1, paragraph 4), you will eed to cosult them o health ad safety issues. Fidig out if you have a problem 27 The first step is to fid out if violece i your workplace is a problem. It may ot always be obvious as staff ca hide their cocers. Some retailers have already tackled this issue ad have set up procedures to moitor ad review the problem. Others will probably be usure where to start. The best way is to seek the views of all staff, particularly those who deal with members of the public. They will have firsthad kowledge ad possibly experiece of either a actual violet icidet, or where the potetial for oe exists. Cosultatio will also help you to esure that the true scale of the problem is established. Your risk assessmet will also help to idetify areas of cocer. See Appedix 2 for advice o how to do a risk assessmet. 28 It is importat to iclude iformatio from ear miss icidets where o-oe was actually hurt but the potetial for harm was there. This ca ofte be useful i prevetig a future more serious occurrece. Sice the risk of violece will vary accordig to area, it is importat that this exercise is carried out i idividual shop premises with staff, ot just at atioal or regioal headquarters. Small retailers could talk to other retailers ad similar busiesses about icidets i their area. 29 The iitial ivestigatio should cover the whole rage of violet icidets (from mior verbal abuse to serious physical ijury) where staff have felt threateed or experieced udue stress. Fid solutios by allowig staff to cotribute their ow experieces. This will help to esure their support for ay actio that may be eeded as a result of the fidigs. 30 Ivestigatio throughout your workplace may reveal particularly vulerable jobs or tasks. Target resources ad actio to those areas that eed the most effort. It is Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 10 of 28

11 Health ad Safety importat for large retailers to co-ordiate efforts betwee departmets ad share experieces. Buildig up the picture 31 There are a umber of methods that you could use to build up a picture of icidets. These may iclude a mixture of the followig: small staff discussio groups; iterviews with idividual staff; employee questioaires (which could be aoymous); existig reportig ad iformatio systems (both health ad safety ad security oes); staff meetigs; trade uio safety represetatives ad health ad safety committees; workshops ad/or traiig courses; iformatio from police or local Busiess Watch schemes, retail etworks etc. 32 It will ofte be helpful to give the overall resposibility for the task to oe perso. You will eed to set objectives for the exercise to help staff idetify the priorities for actio. 33 Whe usig iterviews to fid out the scale of the problem, it is importat that questioig techiques are carefully cosidered ad the iterview properly carried out. The issue of violece, especially if it relates to a persoal icidet, may be particularly upsettig for staff. They will eed to feel that they are i a secure eviromet i which they are able to talk about their experiece ad feeligs ad do ot feel threateed. Staff carryig out this particular exercise will eed appropriate traiig. Reportig procedures 34 The ext stage is to cosider settig up formal procedures for reportig icidets. Collectig ad aalysig data will help you to establish whether there is a patter of icidets, ad idetify particular targets or practices at risk. It will also help you to review ad moitor the policy ad measures. Eve if you fid very little evidece of a problem, it will be good practice to set up a reportig system. The staff will kow what to do if a icidet occurs. You will also wish to review the situatio regularly to esure that the positio has ot chaged. 35 You should be already keepig records of serious icidets ad accidets where staff are ijured as part of your legal duties uder the Reportig of Ijuries, Diseases ad Dagerous Occurreces Regulatios You will eed to decide whether this system could also be used to record icidets of violece. A example of a form that ca be used to collect iformatio is give i Appedix 3. This ca be adapted to suit your particular eeds. Whatever form you use will eed revisig as more iformatio o the types of icidet become available. 36 Reportig systems ad forms eed to be clear ad easy to follow. Staff should be ecouraged to report cofidetially ay icidet which causes them harm or axiety. You may fid that some staff do ot report because they are cocered that they may be held resposible for the icidet, or that they believe that they cotributed to the cause. They may also assume that such icidets are part of the job ad therefore acceptable. Some may eve be uaware that a reportig system exists. Circulatig iformatio o the system ad its importace i esurig health ad safety at work, may help to ease fears ad cocers. Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 11 of 28

