Decline in the Rate of Violent Victimizations per 1,000 Workers between 1993 and 1999
Finally, a brief look at violence in the workplace. It shows that the same trends seen in violent victimization rates generally are mirrored in the workplace.
This graph presents data on the decline in the number of violent incidents in the work-place between 1993 and 1999. The six individual employment categories presented have the dubious distinction of being the categories with the highest rates of violent criminal victimization. Policemen, nurses, psychiatrists, cabbies, and cashiers, all are at high risk of being assaulted on-the-job. A total workplace figure is provided under the heading "All Sectors."
The trend is clear. Violent acts in the workplace have declined sharply. For the workplace as a whole, the decline between 1993 and 1999 was 44%, a full 10 percentage points greater than the decline experienced by the society as a whole. Violent crime in the general population fell 34% during this period. A line has been drawn across the graph at the 34% mark by way of highlighting the decline in violent crime in society generally.
In all but one of the most vulnerable employment categories, the rates of violent crime dropped by more than the rate dropped in the society at large. The one exception was for those people who work with the mentally ill. They saw saw the most modest decline in their rates of violent victimization. But even in this category the decline in violent acts on-the-job was significant, 28%.
Because the chart shows changes in percentage and does not provide a sense of how vulnerable to violent assault one group is relative to another, the following table is provided. Here one can see how frequently those employed in the six categories presented are victimized. Here, again, we see that with the exception of those working in law enforcement or with the mentally ill, one is safer at work than in the public square.
Rates of Violent Victimization per 1,000 Workers
| Category /Industry | 1993 | 1999 | ||
| All Private Employment | 16.0 | 9.0 | ||
| Law Enforcement | 163.1 | 74.1 | ||
| Mental Health | 64.4 | 46.1 | ||
| Teaching | 25.8 | 12.4 | ||
| Retail Sales | 21.9 | 14.1 | ||
| Transportation | 20.6 | 8.4 | ||
| Medical Fields | 20.3 | 10.0 | ||
| Society at Large * | 50.0 | 33.0 | ||
| In the case of the "society at large," rates are per 1,000 people aged 12 years or older. | ||||
*In the case of the "society at large," rates are per 1,000 people aged 12 years or older
For every 1,000 people age 12 years or older, 33 were the victims of a violent act at some time during 1999, down by 34% from the rate of 50 in 1993.
Violent acts are down, both in the workplace and in the society at large. It is, in fact, more likely that one will be assaulted off-the-job than on-the-job. In an analysis of the location in which violent acts occur, the victim's home is the leading location accounting for 15% of all violent victimizations (not including murder). A somewhat less than reassuring fact.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Violent Crime Victimization Survey 2000, table entitled Violence in the Workplace, 1993-99, available online at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/cvusst.htm. For data on the rates of violent crime generally; U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, Criminal Victimization 1999, Changes 1998-99 with Trends 1993-99, page 1. Data on the location of in which violent victimizations occur is from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Urban, Suburban, and Rural Victimization, 1993-1998," October 2000, p. 8.
1 This book is being completed in October 2002. Final data on crime rates for 2001 are due to be published later in 2002.
2 Because the primary graph in this panel covers the entire century and population data were not available for the age breakdown 18 through 34 for this entire period, the age range 20-34 was used instead.
3 For more on the subject of the "war on drugs" see Chapter 6 in this volume.
4 Violent crimes included are homicide, rape, robbery, and both forms of assault, simple and aggravated.
5 The victims killed or harmed as a direct result of the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001 are not included.
6 Some caution must be used when assessing these figures that come from the National Crime Victimization Survey. The survey is a survey of households, it does not cover those living in institutional settings, like shelters for battered women. In 2000 there were 2,000 federally recognized shelters for battered women throughout the United States.
7 Of male victims in 1999, 10% were victimized by a same sex partner. Two percent of female victims suffered their injuries at the hands of a lesbian partner.
8 The number of unmarried, heterosexual couples cohabiting in 1980 was 1.6 million, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. By 2000 that number had risen to 5.3 million.
9 The quote is from a book by the Hoover Institution Press. See the source note for a full citation.
10 Violent crimes included are homicide, rape, robbery, and both simple and aggravated assault.
11 For an overview of child abuse and the victimization of children please see Chapter 5.
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