In Wake of Homicides, Business Community Gathers for Workplace Safety Seminar

The Bethesda business community gathered at the cinema Tuesday for a presentation on how to keep their workplaces safe following two workplace homicides in Bethesda this year.

March 11, Lululemon Athletica employee Jayna Murray was beaten and stabbed to death inside the shop. Her co-worker, Brittany Norwood, On New Years’ Day, Roosevelt Brockington, a Suburban Hospital maintenance engineer, was A Suburban employee he had been supervising, Keith D. Little of Lanham, Md.,

The event was also organized in the wake of the last September.

Business owners gathered to hear presentations by Montgomery County police and human resources experts about safety and best hiring practices aimed to prevent violence in the workplace.

“In a lot of cases there isn’t something people can point to and say ‘This was going to happen, we should have known,” said Commander Russell Hamill of Montgomery County Police’s Second District. “But in some cases, there are.”

Dana Stroman, a community services police officer for the second district, outlined workplace safety tips. They included:

• Keeping alert
• Making sure employees are security-concious
• Calling police in case of suspicious activity
• Using good deadlocks, safes and alarm systems
• Keeping a cell phone at hand at all times
• Installing security cameras in high traffic areas
• Keeping panic alarms near the register and store room
• Using electronic sensors that emit a sound when someone enters the store
• Keeping the customer service area visible from the street
• Clearing excess cash from registers frequently and randomly
• Changing up cash handling procedures, like the days and times for going to the bank
• Lighting the inside and outside of the business, especially near doors and windows
• Posting notices with minimum cash policy and security systems
• Having a plan in case of emergency

“Don’t make alarms the only level of security,” Stroman warned. “We want layers of prevention.”

In a robbery situation, Stroman recommended complying with the robber’s demands, making a note of as much information as possible about the person’s appearance and vehicle, and calling police immediately following the crime.

“Have a plan,” Stroman said. “At least have thought about it – if something were to happen at your business today, what would you do?”

Stroman outlined varying types of workplace violence, including attacks from outside assailants with no relations to employees, domestic violence that happens in the workplace, violence against service providers and violence between co-workers.

“If this person feels like a co-worker or supervisor is causing them problems that might cause them to lose their job, they’re desperate,” Stroman said. “This is how they get their mortgage or their rent paid. That’s it. They react.”

Stroman advised calmly talking through problems with employees who may have a conflict at work and reporting angry behavior.  “When an employee is angry with an organization, it’s important for the issue to be taken seriously,” Stroman said. “Don’t just blow it off like, ‘You know what, he’s just a hothead.’ Let somebody know.”

Elise Ambrose, president of Bethesda staffing service Elite Personnel, also spoke to give tips on hiring the right candidate, along with Right Tone Communications president Brian Wilson, who spoke about crisis communications for business owners.

“My theory is if you can hire the right person to begin with, you can prevent or lessen your risk for workplace violence,” Ambrose said.

Ambrose highlighted the importance of criminal background checks and reference checks. “If I told you how many times that [reference] information is false, you’d be surprised,” she said.

Jillian Roth, whose family owns the Bethesda boutique down the street from Lululemon, said the homicide was a wake-up call for the community. But in the wake of the murder, the business community has banded together, she said.

Roth said that the boutique has stepped up security measures since the homicide. But after attending the meeting, she said she would sit with employees to come up with an emergency plan. “That was a great piece of information to take away,” she said.

The seminar was organized as a partnership between the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce, the Montgomery County Police Department's Second District, The Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, Elite Personnel, Federal Realty Investment Trust, and Landmark Theatres.