12 Health ad Safety Classifyig 37 Oce the data are collected, you will wat to kow what kids of icidet are happeig ad why. Oe way to achieve this would be to classify the iformatio ito various categories. These could iclude: the situatio: locatio, eviromet, possible motive, regularity, timig; the victim: job, sex, age, experiece, traiig; the assailat: sex, age, behaviour, appearace, whether previously ivolved i similar icidets; the outcome: emotioal disturbace, physical ijury, fatal, other log-term emotioal/disablig impact (absece from work) ad reportig as ecessary to outside authorities, icludig the police ad health ad safety ispectors. 38 To aalyse the reported data, you will eed to group all similar icidets ad try ad idetify commo features. For example, particular departmets/ areas/ tasks/ times of day/ frequecy of occurrece. 39 Wheever there are groups of similar icidets, it should be possible to build up a fairly precise picture of commo causes, areas, times etc. This will help you to target resources ad measures to those areas of greater risk. What iflueces the issue? 40 Before you ca decide what prevetative systems ad measures might be ecessary, you will eed to take ito accout factors i the eviromet or procedures which themselves could be makig the situatio worse. Usig the reportig data ad matchig the iformatio to certai areas or activities of the orgaisatio may highlight the eed for chages. Eviromet 41 There are may aspects of the workig eviromet which might affect the risk of violece. These iclude: geographical locatio, whether urba or rural, local crime rate ad risk; shop/office desig such as lightig, etraces ad exits, positio ad height of furiture ad goods, screes; poor quality of service/goods; curret security precautios ad arragemets. 42 You may ot be able to chage some factors, for example the locatio. However, if you are aware of the risk you may be able to cocetrate o other measures such as workplace desig or work patters. Procedures 43 You may eed to revise or chage some of your procedures. These might iclude: timigs of opeig/closig/deliveries; do they allow for certai icidets to be plaed? cash vulerability; how much is held, how ofte is it removed to a safe area, what is the method for trasferrig it to a safe area? effective visible cash maagemet procedures i place at all times; queue maagemet; is it clear ad well orgaised, or does it create ucertaity, delay? complaits policy; do you have a fair procedure that allows customers to discuss their cocers/problems, do you provide adequate iformatio, are staff traied/helped to deal with complaits? Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 12 of 28

13 Health ad Safety bakig ad delivery methods; avoidig easily recogisable routes/patters which could be idetified by a crimial? Checkig that measures work 44 Your measures will eed regular ad cotiual moitorig to see if they are effective, ad revisio if ot applicable or usuccessful. This will esure that your efforts ad resources are beig directed at the measures most effective at dealig with the issue. Everyoe will eed to be aware of the moitorig exercise ad its importace, ad where possible ivolved i the process. Large retailers may wish to omiate a seior maager to carry out a periodic review. 45 Large retailers may wish to set up a small workig group icludig staff, maagers ad trade uio safety represetatives. Aother optio would be to issue a staff questioaire/survey to gauge opiio o the measures. 46 Small retailers may ot always eed a formal approach because they will be workig closely with all their staff o a regular basis. Simply makig a ote i a diary to remid you to keep the situatio uder review could be all that is eeded if commuicatio is good. 47 If you record icidets you will be able to see whether they have decreased or icreased. This could poit to the eed for better targetig of resources. 48 The moitorig ad review process will probably eed to cover all the measures itroduced, such as the policy, systems ad traiig. Whe moitorig the policy, issues to cosider iclude: is everyoe aware of its existece? has it provided for all the measures to be put successfully ito effect? does it cover the appropriate elemets? are more/less or refied oes required? Systems such as prevetative measures (eviromet, procedures ad security) will eed to be aalysed for their success, for example whether they have preveted or cotrolled the risk, or whether they have had ay adverse effect. Traiig should be moitored ad reviewed to see whether it is appropriate ad effective. Successful actios ca help to persuade staff that the policy is effective. 