This issue began in 2001. I revisited and wrote an article in 2005. It was reposted in 2008 and now in 2012 is still relevant. Here is a prime example of how something minor can become a major issue…
Workplace violence still continues to be one of the most significant
threats in the business world. It doesn't seem to matter what the business does
or where it is located, there can be a threat of violence associated with it.
There are many faces of workplace violence and the key is to understand that a
threat can come from anywhere. It can be a distraught employee who is being
harassed by co-workers in the workplace or is disciplined or terminated. It can
be a spillover from a domestic issue, even from a chance encounter.
We will be discussing the issues of stalking in the
workplace and how a simple, normal encounter can become a dangerous threat. In
the Unites States one out of every 20 women will be stalked in their lifetime.
Stalking can start as a simple nuisance but it can escalate into a serious
workplace violence threat.
A recent study by the National Institute of Justice found
that stalking was far more prevalent than many had thought: eight percent of
American women and two percent of American men will be stalked sometime within
their lifetime. That's 1.4 million American stalking victims every year. The
majority of stalkers have been in relationships with their victims, but a
significant percentage either have never met their victims, or it started from
a simple meeting with a neighbor, friend or someone met on or off the job. Even
if it started off the job, it can impact on the workplace if the threat moves
to the workplace location so the employee and other workers are threatened.
When it comes to workplace violence there is no one solution
or response. Each incident is unique and should be dealt with properly and
promptly.
Several years ago we had an opportunity to assist a large
company with a workplace violence issue that had started from a chance
encounter between two people who never met before. Because this was a good
example of a stalking incident turning into workplace violence, we want to
share that situation with you.
It started on a marketing campaign that took one of the
owner's daughters, whom we will call Kim, to another state. The daughter had
met a man during a one of her father's marketing meetings. She had been sitting
in on the meetings in order to learn her father's business so she could
eventually take over leadership of the company in the future. During the
meeting she met a young man whom we will call Dan. He was a very charming and
outgoing fellow and he and the daughter exchanged telephone numbers and then
went their separate ways. Over the course of the next year, the two talked on
the telephone and began to write each other.
The communications were normal in the beginning, but one day
Dan had become agitated and threatened to come over and take care of Kim
because she did not seem to value their relationship. Kim responded by asking
Dan to not call or communicate with her anymore. But, after a few months, Kim
began to again get telephone calls and letters. At first the letters were
apologetic. After that, they began to become romantic and sexual in nature. Kim
chose to simply ignore the letters. The letters increased in frequency and she
then advised some of her associates within the company. They told her to ignore
the issue and assured her Dan would tire of being ignored and would stop sooner
or later. As time went on the letters slowed down but occasionally she would still
receive a letter or telephone call.
As time went on Kim had realized she had a problem because
some of the letters were very suggestive. They would detail fantasies of sexual
encounters. Dan continued as if he was in a relationship with Kim and kept asking
for an opportunity to see Kim. Kim decided to have all her mail and phone calls
screened.
This went on for several years and Kim had tried to simply
ignore the problem. She moved on with her life, married and began life with her
new husband. She also took over her father's company. But the letters
continued. Over time, Dan changed the content of his letters from physical
attraction to saying that he was the son of her father (hence, Kim's
half-sister). It became clear that there was a problem when Dan tried to
contact Kim and showed up at the company headquarters, maintaining he was a
part owner. Fortunately, security denied him access.
Kim and the company did not know what to do at this time so
they contacted our consulting and investigation firm. We began with a thorough
fact-finding. After all the information was gathered and interviews were
completed, we recommended that some of the latest letters be sent for analysis
by a psychological profile expert. Because we had Dan's name and address, the company
authorized a full background investigation to confirm where Dan lived. During
the background, an investigator was sent to the most recent known address to
obtain an updated photo and clarify Dan's current situation. As the
investigation progressed, Kim received a call from a young lady who identified
herself as Dan's girlfriend. She said that Dan was seeking professional mental
health help but had suddenly stopped taking his medication. She also said that
Dan was getting ready to take a trip and he would be traveling to the
city/state where the company's main office was located. She then explained that
Dan was acting very distraught and violent.
The consultants put surveillance on Dan to keep track of
him. The consultants also dispatched two teams to the company headquarters
location, which was in another state. One team was a surveillance team and the
other was an armed protection team. The surveillance team was to keep track of
Dan once he entered the state where the headquarters was located. The surveillance
team at his home advised that Dan had boarded a bus and was bound for a city
near the company headquarters location. Because of licensing/jurisdiction
issues, we could not place an investigator on the bus. Instead we posted teams
at several different bus terminals and a protection team was sent to be with
Kim and her family.
After several days of no contact with Dan we had received a
phone call from Dan's girlfriend saying he was back at his home and he was not
sharing with here where he had been. We continued to surval Dan at his home.
Since we had a person on the inside that was feeding us information, and we had
surveillance to confirm actions, we stopped coverage at the company
headquarters location and stood down teams there.
At that time we received more letters and forwarded them for
analysis. We also got the assessment from the psychologist. He explained that
we were dealing with a delusional stalker. According to the expert, this kind
of stalker almost always came from a background which was either emotionally
barren or severely abusive. The expert said, "These individuals grow up
having a very poor sense of their own identities". This, coupled with a
predisposition toward psychosis, leads them to strive for satisfaction through
another. They yearn to "merge" with someone who is almost always
perceived to be of a higher status (e.g. doctors, lawyers, and teachers) or is
very socially desirable (e.g. celebrities). It is as if this stalker says,
"Gee. If she loves me, I must not be so bad." As Dean Martin
compellingly crooned with what could be considered the delusional stalker's
anthem: "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You." It is not unusual
for this type of stalker to "hear" the soothing voice of his victim,
or believe that the victim is sending him or her cryptic messages through
others.
