I THINK we can all agree that nobody deserves to be attacked or be the victim of a workplace violence incident, regardless of the severity of the incident.

Workplace violence tends to be an emotionally charged topic.

This can make it difficult to identify tangible factors that affect relative risk and hence point to tangible solutions.

We know there are inherent risks for violence in the prison environment and that completely eliminating such risks is not realistic.

A significant factor affecting the level of risk is consistency in safe work practices, application of procedures, information exchange and processes related to daily inmate assessment and management.

The dynamics of human interaction are significant in terms of the relative risk and maintaining consistency often becomes very challenging.

Consistency is critical to effectively managing the risk of violence in a preventative way.

A review of incident documentation, staff interviews and on-site work observations can provide important feedback.

Ultimately, if we are to objectively evaluate this recent incident at Frankland Prison, far more information is required.

Incidents of workplace violence are often preventable.

Warning signs of potential inmate violence can begin minutes, hours or even days in advance.

Hugh Pelmore, Vancouver.