49 If moitorig has show that a measure has o obvious beefit, you will eed to reassess the problem ad try other measures. There are likely to be occasios whe a umber of measures may eed to be tested before a fial solutio is foud. If a measure is usuccessful it may ot be ecessary to remove it completely. Sometimes a simple modificatio may be all that is required to eable it to be effective. 50 For large retailers, if a particular pilot exercise has bee itroduced i a departmet, moitorig agaist aother departmet that has ot bee ivolved may allow you to compare the effectiveess of the exercise. Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 13 of 28

14 Health ad Safety Prevetio Prevetative measures 51 It is likely that you will eed a mixture of prevetative measures to achieve cotrol ad maage the problem effectively. It is importat that they are appropriate ad adequate for the task ad cost-effective. Staff eed to be aware of them ad traied where appropriate. Istallig expesive security hardware, without chagig iadequate systems ad procedures, is ot likely to be sufficiet. You will also eed to cosider whether your prevetative measures icrease the possibility of violece. Eviromet 52 The way your workplace is desiged ad laid out might help to prevet icidets of violece. A umber of retailers have foud the followig measures beeficial: providig clear visibility ad lightig for staff so that they ca either leave quickly or they ca raise help. This might also help to idetify suspicious assailats; sitig cash tills away from customers, or providig physical security at cash tills; esurig that the miimum ecessary cash is kept i tills by adoptig procedures to move cash quickly ad safely to more secure zoes; prevetig the build-up of cash i tills; placig high value goods out of easy reach; wideig couters ad/or raisig couter heights; esurig adequate queue maagemet by usig clear ad ample sigs ad, where appropriate, esurig easy access; arragig for staff to have access to a secure locatio; chagig the layout of ay public waitig areas by providig better seatig, lightig, decor; providig bright lightig aroud the buildig ad removig possible cover for assailats; esurig good quality cotrol o service ad products; istallig screes or similar protective devices for areas where staff are most at risk; moitorig high risk etraces, exits ad delivery poits. Before you udertake a expesive redesig of the store, make sure that it is appropriate to the risk ad is relevat to the eeds of your busiess. Procedures 53 Revisig your workig procedures or itroducig ew methods might help to prevet icidets of violece to staff. Agai, a umber of retailers have foud the followig measures beeficial. These iclude: esurig that staffig levels are appropriate to the particular task ad the time of day, ad if there is a high risk - is the level adequate? providig adequate ad appropriate iformatio to staff o procedures ad systems; esurig that customer care programmes are adequately desiged ad maaged. This will be particularly appropriate for dealig with complaits; icludig specific traiig o violece to staff as part of the health ad safety maagemet traiig programme; establishig clear emergecy procedures, for example effective plaig for staff o what to do ad where to go i the evet of a icidet, emergecy Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 14 of 28

15 Health ad Safety telephoe umbers etc; varyig the times whe cash is take to the bak, such as chagig the route. Cosideratio could be give to usig professioal cash collectio services; payig staff by cheque or direct credit rather tha cash wheever possible; usig, where possible, cashless purchasig; esurig that experieced or less vulerable staff are used for high risk tasks; for large retailers, liaiso with other departmets such as security ad health ad safety; rotatig high risk jobs so that the same perso is ot always at risk, or doublig up for particularly high risk tasks; providig additioal staff for high risk mobile activities or providig commuicatio liks to base; esurig that details of staff s plaed schedules are held by the base; providig trasport for staff who work aloe; providig persoal alarms for high risk staff; puttig up clear sigs askig those wearig crash helmets to remove them o eterig the shop, checkig idetificatio of callers seekig access to restricted parts of the store; providig solutio traiig o recogisig ad dealig with violece, ad the potetial for violece. Security systems 54 These will geerally iclude security equipmet specifically desiged to prevet or deter violet crime. Before you decide to istall such equipmet, cosider whether it is appropriate to the risk. It is poitless to buy expesive ad sophisticated CCTV systems if the risk is miimal. You should also avoid creatig a eviromet where security is excessive ad impractical. 