Before the Threat: How Behavioral Threat Assessment and Prevention-Focused Safety Management Can Stop Workplace Violence Before It Starts

Abstract: Workplace violence remains a persistent and unevenly distributed occupational hazard. U.S. data record 470 workplace homicides in 2024, and health care and social assistance accounted for nearly three-quarters of private-industry nonfatal injuries from intentional violence in 2021 and 2022. In October 2026 the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center published its first guide for employers on preventing targeted workplace violence, while California, Oregon, and the International Labour Organization moved toward stronger prevention expectations. This article synthesizes research and documented organizational practice across the four recognized types of workplace violence: criminal intent, customer or client, worker-on-worker, and personal relationship. It examines five evidence-based responses: behavioral threat assessment and management teams; reporting systems that capture warning behaviors and bystander knowledge; hazard assessment with environmental and engineering controls; de-escalation training, including its documented limits; and support for domestic-violence spillover and post-incident recovery. The article concludes that violence prevention works best as an integrated management system built on psychological safety, data-driven learning, and accountable governance.