2001. Personal Safety in Remote Work Locations Module 1: General Awareness. 0167 2V02. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Technology and Development Program.

More and more Forest Service employees are experiencing verbal abuse, harassment, threats, and in some instances physical violence from the public.

Personal Safety in Remote Work Locations is a video training program to help employees cope with the personal safety problems they encounter while working with the public. All of the training videos will be based on the advice of Forest Service employees who have experienced verbal aggression and physical violence from the public.

General Awareness, the first module in the series, is a 23-minute video intended to increase the personal safety awareness. Employees are asked eight key questions during the video that can be used to facilitate group discussion.

• What's going on in the forest that might constitute a threat to your personal safety?
• How can the uniform sometimes trigger hostility?
• How is the situation different for women and minorities?
• How does handling money affect your personal safety?
• Why is your personal safety more important than the job?
• How can communication assist in keeping you safe?
• What should you do before going into an unfamiliar area?
• What does being "heads up" have to do with personal safety?

Keywords: public, safety at work, training, videos, videotapes, violence, workplace