55 The level ad desig of equipmet will eed to take ito accout: ease of use by staff; the patter ad type of busiess; the way the buildig is used, for example whe occupied/uoccupied; whether the geographical locatio is urba or rural: this may affect the local crime rate; fid out what the experiece is of other busiesses i the area; the eed for emergecy access/cotrol. If you do ot have i-house security expertise, you may wish to cotact your local Police Crime Prevetio Officer for advice. 56 Staff will eed practical traiig o how to operate ad maitai the security equipmet. The equipmet will oly be as effective as the staff traied to use it. Staff with specific security duties will eed to practice skills before havig to deal with a real evet, this will help them to build up cofidece i the system. 57 Certai aspects of security procedures should be treated as highly cofidetial. These details should be give out o a eed to kow basis oly. This will help to cotai the risk of violece. However, all staff, icludig part-time or casual workers, will eed traiig i some aspects of security. It may also be useful to display otices so that the public are aware that certai security devices are used i the store. 58 Items of equipmet such as alarms will eed regular maiteace checks to esure that they are reliable ad effective. You will also wish to moitor ad evaluate systems to cofirm that they are still appropriate. Before istallig ew security equipmet to deal with a ew threat, cosider how it relates to your old security systems. Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 15 of 28

16 Health ad Safety The role of the Crime Prevetio Officer 59 Whe assessig the scale of the problem i your workplace, you will eed to take accout of the level of crime i your area. The local Crime Prevetio Officer (CPO) or area beat officer will be able to help you with this part of your assessmet. The CPO will also be able to advise you o how to reduce the risk of violece by layout of the workplace, surveillace, ad other meas. 60 Some CPOs have specialist kowledge i desigig out crime at the drawig board stage ad are kow as Architectural Liaiso Officers (ALO). If you ited to build ew premises or refurbish existig buildigs it would be well worthwhile cotactig the ALO before you start. It may also save you moey later. 61 I some areas, retailers have established Shop Watch or other similar schemes. By poolig iformatio ad actio, retailers may improve their protectio joitly rather tha sufferig the problems aloe. The CPO will be able to assist you i settig up such schemes. 62 Where does crime prevetio ad reducig the risk of violece come ito your staff traiig? This is aother area i which the CPO will be able to advise you. 63 Both the CPO ad the Architectural Liaiso Officer may be cotacted at your local police statio. Traiig 64 Traiig will be a importat elemet i maagig ad prevetig the risk of violece to staff. It ca be used to brief everyoe o your policy ad procedures; to deliver advice, iformatio ad skills o prevetio; to ivolve staff i sharig experieces ad thoughts o the subject; ad as a catalyst to brig about chage withi your workplace. 65 Traiig o prevetio might iclude: the policy ad systems i dealig with the issue; recogisig ad dealig with abusive ad aggressive customers - irratioal behaviour, avoidig eye cotact, ervousess, hostility, aggressive stace; explorig the causes of violece ad aggressio; ager, frustratio, uhelpfuless; explaiig to staff what to do ad what is expected of them i the evet of a robbery or shop theft, for example how to raise the alarm, where to go for safety, ot to resist or follow violet offeders; maagig cofrotatio by usig positive iterpersoal skills; listeig, remaiig calm ad cofidet, beig assertive rather tha aggressive; defusig situatios before they escalate by beig o-cofrotatioal ad offerig a compromise; attractig the attetio of colleagues ad if all else fails esurig a escape route; effective hadlig of icidets; lettig staff kow what to do, who to tell, advice o the degree of risk ad usig role playig to help staff feel comfortable ad cofidet about security equipmet eg paic alarms; effective customer care; beig polite, calm ad helpful, recogise the other perso s poit of view; safe workig practices; if staff are mobile esurig that someoe at the fixed workplace is aware of their exact movemets; avoidig where possible workig aloe or i isolatio; after icidet support ad care icludig the impact it ca have o staff (this will be particularly appropriate for maagers ad supervisors); ad the arragemets for support. Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 16 of 28

