Expert: Workplace shootings can be prevented 'to an extent'
NORTH TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) – North Texas employers need to do more to reduce the risk of workplace violence.
That's the assessment of a crisis counselor who says that the mass shooting in Louisville should encourage more proactive measures here.
What we see from the aftermath of a mass shooting like the one this week in Louisville is far different than what Dr. Veronica Sites sees.
"My perspective is that there were a lot of red flags right at the get-go...there was already a live stream," said Sites.
Sites is a doctor of traumatology who offers consulting for North Texas businesses that want to reduce the risk of workplace violence.
When asked if workplace violence can be prevented, she said, "The workplace shootings can be prevented to an extent."
According to the Violence Project, a workplace accounts for about 30% of all mass shootings in the US.
That's more than schools, churches, retailers or bars and restaurants.
Sites says the vast majority of them involve someone with mental health issues who turns suicidal, a topic she has written about and believes employers can mitigate.
"Offer training of suicide prevention," she said. "It's not that everyone is thinking about but if there is a risk, don't miss it."
Sites teaches employers she works with to offer and promote mental health resources to their employees and create a reporting system for employees if they notice signs of aggression, paranoia or depression in others they work with.
Sites says every business should conduct a risk assessment and have a plan of action, not just for locking doors and hiding when someone enters a workplace with a gun, but for also for detecting troubled employees beforehand who may be suicidal.
She says too many companies avoid proactive measures thinking it will never happen to them.
"Don't think it cannot happen to you," she said. "Ask yourself, how prepared am I when something happens?"