A new study on workplace violence finds that while the rate at which people are murdered on the job has gone down, the number of assaults has been trending higher.

The findings came in a research report from the National Council on Compensation Insurance in Boca Raton, Fla.

NCCI said that the major cause of homicide was robberies, accounting for roughly 75 percent of those murdered in the workplace.

Most assaults, 50 percent, involved kicking, hitting or beating, the researchers said.

The drop in workplace homicides in the private sector--a 14 percent decline in 2004, going from 0.52 per 100,000 workers in 2003 to 0.45--was a much better statistic than for the nation as a whole, which saw a modest 4 percent decline of the homicide rate, NCCI said,

The study found dramatic drops in homicide rates for some occupations, noting a five-fold decline in homicide rates among taxi drivers between 1992 and 2002.

Primary victims were reported to be those working in jobs with direct customer contact where cash and valuables are accessible, making the target group persons who worked with a cash register, security guards and taxi drivers.

Among industry categories, retail trade had the highest number of homicides, while mining took last place.

The largest number of homicide victims by age fell in the 36-to-44-years category, and by gender 82 percent of all workers slain were male.

From 1992 to 1999, the NCCI said the assault rate had been going down until it reached a level of about 16,000 incidents, but for the last five years it has hovered between 16,000 and 18,000 while normal workplace injuries continue to decline.

Even as the assault rate increases, NCCI said it is significantly lower than that experienced in the general population.

The report found that most workplace assaults, 60 percent, are concentrated in health services, social assistance, and personal care occupations.

A "distressingly high fatality rate" of 3 percent in workers' comp claims, according to NCCI, involves "in act of crime" incidents as compared with claims from other causes.

The NCCI said research at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health suggests a number of factors that increase the likelihood of workplace violence, including:

o Working in health care or social services fields with persons who may tend to be mentally unstable or violent.

o Having contact with the public, especially involving the exchange of money.

o Having a mobile workplace, such as a taxicab or delivery truck.

o Guarding property or possessions.

o Working alone, especially in high-crime areas.

Special Reports /

Workplace Violence: Homicides Drop, Assaults Up

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