17 Health ad Safety 66 Maagers of each store/brach will have a key role i idetifyig the traiig eeds of staff. I particular they themselves will have a maagemet task i cotrollig ad prevetig risk. It is therefore importat that they are provided with sufficiet traiig o the issue to help them be competet i their maagemet role (this could be part of their geeral maagemet traiig). You may eed to cosider providig specific traiig for maagers movig from low risk to high risk tasks. They will eed to be thoroughly briefed o areas of cocer to help them reduce ay foreseeable risk. Where safety represetatives are appoited, these should be cosulted o traiig issues. 67 Small retailers may be able to seek assistace ad help o traiig i risk maagemet from their local Crime Prevetio Officer. Victim Support will be able to assist with traiig ad providig help ad iformatio to staff. Further iformatio o Victim Support is give i paragraph Traiig eeds should be moitored ad reviewed regularly ad traiig courses evaluated for their effectiveess. Remember to iclude part-time staff i your plas. 69 Your staff will eed to be aware of ay risk which they could face i their job, for example durig shift workig, mobile work etc. Beig aware ad able to recogise the potetial for dager will help staff to be prepared. It also esures that they react to a situatio i a positive way, they kow what could happe ad what would be the best way to deal with it. Traiig i awareess will iclude examples of good practice i recogitio ad effective respose. It will also provide staff with practical kowledge ad iformatio o your prevetative measures such as systems, procedures ad equipmet. Awareess ca ofte help to avoid icidets, although it will ot always guaratee prevetio. Violet icidets will ad do happe. 70 If you have a policy o apprehedig crimials, staff will eed adequate traiig ad iformatio to esure that they always act withi the law. Networkig 71 Networkig with other busiesses i your area will help you to pool kowledge ad experiece ad share iformatio o best practice. It will also help to build a safer workig commuity. Specific sectors such as off-liceces ad petrol statios may fid that by etworkig with similar retailers i their area, they are able to set up crime prevetio iitiatives (such as Forecourt Watch Schemes). Liks could also iclude local Commerce ad Trade Associatios. 72 Lessos ca be leared from sharig iformatio o styles of maagemet, strategies, systems ad the skills required to uderpi them. Violece to staff should be a cocer to all retailers i the area - it could affect you. Depedig o the size of your busiess, etworkig ca also be useful at regioal ad atioal level. It will however be importat to agree groud rules for sharig iformatio whe it relates to particular security measures used by local retailers. 73 Networkig could also provide a meas of support for small retailers who are victims of serious violet icidets. It helps to prevet isolatio ad ecourages the etwork to work together i improvig the crime rate. Large retailers will also be i a good positio to set stadards ad help those busiesses which may have fewer resources ad less iformatio available to them. Crime ad violet icidets agaist small busiesses become rapidly kow aroud the locality, ad are ofte used to judge what the area is like to live ad work i. Such factors ca have a effect o your profitability, whether you are large or small. Positive efforts for the Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 17 of 28

18 Health ad Safety commuity could lead to a improved ad safer workig eviromet for local busiesses ad icreased profits. 74 The Crime Prevetio Officer ad the local authority Evirometal Health Departmet may be able to provide you with further iformatio o local crime prevetio iitiatives ad security measures. Some local authorities have crime prevetio workig groups with coucillor represetatio ad ivolvemet. Local Victim Support Schemes will be able to offer their service of support ad iformatio to staff. Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 18 of 28

