Magazine

Trouble at Work

Agency downsizing, benefit cutoffs and growing hatred of government have left federal employees more vulnerable than ever before to incidents of workplace violence

December 1, 1996

By Anne Laurent

Two men, allegedly disgruntled taxpayers, are charged with planting a bomb outside an IRS building. The bomb fails to ignite. It is the second IRS bombing attempt in a Western state in three months. The regional Office of Worker's Compensation closes its doors to walk-in customers--all federal employees--after getting word that a postal employee threatened to kill office employees. An outpatient of the Veterans Affairs hospital shoots and kills an unarmed hospital police officer. 5,600 federal employees evacuated from the Richard Bolling Building after local police receive a bomb threat. A Forest Service employee says he is roughed up while being ejected from a land movement activists meeting featuring a speaker who urges violent resistance to federal authority over public lands. The employee files suit June 3 charging assault and battery. Tax protester Charles Ray Polk is convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison for attempting to blow up the Austin IRS Service Center. A Labor Department mine inspector and his wife are injured when a bomb explodes in a pickup truck in which they were riding. Eight hours before, the Labor Department office had received a telephoned death threat. An explosive device blows out the windows in Walker Plaza, a building housing FBI offices. Security is increased in federal offices in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico and Arkansas. A homeless, mentally ill Social Security recipient barricades the entrance to the SSA office and threatens to blow up the building. He leaves the building after it is evacuated and is arrested outside. The General Services Administration proposes to eliminate 360 parking places to improve security at 19 federal buildings. A dozen members of the Viper Militia are charged with teaching about explosives and techniques in civil disorder and unlawful possession of weapons. The group made videotapes about blowing up government buildings and discussed tracking down families of federal agents, investigators say. FBI arrests five members of the West Virginia Mountaineer Militia on charges they planned to blow up the FBI's national fingerprint records complex in Clarksburg.

Violence and threats against federal workers in the last year.

Dec. 26, 1995, San Jose, Calif.
Mail handler fired after his story about the shooting death of a postal manager is published in an electronic magazine on the World Wide Web.

Handling Angry or Hostile Customers or Co-Workers
Stay calm. Listen attentively.
Maintain eye contact.
Be courteous and patient.
Keep the situation in your control.
If person shouts, swears or is threatening:
Signal for help using duress alarm or pre- arranged code words.
Have someone else call guard or police.

If someone threatens you with a weapon

Stay calm, maintain eye contact and quietly signal for help with alarm or code words.
Stall for time. Keep talking, but follow the person's instructions.
Don't risk harm to yourself or others.
Never try to grab the weapon.
Watch for a chance to escape to a safe area.
Source: Federal Protective Service

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Dec. 27, 1995, Reno, Nev.

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1996, New York

Prevention Measures for Organizations
Source: Violence Prevention Counselor Anthony Baron

- Pick a crisis management team to assess all threats and set traumatic response policy.
- Survey attitudes, procedures, security systems, conflict resolution and grievance procedures, job design, office layout, safety hazards, past violence and violence readiness.
- Report violence vulnerability to senior managers, brief them about the potential for future violence and its costs, get their written commitment to prevention.
- Set anti-violence policies and procedures stating all threats will be taken seriously and are grounds for dismissal.

- Inform employees about anti-violence procedures, including a means for reporting threats without fear of reprisal.
- Immediately investigate all threats and correct all unsafe conditions.
- Train all employees to recognize hazards, deal with emotionally charged situations, prevent assault and rape, handle disgruntled customers, manage stress and anger, and follow procedures for firings, layoffs and emergencies.
- Develop relationships with in-house and local police, legal counsel, employee assistance providers, crisis counselors and public affairs officers.
- Have a trauma response team.
- Control access to the workplace. Consider having guards present, installing alarms and panic buttons and setting up a buddy system.

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Jan. 10, 1996, Albuquerque, N.M.

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March 12, 1996, Kansas City, Mo.

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A Taxing Toll

Violent incidents reported by IRS employees.


Fiscal Year	Assaults	Verbal Threats
1990	37	735
1991	39	675
1992	41	837*
1993	33	738
1994	28	640
1995	29	825

*A change in reporting procedures may have been partially responsible for large 1992 increase. Source: IRS

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March 15, 1996, Eager, Ariz.

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April 5, 1996, Texas

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April 12, 1996, Vacaville, Calif.

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How to Handle a Bomb Threat

Keep calm. Keep talking. Don't hang up.
Signal a co-worker to get on an extension.
Ask the caller to repeat the message. Write it down. Repeat questions, if necessary.
Ask where the bomb is and when it will go off.
Listen for background noises and write down a description.
Write down whether it's a man or woman, pitch of voice, accent, anything else you hear.
Try to get a name, location, telephone number.
Signal a co-worker immediately to call the Federal Protective Service, a contract guard, or the local police.
Notify your supervisor.
Source: Federal Protective Service

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Who Commits Violence at Veterans Affairs
Source: Veterans Affairs Department


Violent Incidents	Employee to employee	Non-employee to employee	Total
1993	219	1,429	1,648
1994	188	1,314	1,502
1995	221	1,330	1,551

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May 20, 1996, Laredo, Texas

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June 11, 1996, Santa Cruz, Calif.

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July 1996, Washington, D.C.

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Serious Crimes in Federal Buildings 1995
Source: Federal Protective Service


Homicide	0
Rape	2
Robbery	52
Aggravated Assault	109
Vandalism	1284
Burglary	321
Larceny	4697
Motor Vehicle Theft	231
Arson	19
Simple Assault	545
Bomb Threats	764
Weapons Violations	549
Miscellaneous Offenses	2208
Total	10,816

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July 1, 1996, Phoenix, Ariz.

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Oct. 9, 1996, Union Gap, Wash.
FBI arrests three men suspected in a series of bombings and bank robberies in the Spokane area this year. Notes from an anti-government, white supremacist group, the Phineas Priesthood, were left after the attacks during which a gunman shouted support for the anti-government Freemen, then under FBI siege in Montana.

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Oct. 11, 1996, Clarksburg, W.Va.

NEXT STORY: Environment: Old Issues, Familiar Cast