Assault on Staff
Violence against staff is an area of growing concern. The below measures may help to reduce the incidence.

Carry out a risk assessment considering the following:

• Decide who might be harmed, and how
• Identify which employees are at risk - those who have face-to-face
• Contact with the public are normally the most vulnerable.
• Identify potentially violent people in advance so that the risks from them can be minimised.
• Check the physical arrangements in your premises to see if physical access to staff can be prevented. Consider locks, coded security doors and counters.
• If interview rooms or other isolated areas are used for one to one interviews could you fit a panic alarm or CCTV?
• Look at any past incidents to see if they could have been prevented.

 Do:

• Train your employees so that they can spot the early signs of aggression and either avoid it or cope with it.  
• Repeat the training at regular intervals. Staff can forget and over a period may adopt bad practices.
• Agree rules with your staff which will help ensure their personal safety and ensure that all staff are fully aware.
• Adopt lone worker rules for those workers who meet clients after hours or away from your premises.

CCTV
CCTV records what takes place and can act as a deterrent to crime. It is especially useful in covering entrances, internal or external areas which are not supervised by a member of staff. CCTV can be movement activiated with a warning sound to draw the attention of a staff member to the screen.

Electronic equipment
Ensure that all equipment is property marked by an engraver. Identifiable property has little value on the black market and therefore is less at risk of theft.

Entry to Office
Prevent thieves from gaining access to vulnerable areas of the office by controlling access. If there is no formal reception area ensure that access is protected by a closed door, card or keycode entry, intercom or other device.

Lighting
Lights are a deterrant to criminals when corrcetly placed.

Locks and other physical equipment
Fit good quality BS standards locks to doors and windows. Make sure that the structure of the doors are stong enough to support the locks.

Name Badges
Name badges can be useful in staff identification but they can be useful to criminals especially fraudsters or sexual offenders and they are likekly to increase the likelyhood of harassment by dissatified customers. Where name badges are used it is best to include christian names only or the job title.

Petty Cash
The petty cash box is a temptation for thieves or occasiopnally staff members. Ensure that your petty cash is kept secure in a purpose built safe or box and that this is kept locked.

Property of Staff
Staff bring in personal property such as handbags, mobile phones which are often left unnatended on desks, changing rooms etc. Where possible they should be stored in lockable cabinets.