19 Health ad Safety Support Post icidet support 75 Respodig to staff after a icidet should ot be see as a separate issue. Providig support for staff should be part of the overall policy o prevetig ad cotrollig violece at work. Support measures will help to miimise ad cotrol ay impact o staff ad esure that they recover from the icidet as soo as possible. The policy will eed to idetify the staff with pricipal resposibilities at each stage so that everyoe is iformed of their role ad what they are expected to do. Impact of a icidet 76 A violet icidet is always a sudde, frighteig experiece. It will ivariably be upredictable. The impact o your employees physical ad metal health ca be log lastig ad may sometimes ot be obvious. They may require support ad care from you to help them recover ad i some cases specialist cousellig. 77 Durig ad immediately followig a icidet staff are likely to suffer a umber of impacts which, if ot ackowledged ad dealt with, ca lead to low staff morale ad iefficiecy. They may also ot be evidet util quite a time after the icidet. 78 Impacts are likely to iclude: ager; geeral mistrust of stragers ad wariess of customers; fear ad axiety attacks, largely coected to a fear that the icidet could recur. Fear of returig to work is a commo reactio. Some may feel ueasy or axious about dealig with customers. There may also be the fear of recogitio or of beig followed by the assailat; feeligs of helplessess, isolatio, frustratio, vulerability; guilt that they somehow cotributed to the icidet ad are therefore partly resposible; loss of cofidece, loss of cocetratio ad sometimes loss of memory. Despite this, recall of the evet will geerally be vivid, ad staff are likely to show sigs of a eed to talk about the experiece; physical symptoms might iclude sleepig difficulties, loss of appetite, tremblig or outbursts of cryig. 79 The followig statemets illustrate the impact of violece. I paic each time I see someoe who looks like the attacker. I ca t face goig back to work, I feel physically sick. I could ot stop shakig ad cryig after the robbery. I still have ightmares about the attack. 80 Some staff are so badly affected that the reactios persist, affectig both their persoal ad professioal lives. Traiig ca be helpful i lesseig shock - preparatio ca reduce its impact. Maagers will eed basic traiig i dealig with staff durig ad immediately after a icidet. Support ad uderstadig are the key factors i helpig staff to recover from a traumatic evet. Maagers will eed to kow ad uderstad about the impact of shock ad how to hadle it. They will eed the support of their ow seior maagers o site, ad they will eed practical Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 19 of 28

20 Health ad Safety operatioal help if they are expected to keep the busiess ruig. Iitial respose 81 This should be doe as soo as possible after the icidet has happeed. It ca take the form of a iformal group meetig (all those ivolved or affected by the icidet) or idividual coversatios with a appoited member of staff. This type of support does ot have to be a sophisticated respose. A simple chat ad a assessmet made that othig further is eeded may be all that you have to do. The idea should be to respod to immediate eeds ad help staff to feel that what they are goig through is a ormal reactio ad that this eed for support is ot see as a failure o their part. It will be importat that there is a key perso ivolved who is supportive ad has a uderstadig of the likely impact o the idividual. 82 A effective, sesitive iitial respose is crucial to people s ability to cope i the loger term. It ca help to avoid a situatio where staff suffer a loss of self-esteem ad are uable to udertake certai tasks or duties. 83 As well as givig staff the opportuity to express their feeligs the respose ca also cover practical issues such as: a outlie of your icidet reportig; a report o the progress of ay ivestigatio or actio take by yourselves or the police, icludig what is likely to happe ext, to assist staff i dealig with the police ad their procedures; what further support is available to the victim ad how they might cotact that support; whether special leave to allow victims to recover from the icidet is eeded (this may eed to be balaced with ecouragig staff to retur to ormality ); legal advice ad help i takig proceedigs agaist the assailat. 84 Group discussios ca be particularly effective as a meas of sharig experiece, cocers ad feeligs. They ca help to esure that staff do ot feel isolated ad are aware that there are others with similar reactios ad fears. Group discussios ca ivolve those who are directly or idirectly affected. However, their success depeds o the willigess of everyoe to take part. 85 Whatever help is give, it eeds to be a combiatio of emotioal support ad practical iformatio ad help. Staff should be reassured that this is ot beig used as a iformatio gatherig/ivestigatio process. They must also feel that they are able to express axiety ad stress, without fears of ay comeback o their future progress withi the compay. 86 Learig from the feedback o the experieces of staff is ofte helpful i avoidig a recurrece. 87 Follow-up actio should be take after a period of time (probably aroud a moth after the icidet) to esure that staff have recovered ad do ot require additioal help. Iformatio ad further guidace could also be give o ay police actio take, ad staff prepared for a evetual court case. Log-term support 88 Some staff may require extra help ad time to overcome their fear, ager ad stress, which caot be provided i the iitial respose. This should be assessed at ay follow-up sessios. 89 If you are a large retailer this service might be available i-house. However, may retailers are ulikely to have the resources to provide such a service. Small Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 20 of 28

