Articles and News

Brentwood, TN—The increasing number and media coverage of mass shootings in the past few years puts the topic on everyone’s mind. But is such a scenario a particular risk for jewelers, with stores full of tempting high-value merchandise?

The security threats jewelers face already from armed robberies in the store to home invasions still are far more likely to occur than an active mass shooter situation. But if a disgruntled former employee wants revenge or some other individual goes on a shooting spree nearby, it’s wise to have a protocol in place for dealing with the situation.

According to an article written by Jay Hart of Force Training Instittue in HR Daily Advisor, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says about 5% of all businesses experience an instance of workplace violence each year. For larger organizations with over 1,000 employees, this rate is increased tenfold to 50%.

A 2014 report from the FBI found active shooter incidents in the United States now occur on an average of once a month. Of these incidents, almost half (45.6%) occurred at a business, while nearly a quarter (24.4%) occurred at educational institutions ranging from pre-K all the way through post-high school institutions of higher learning.

There are certain steps any business can take to create a workable active-threat response plan, writes Hart. Read his advice for forming a successful active threat plan here and read the U.S. government’s booklet from the Department of Homeland Security here.

BLR, parent company of HR Daily Advisor, recently hosted a special webinar dealing with the topic of assailants in the workplace; a CD is available by clicking here.

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