Why healthcare facilities are vulnerable to crime.

Abstract

Although the public's view of healthcare facilities is that they are inherently safe and secure, administrators and staff members in hospitals are very aware that they could be vulnerable to an episode of violence at any time, according to the author. Today, crimes, including homicide, are an ever-present reality in healthcare facilities, they report, citing recent studies which attempt to explain why this is so. The article is based on the introduction to the IAHSS and IHSS Foundation 2012 Crime and Security Trends Survey. The complete survey is accessible to members in the Reference Section of the IAHSS web page.