21 Health ad Safety retailers i particular may eed help from outside orgaisatios such as Victim Support ad local commuity groups. 90 If the cousellig is udertake i-house it will be importat that it is see to provide a idepedet ad cofidetial service, tailored to the idividual circumstaces ad staff. Otherwise the victim will ot feel cofidet i discussig highly persoal ad possibly distressig experieces. 91 Cousellors will eed highly tued iterpersoal skills - commuicatig, listeig, empathisig, objectivity, tolerace ad recogitio. You should ot assume that every member of staff has these qualities. Victim support 92 Victim Support is the atioal charity which provides, through a etwork of 370 local schemes, support, practical help ad iformatio, particularly o the crimial justice system, to victims of crime i Eglad, Wales ad Norther Irelad. (See Appedix 4 for how to cotact Victim Support.) There is a separate orgaisatio for Scotlad. The service is cofidetial ad free. Victim Support ca also provide iformatio o court procedures ad someoe to accompay the victim/witess to court if requested. This service is beig developed through court-based services i Crow Court cetres i Eglad ad Wales. The Witess Service offers iformatio ad support before, durig ad after the trial ad works i close liaiso with local Victim Support schemes ad crimial justice agecies. Police liaiso ad court procedures 93 If the icidet ivolves a crimial act, a omiated member of staff should take cotrol ad immediately cotact the police, ad medical help if ecessary. Iformatio to gather will iclude: a full descriptio of the evet ad offeder, whether someoe was ijured, what happeed afterwards - did the offeder escape? how ad where the offeder escaped. 94 I cases where crimial proceedigs are likely, staff may eed particular care ad support. May will ot have ay experiece of the court ad crimial system ad will be worried about dealig with the police ad givig evidece. Help ad advice will start at the iitial respose stage ad will be followed through with support for the police ivestigatio ad the court hearig. Issues to cosider will iclude additioal support for staff called as witesses or ivolved i idetificatio parades. These ca ofte reawake memories of the icidet itself. Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 21 of 28

22 Health ad Safety Specific issues to cosider Small busiesses 95 If you are a small retail busiess you may ot have the resources i staff or moey to implemet sophisticated maagemet systems aimed at reducig violece. The legth of time ope, the usociable ad log hours worked, the small umbers of staff ad the fact that staff will ot ecessarily all be preset at ay particular time i the shop, will all pose problems for the prevetio ad cotrol of violece. 96 Physical security measures such as CCTV, screes etc, may be costly ad iappropriate. However, cocealig tills ad providig good visibility (by usig mirrors ad raisig the floor behid the couter) i the workig area are practical ad relatively easy to achieve prevetative measures. Simple chages to procedures ca also be effective, such as keepig the amout of cash available at a low level, chagig the method of bakig cash, for example varyig the mode of trasport, the route or the perso carryig the cash etc. 97 Small retailers should keep a simple log, cotaiig iformatio o the ature of icidets, the timig, method etc. This may help to establish over a period of time where particular actio or measures are eeded, or where further advice is required. 98 Your local Crime Prevetio Officer ca provide advice o basic measures which are tailored for small busiess eeds. They might also be able to brig together small local self-help groups. These groups could help idetify particular local problems, develop ad implemet ways of prevetig them, ad act as a meas of mutual support, icludig circulatig ewsletters for those retailers who are uable to atted meetigs. 