Police and Security Officer Experiences of Occupational Violence and Injury in Australia
| Author | Patricia Ferguson,Bryan de Caires,Rick Sarre,Tim Prenzler |
| Date | 01 September 2011 |
| Published date | 01 September 2011 |
| DOI | 10.1350/ijps.2011.13.3.239 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Police and security officer experiences of
occupational violence and injury in
Australia
Patricia Ferguson†, Tim Prenzler‡, Rick Sarre§and Bryan de Caires¶
†Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security, Griffith
University, 176 Messines Ridge Road, Mt Gravatt, Q 4122
‡(Corresponding author) Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Policing and
Security, Griffith University, 176 Messines Ridge Road, Mt Gravatt, Q 4122. Tel: +61 7 3735
5613; Fax: +61 7 3735 5608; email: t.prenzler@griffith.edu.au
§School of Commerce and School of Law, University of South Australia, 37–44 North
Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5000
¶Australian Security Industry Association Limited, 41 Hume Street, Crows Nest, NSW 2065
Submitted 29 January 2011; accepted 3 May 2011
Keywords: occupational violence, workplace injuries, police, security
Patricia Ferguson
is a research officer in the
Australian Research Council Centre of Excel-
lence in Policing and Security, Griffith University,
Brisbane.
Tim Prenzler
is a chief investigator in the
Australian Research Council Centre of Excel-
lence in Policing and Security, Griffith University,
Brisbane.
Rick Sarre
is a professor in the School of
Commerce and School of Law, University of
South Australia, Adelaide.
Bryan de Caires
is the Chief Executive Officer,
Australian Security Industry Association Limited,
Sydney.
A
BSTRACT
This study employed national workers’ com-
pensation data to examine and compare the
nature and prevalence of work-related injuries
and occupational violence experienced by Aus-
tralian security officers and police between 2000
and 2008. The study found that while security
officers’ work-related injuries overall occurred at
half the rate of police officers’, the rates of
occupational violence were about equal and fol-
lowed the same trend over time — rising during
the mid 2000s and then declining steadily.
However, injuries to security officers appeared
more serious than those experienced by police.
Security officers were twice as likely to sustain a
head injury and, on average, lost about six weeks
more work than police. Compared with all other
Australian occupations, security and police were
in the top three highest claiming occupations for
work-related injuries and deaths from occupa-
tional violence, with security officers at number
one in both instances. The findings add to the
very limited literature on injuries and violence
experienced by police and security officers. How-
ever, the findings also show the need for more
research on the specific situational factors involved
in injuries and on what works in prevention.
BACKGROUND
One review of workplace violence data
reported that ‘the jobs at highest risk of
“client-initiated” violence in the US, Brit-
ain, and Australia are: police, security and
prison guards, fire service, teachers, health
care and social security workers’ (Mayhew,
2003, p. 3). However, there is considerable
International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume 13 Number 3
International Journal of Police
Science and Management,
Vol. 13 No. 3, 2011, pp. 223–233.
DOI: 10.1350/ijps.2011.13.3.239
Page 223
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