According to the expert, delusional stalkers frequently have
had little, if any, contact with their victims. They may have major mental
illnesses like schizophrenia, manic-depression or erotomania. What they all
have in common is some false belief that keeps them tied to their victims. In
erotomania, the stalker's delusional belief is that the victim loves him. This
type of stalker actually believes that he is having a relationship with his
victim, even though they might never have met. The woman stalking David
Letterman, the stalker who killed actress Rebecca Schaeffer and the man who
stalked Madonna are all examples of erotomanic stalkers.
Another type of delusional stalker might believe that he is
destined to be with someone, and that if he only pursues her hard enough and
long enough, she will come to love him as he loves her. These stalkers know
they are not having a relationship with their victims, but firmly believe that
they will someday. John Hinckley Jr.'s obsession with Jodi Foster is an example
of this type of stalker.
Or he can become a vengeful stalker. These stalkers become
angry with their victims over some slight, real or imagined. Politicians, for
example, get many of these types of stalkers who become angry over some piece
of legislation or program the official sponsors. But, disgruntled ex-employees
can also stalk, whether targeting their former bosses, co-workers or the entire
company. Some of these angry stalkers are psychopaths, i.e. people without
conscience or remorse. Some are delusional, (most often paranoid), and believe
that they, in fact, are the victims. They all stalk to "get even."
In our example case, the letters continued to talk about how
he would get what was rightfully his, Dan also wrote about getting her (his
claimed) father back for abandoning him and he would get even with the family.
Using the analyses and other information gathered we began to coordinate with
law enforcement where Dan lived. Local law enforcement, in turn, consulted with
several mental health organization and other professionals in order to come up
with a course of action. Law enforcement assisted in obtaining a restraining
order in his home state and we were also able to obtain a restraining order in
the state where the corporate headquarters was located. Dan was ultimately
approached by law enforcement in his home community, served and they explained
to Dan that he was not allowed within ten thousand yards of the company
locations and family members. After the meeting with law enforcement, his girlfriend
said Dan had become very angry and violent. The girlfriend said he told her he
was going to take a trip again and would claim his rightful inheritance. The
girlfriend said would not be able to help us anymore because she feared for her
life and was leaving Dan.
Once again we dispatched a surveillance team to Dan's home
and also reactivated the surveillance and protection team back in the state
where the company headquarters was located. The surveillance team in Dan's home
location followed Dan in order to give the teams advanced notice on Dan's
actions, especially if it appeared he was, indeed, going to attempt to go to
the company location.
Within a day, we received word from the surveillance team
that Dan had boarded a bus. All teams went on high alert. One team was at the
bus terminal and followed Dan when he arrived at a nearby city bus terminal.
After several days, Dan rented a car and the surveillance team said he was
enroute to the city where the company was located. Our surveillance team followed
Dan as he attempted to contact Kim and her father. Dan was observed violating
the restraining order when he was parked across the street from the family
home. Even though he did not exit the car, he had violated the order and local
law enforcement was contacted. Our surveillance team directed the police to
Dan's location. He was arrested and was mentally evaluated. He was ultimately
released and we again survaled Dan as he got on a bus and left the state.
Surveillance teams picked him up two days later, arriving home. With all the
evidence we had collected, we had enough to have Dan picked up by local law
enforcement and have him committed to a mental health facility where he would
be treated. Even after release, he was compelled to stay on his medication and
was monitored.
This story had a happy ending because the company had a
plan, took responsible action and worked with private consultants and law
enforcement.
It goes without saying that not all cases have this type of
ending. Rebecca Schaeffer and other workplace deaths are proof that failure to
act can have tragic consequences. A few years later, the senior management at a
distribution center refused our recommendations on developing a workplace
violence prevention plan. Within a year, three workers were killed in a tragic
shootout at the site.
The sad thing is that many companies have these types of
issues but they choose to ignore them, usually because they do not have the
background and experience to make good decisions. Almost every week we hear a
manager of some company complain that they just don't know what to do in a
potential workplace violence matter. We will ask: What does your company plan
and training say? Most of the time, they say: We don't have a plan and I've
never been trained on this.
Workplace Violence has to do with any kind of violence, or
threat of violence, in the workplace. The workplace violence threat should be
addressed by advanced training and planning. The planning should be based on
what we term a Workplace Violence Planning and Response Plan. There should be
training provided with the plan. Management should be responsible for
coordinating an approach, in accordance with local laws, for locations within
their areas of responsibility.
The local management should use a Threat Assessment and
Management (SECTAM) or similar approach. That team will be chartered with the
identification, intervention and mitigation of physical threats to people and
your company's facilities wherever they are located.
Our approach recommends using a three-tier system to
consider risk factors in workplace violence situations
Tier 1: Low violence potential (e.g. an anonymous,
unfriendly email from an external origin; court protection order notification;
security assistance for a possibly hostile meeting).
Tier 2: Medium violence potential (e.g. some physical
intimidation and/or verbal threats has occurred).
Tier 3: High violence potential (e.g. urgent/immediate
response required for intervention when an actual assault has occurred, hostile
actions have been carried out or are in progress. If there has been a
combination of threatening actions, including specific threats, long-standing
harassment or stalking, or an actual assault).
Almost every company we talk with says their most valuable
resource is their people. Unfortunately for a lot of companies that is just
rhetoric because they ignore issues like workplace violence.
It also should be noted the subject is still a ward of the state and was denied release twice…
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