VIOLENCE AT WORK STATISTICS PUBLISHED

HSE Press Release E013:04 - 2 February 2004

The latest statistics on violence at work were today published in the British Crime Survey by the Home Office and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Although the number of incidents has fallen since the peak in 1995, it remains at a worrying level.

Report highlights include:

• The estimated number of incidents of violence experienced by workers in England and Wales in 2002/03, including threats as well as physical assaults, was 849,000.
  Since a peak of 1,310,000 in 1995, the extent of violence at work reported in the British Crime Survey has been on a downward trend. The level is now similar to that reported in 1991.
• Workers in the protective services, for example police officers, were most at risk of violence at work. 14% of workers in protective services experienced violence in 2002/3. Health and social welfare associate professionals, including nurses, medical and dental practitioners were also at relatively high risk: 5% experienced violence.
• The overall risk of experiencing actual or threatened violence at work was 1.7%, down from a peak of 2.7% in 1995 and lower than in 1991 when the overall risk was 2%.
• More than two-thirds of workers who had some contact with the public in 2002/3 received neither formal training nor informal advice on violence or threatening behaviour. Although 81% of workers in protective services (police, for example) received formal training, among other high-risk groups the level of training did not exceed 54%.
• 16% of all workers in contact with members of the public were very or fairly worried about being assaulted at work. 19% were very or fairly worried about being threatened. Concern was higher in certain occupations: for example, 36% of health and welfare professionals were very or fairly worried.

Chris Rowe, Head of Psychosocial Issues at HSE said:

" Physical assaults and threats towards people who are simply doing their jobs and providing a much needed service to the public are wholly unacceptable and should not be tolerated. These incidents often have devastating consequences for the victims and their families, and real financial costs to employers.

"In 2000 we began a three-year programme of work in 2000 with our stakeholders and partners to tackle the problem, including a great deal of work with employers to help prevent these incidents and, when they do occur, to manage them effectively. For example, we have issued guidance illustrated by case studies for smaller businesses and lone workers, funded the development of occupational standards to help employers develop their own policies, and delivered a targeted programme of inspections across health services.

"The apparent fall in the number of incidents since 1995 is encouraging but the actual number of incidents is probably much greater than this, as it is likely that many incidents are not reported. Over the coming months we will be considering how we can build on the progress so far and make further inroads into this disturbing feature of Britain's workplaces. "

The report "Violence at Work: Findings from the 2002/03 British Crime Survey" is available on the HSE website www.hse.gov.uk

Notes to editors

1. The British Crime Survey has been conducted by the Home Office every two years since 1982, and became an annual survey from 2000. It measures crime against people living in
private households, and includes questions on work-related violence. The Survey covers England and Wales only; Scotland has its own arrangements.

2. The British Crime Survey definition of work-related violence is: all assaults or threats which occurred while the victim was working, that were perpetuated by members of the public. This does not include verbal abuse. Trends in violence at work appear to mirror those for all violence.

3. The number of incidents is calculated by multiplying the incident rates for the survey population by the total number of adults of working age in employment in England and Wales. On the basis of the 2001 Census results, the Office of National Statistics revised its time series of population estimates for 1991-2003. The Census found that there were fewer people in the population than previously estimated and therefore fewer people of working age.

The British Crime Survey 2002/3 uses these revised population estimates to revise the estimated number of incidents of workplace violence between 1991 and 2003. The number of incidents for 1999, the baseline year for evaluation of HSC's programme of work, originally estimated as 1.3 million, is now estimated at 1.1 million. The reduction in the number of incidents to 849,000 in 2002/3 represents a 23% fall.

4. In 1999, HSE commissioned the Home Office to carry out a retrospective analysis of data, covering the period 1991 to 1997. The report, Violence at Work: Findings from the British Crime Survey" showed a 64% increase in the number of incidents between 1991 and 1995, and an 18% fall between 1995 and 1997.

5. A free guidance leaflet "Violence at work, a guide for employers", INDG69(rev), is available from HSE Books, along with priced publications on tackling violence in the health services, education, retail, and banks/building societies.

6. The HSE publication Work-related violence: Case studies - Managing the risk in smaller businesses (HSG229 HSE Books 2002 ISBN 0 7176 2358 0) is available from HSE Books (http://books.hse.gov.uk). Abridged versions of the case studies are on HSE's website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/violence/experience.htm.

7. This and other information is available on our website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/violence/index.htm

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