Violence
Awareness Training
for Field Employees
This project record has covered the origin of the project, the development work done during Fiscal Year 1999 and part of Fiscal Year 2000, and the recommended time frames for production of five training modules that can be used to help reduce the risk of personal violence to Forest Service employees.
Our work uncovered three field-related problems that went beyond the scope of the current project. We feel these problems are of sufficient urgency to warrant attention from the Safety and Health Steering Committee. The description of the problems includes steps that can be taken to protect the personal safety of employees.
During interviews, many people who worked as campground hosts, fee collection officers, forest protection officers, and law enforcement officers, spoke frankly about the Good HOST Program. They said the program’s emphasis on being friendly, cordial, and helpful sometimes placed employees in harm’s way. This is especially so for employees who frequently engage the public as they check campgrounds, collect fees, and validate firewood permits. The current project, with its emphasis on training people to develop greater personal safety awareness will necessarily encourage workers to develop greater wariness when working with the public. Teaching workers to be more “streetwise” will mean training employees to keep a greater distance from the public while performing their jobs. Many current work practices of employees who try to be good hosts, such as shaking hands, getting out of the vehicle when talking to persons, striking up friendly conversations with strangers, or giving visitors a lift, are ways workers expose themselves to increased risk of physical attack.
Recommendation—Within the scope of the current project, we would recommend a separate training video on how to balance personal safety and serve as a good host. Before producing this training video, the Good HOST Program needs to be addressed from a policy level to provide direction for training. A Servicewide task force should reexamine and make recommended changes regarding the current Good HOST Program within the Forest Service. The task force needs to pay specific attention to the inherent conflict between the role of a good host and that of the personal safety of employees, especially when they are working in remote settings. New policy guidelines need to be established.
While recreational fee collection has long been part of the work of Forest Service employees, the “fee demonstration project” has significantly increased the amount of money being collected. A sometimes resentful public is being charged for activities that used to be free. Over the course of a day, some employees collect and transport hundreds or even thousands of dollars. During our work in the field, we were told of personal safety risks for workers who collect cash from the public and from fee boxes. This money was often being collected by seasonal employees who were working alone in remote areas. Several workers told us about their fears of being robbed and physically assaulted. Agency control over this money is slipshod. Thousands of dollars are being stuffed in plastic garbage bags and placed in a glove box or hidden under the seat of a vehicle. Such practices are creating an easy target for robbery. In addition, the poor internal auditing systems provide tempting opportunities for embezzlement.
Recommendation—We came up with a number of possible alternatives to the present practice of employees collecting money. Fee collection could be contracted to armed security companies or law enforcement officers could be charged with the task. Another alternative would be for the agency to eliminate all cash from fee collection areas by using a swipe card or other electronic means for visitors to pay fees. Perhaps permits could be sold by vendors in nearby towns. Some Forest Service employees have expressed doubts whether the fee demo program should continue given the risks involved.
Some years ago, law enforcement was removed from the control of line officers on Districts and Forests. This separation has resulted in confusion on the proper role of law enforcement personnel when problematic encounters occur. Since these encounters often involve a law or rule violation, they can be viewed as the primary responsibility of law enforcement personnel. But the line supervisors at forests and districts often wind up dealing with many compliance situations and problems. Given the vast territories that law enforcement officers patrol, it is rare for law enforcement officers to be available to assist in most of these situations.
The separation of Forest Service law enforcement from the control of line officers has also created problems with regard to violence safety training. Some district rangers may see such training as the responsibility of the law enforcement division.
Recommendation—The Forest Service needs to carefully examine the advisability of maintaining the clear separation between law enforcement and the districts and forests within the context of employee safety. Serious consideration should be given to reintegrating law enforcement officers so they become part of a team effort in the personal safety training program on units. Training regarding personal safety in potentially violent encounters needs to be integrated into the overall safety training program, not relegated to law enforcement. District rangers, forest supervisors, and first-line supervisors need to be held accountable for all aspects of employee safety. Because of the escalation in violent encounters, the Forest Service may need to add more law enforcement personnel so other Forest Service employees can turn over the more dangerous situations to those with advanced training to handle them.
USDA Forest Service, Technology and Development Last Modified: 10/15/2016 23:43:12 |
![]() |