99 There may be the potetial to set up ad maitai local co-operative crime prevetio schemes with some of the larger retailers i your area. Such schemes ca help to circulate practical advice o well-established strategies ad successful measures. Workig aloe 100 There may be situatios whe it is ot possible or practical to work with other members of staff, for istace i petrol fillig statios or i delivery services. Particular attetio will be eeded to esure that workig aloe does ot make staff more vulerable. 101 Safe workig arragemets would iclude: esurig that the perso is capable of workig aloe. You will eed to cosider both routie work ad foreseeable emergecies which may pose additioal physical ad metal burdes o the idividual. providig traiig to cotrol, guide ad help i situatios of ucertaity. It will be importat to avoid paic reactios to uusual ad risky situatios; esurig that solitary staff fully uderstad the risks ivolved i their task, ad also what safety precautios will eed to be take. Some examples for mobile staff would iclude esurig that they are cotactable; portable phoe/ radio; varyig the route ad patter of work; pre-arraged calls; providig traiig for loe staff which outlies the specific risks ivolved Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 22 of 28

23 Health ad Safety ad how they ca play a role i deflectig or miimisig the risk; establishig emergecy procedures i the evet of a icidet, icludig quick access to a safe area, or exit from a usafe locatio, evacuatig other staff ad iformig the appropriate authorities, police etc. providig devices which raise the alarm i the evet of a emergecy. 102 Where possible loe staff should be regularly visited by a supervisor to moitor their safety. If this is ot practicable, the regular cotact via a telephoe or radio should be maitaied. Solitary staff will feel more secure ad cofidet if they kow that help or support is available if ad whe eeded. Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 23 of 28

24 Health ad Safety Appedix 1 Kow the law The Health ad Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSW Act) puts broad geeral duties o you as a employer ad others to protect the health ad safety of staff. I particular, sectio 2 of the HSW Act gives employers a duty to safeguard, so far as is reasoably practicable, the health, safety ad welfare at work of their staff. Employers also have a commo law geeral duty of care towards their staff, which exteds to the risk of violece at work. Legal precedets (see West Bromwich Buildig Society v Towsed [1983] IRLR 147 ad Charlto v Forrest Pritig Ik Compay Limited [1980] IRLR 331) show that employers have a duty to take reasoable care to see that their staff are ot exposed to uecessary risks at work icludig the risk of ijury by crimials. I carryig out their duty to provide a safe system of work ad a safe workig place, employers should, therefore, have regard to, ad safeguard their staff agaist, the risk of ijury from violet crimials. The Maagemet of Health ad Safety at Work Regulatios 1992 require employers to assess the risks to the health ad safety of their staff ad of ayoe else who may be affected by their work activity. This is so that the ecessary prevetive ad protective measures ca be idetified. Employers must also make arragemets for puttig ito practice the health ad safety measures that follow from their risk assessmet. These measures will have to cover plaig, orgaisatio, cotrol, moitorig ad review, i other words, the maagemet of health ad safety. Guidace o risk assessmet is give i Appedix 2. The Safety Represetatives ad Safety Committees Regulatios (SRSC) 1977 provide that a recogised idepedet trade uio may appoit safety represetatives to represet employees i cosultatio with employers o promotig, developig ad moitorig measures to esure health ad safety at work. The Schedule withi the Maagemet of Health ad Safety at Work Regulatios 1992 ameded the SRSC Regulatios to require employers to cosult safety represetatives i good time over a rage of health ad safety issues. Resposibility for eforcig the HSW Act is split betwee the Health ad Safety ad local authorities. Local authority ispectors have resposibility for eforcig health ad safety law i retail premises. Ispectors have a wide rage of powers which iclude the right to eter workplaces without prior otice ad carry out ispectios ad ivestigatios. They ca also serve otices which require remedial actio withi a specified period of time (a Improvemet Notice ), or which prohibit activities that ivolve a risk of serious persoal ijury (a Prohibitio Notice ). Failure to comply with health ad safety law ca result i a crimial prosecutio. Further advice ad guidace o employers resposibilities uder health ad safety law is available from local authority evirometal health departmets. Prevetig violece to retail staff Page 24 of 28