ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 9, 1996 TAG: 9607090085
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO FATALITY
SOURCE: LAURA MECKLER ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON
A GOVERNMENT STUDY says cab drivers are most likely to be murdered on the job, but retail workers are also common victims of job violence. In an average week, 20 people are slain while working, the report says.
Cab driver Mukhtar Ahmad has been robbed twice - once at gunpoint, one at knifepoint. So he wasn't surprised by a government report that taxi drivers are among the most likely victims of workplace violence.
``It's a very, very dangerous job sometimes,'' said Ahmad, a three-year Washington cabbie. ``There are some crazy people we pick up.''
When you think of workplace violence, a postal employee wielding a semi-automatic pistol may jump to mind. But the reality is much different. The most likely to be killed are cab drivers, and most victims work in retail, according to a study released Monday.
Each week, an average of 20 workers are murdered and 18,000 are assaulted, the study says.
``Usually the phrase `workplace violence' creates a vision of a worker going off the deep end and assaulting or killing his or her co-workers or supervisor. That is not the most typical cause,'' said Fred Blosser, spokesman for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which produced the study.
The authors hope their effort will get people thinking about violence in the workplace and will encourage employers to protect their workers.
That might mean improving lighting, changing cash-handling procedures, increasing late-night staff, escorting workers to cars or giving them better training, said senior scientist Lynn Jenkins, who wrote the report.
``It's really a call to action that summarizes what we know about this problem,'' Jenkins said.
Among the study's other findings:
Of the 1,071 workplace homicides in 1994, 56 percent of the victims worked in retailing or other service industries. In specific job areas, 179 were retail supervisors or proprietors, and 105 were cashiers.
Most homicides stem from robberies. Seventy-three percent of workplace homicides in 1993 were robbery-related, compared with just 9 percent of all homicides.
Most victims do not know their attackers. Unlike in the general population, where 47 percent of victims know their assailants, most workplace victims are strangers.
There are obvious risks. Workers at most risk are those who deal with the public, exchange money and deliver goods and services.
Most victims are young, white men. Eight of 10 workplace homicide victims from 1980-92 were male and most were 25 to 34 years old. Almost 73 percent of victims were white, though blacks and other racial minorities had a significantly higher rate of death than whites did.
Statistically, driving a cab is the most risky job, with 86 taxi drivers killed in 1994, according to the study.
Resinder Singh, who has been driving cabs for four years, said he will not drive to high-crime sections of Washington, even though it is against the law to refuse to take someone to particularly bad neighborhoods.
``I would prefer to have a $200 ticket than go in that area,'' he said. ``I don't care.''
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