Police sergeant offers strategies to enhance job safety
Workplace safety was the main topic that was discussed during the most recent Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce luncheon on May 12.
Sgt. Steve Carmack of the Plant City Police Department was the keynote speaker at the event, held inside the Charlie Grimes Family Agricultural Center.
He served as part of the S.W.A.T. team for over a decade and helps train civilians on what to do should there be a life-threatening situation, such as an active shooter on the premises. These scenarios should be addressed at a time when an employee’s productivity is disrupted, Carmack said.
“The worse thing you could do is go to work and try to wonder, ‘Am I going to go home? Is something going to happen to me? Is my work environment safe? Is some of the equipment that I use safe? Are some of the people I’m dealing with – are they safe?’”
In response to these questions, one must exercise workplace awareness:
• Understand the scope of the problem
• Create and maintain a violence prevention policy
• Recognize the warning signs of violent behavior
• Be prepared to take the appropriate action
Carmack offered several true or false statements for the audience to ponder before giving the correct answer.
1. Workplace violence is committed by people who unexpectedly “snap” under pressure.
A. False. Warning signs are almost always demonstrated.
2. Most situations will resolve themselves if given a cooling-off period.
A. False. The problem will not just disappear. Nearly all violent incidents by employees are the result of problems that have been ignored.
As a supervisor, one must speak one-on-one with the employee(s) in a non-confrontational way to find out what the issue may be and how it can be resolved.
“This day and time, it’s all about what can I do to make sure that my workplace is good, but also my people,” Carmack said.
Four types of workplace violence are:
• Those committed by customers or clients
• Those associated with criminal acts
• Those among coworkers or supervisors
• Domestic violence that is brought into the workplace
If an employee has an issue that stems from either inside or outside the workplace, it could affect their productivity as well as that of a fellow co-worker.
Co-workers should also take it upon themselves to see how they can prevent a bad situation from escalating, even if they did not instigate that situation in the first place.
“Team members also need to understand enough about each other’s professions to allow them to work together effectively,” said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). “Response team training should allow discussion of policies, legal constraints, technical vocabulary, and other considerations that each profession brings to the interdisciplinary group.”
Practicing drills for different scenarios for workplace violence, can be an effective way to prepare for an incident should it occur.
OSHA also suggests having a third-party mediator who can help de-escalate a dispute. This individual does not have to have any decision-making authority, such as a fellow co-worker.
In some instances, disputes may occur because something said or done was taken out of context, when the offender’s intent did not come from a bad place.
To avoid misinterpretations, it’s important that someone be conscious of how their actions could come across in the wrong way.
A supervisor needs to create and maintain a violence protection policy. It’s the supervisor’s responsibility to make employees privy to the right and wrong ways to handle these types of situations, Carmack said.
“If you don’t have anything in place, you don’t have any action that’s going to be taken,” he said. “If you don’t have anything in place that you can offer somebody – then why not?”
A supervisor should also document incidents, which may show a pattern of behavior from an employee.
An employee should be assured that whatever they may be dealing with – they don’t have to handle it alone but can depend on their supervisor to help address the situation.
Warning signs of violence include:
• Direct or indirect threats of harm
• Intimidation, belligerence
• Harassment, bullying
• Numerous conflicts
• Bringing a weapon to work
• Inappropriate reference to weapons
• Fascination with incidents of workplace violence
• Extreme change in behavior
• Retaliation – verbal and/or physical
• Stalking in or away from workplace
“They’re trying to deal with certain things,” Carmack said. “You can’t ignore those things. Those are signs. Those are things that you often want to question them about. You’re going to see when someone has a disruptive day, or if something’s on their mind. Bring them in. Talk to them.”
