IN THE NEWS WITH ASR

As Covid-19 began to really take hold in the United States in March 2020, lockdowns and stay-at-home orders were put in place in various forms across every state, city, and county.  Most schools closed, hundreds of thousands of workers were laid off, had their jobs eliminated, or were told to work from home.  Societal interactions were severely limited with home confinement and many people were cut off from extended family and friends entirely.

While lockdowns were intended to protect people and prevent further Covid-19 infections, experts warned that there was another pandemic coming along with Covid-19....increased domestic violence.  Lockdowns left families trapped together in the confines of the home and, in many cases, only fueled the potential for partner-on-partner violence.

Domestic-violence hotlines prepared for an increase in demand for services as states enforced these mandates, but many organizations experienced the opposite. In some regions, the number of calls dropped by more than 50%.  Experts knew that rates of domestic violence had not decreased, but rather that victims were unable to safely connect with services.

Though restrictions on movement have been lifted in most regions, the pandemic and its effects continue.  Now that many people are getting back to work, it is important to understand how organizations can be affected by domestic violence spill-over into the workplace.

One in four women and one in ten men experience domestic violence.  Violence can take different forms ranging from physical, emotional, sexual, or psychological.  People of all races, cultures, genders, sexual orientations, socioeconomic classes, and religions experience domestic violence.  Most people who experience domestic violence don’t seek help so tensions continue to rise as situations worsen.

How Can a Rise in Domestic Violence Affect Your Business or School?

Workplace violence is any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the work site. It ranges from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and even homicide. It can affect and involve employees, clients, customers, and visitors. Acts of violence and other injuries is currently the third-leading cause of fatal occupational injuries in the United States.  For example, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), of the 5,147 fatal workplace injuries that occurred in the United States in 2017, 458 were cases of intentional injury by another person. However, it manifests itself, workplace violence is a major concern for employers and employees nationwide.

Every year, millions of American workers report having been victims of workplace violence. In 2018, assaults resulted in 20,790 injuries and 453 fatalities, according to Injury Facts®.  In addition, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, workplace violence falls into four categories: Criminal intent, customer/client, worker-on-worker, and personal relationship (domestic violence), which overwhelmingly targets women.

No matter who initiates the confrontation, the deadliest situations involve an active shooter. U.S. Department of Homeland Security defines active shooter as someone "actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill a person or people in a confined and populated area."

Some people commit violence because of revenge, robbery, or ideology – with or without a component of mental illness. While there is no way to predict an attack, you can be aware of behaviors in coworkers that might signal future violence. Some examples include:

• Excessive use of alcohol or drugs,
• unexplained absenteeism,
• change in behavior or decline in job performance,
• depression,
• withdrawal or suicidal comments,
• resistance to changes at work or persistent complaining about unfair treatment,
• violation of company policies,
• emotional responses to criticism,
• mood swings,
• and paranoia.

What Can You Do to Help Protect Your Employees?

When a crisis incident occurs, like an act of domestic violence spilling into the workplace, it is imperative that employees know exactly what to do to stay as safe as possible.  If a bad-actor enters a school or business, the employees or students must know what to do, where to go, and how to seek help immediately.

Having clear, precise, and reliable plans and technology in place are becoming a must for all businesses and schools to mitigate loss of life and injury.  Without a plan, you plan to fail.

Having active crisis and active shooter protocols and technology in place are the most important and crucial things an organization can do to reduce risk and protect its people.  ASR can help.

ASR offers the best critical incident response technology solution in the industry. Our reliable and redundant methods of alerting persons who are in danger, as well as providing the fastest notification to law enforcement by communicating directly with police dispatch are not matched. Our patented critical incident response technology uses hard-mounted buttons, mobile pendants and a mobile phone application to DIRECTLY communicate with first responders in the area to significantly decrease response times to an active threat or crisis situation.

Here is how it works.

• Emergency Presented - An emergency or threat presents itself. Immediate action is needed to tend to the situation at hand as the clock is ticking.
• System Is Activated - The ASR Alert System (critical incident response technology) is activated via one of the stationary wall-mounted activation points, mobile pendant lanyards or ASR APP. Sirens and strobes are initiated to alert personnel and to disorient the active shooter/assailant.
• Instant Alerts Begin DIRECT to LAW ENFORCEMENT or Internal Responders - Upon initiation, all personnel within the organization, as well as local law enforcement (police button only), will receive immediate emergency alerts via text and email notifications. Our critical incident response technology is the trigger to initiate life-saving response.
• Quick Response - The nearest law enforcement personnel (police button) will be able to move quickly to neutralize the threat and tend to the emergency at hand. The ASR Alert System saves time by providing the exact location of the threat as well as the potential for images from building cameras.

ASR is wholly dedicated to saving time to save lives and we approach our critical incident response technology from the perspective of those responding to crisis events. Communicating DIRECTLY with first responders is what makes ASR different from every other system on the market, we hold the patent on this technology.

While the world continues down an uncertain path with the virus, politics, and economic hardship the propensity for workplace violence will only continue at best or increase at worst.  An organization cannot control the world, but they can work to ensure the safest workplace environment for their employees, students and anyone visiting their establishments.  Saving time, saves lives.

If you or someone you love is experiencing domestic violence, here are some resources that can help: