Workplace homicide is a topic of increasing public health significance. Robbery is an important type of violence in the workplace, accounting for 60-75% of homicides. To address this issue, we are currently conducting a case-control study of risk factors for workplace homicide during robbery. This project has collected detailed information on risk factors related to both the workplace and the events of the robbery. The proposed study will continue the existing study by examining neighborhood determinants of workplace robbery-homicide. The proposed study will provide data on criminal activities in, and socio-demographic characteristics of, the neighborhoods of the study workplaces. The investigators will combine this data with the existing study data to determine the association between the criminal/socio-demographic characteristics of a neighborhood and the risk of robbery-homicide. In addition, the investigators will examine the role of neighborhood characteristics in determining the safety attributes of the workplace and the events of the robbery. The investigators will use spatial analysis to describe the geographic distribution of workplace robbery-homicide. A neighborhood will be defined either as a single law enforcement tract (a police """"""""beat""""""""), or as an aggregation of law enforcement tracts. Geographic data on these tracts will be obtained from the law enforcement agencies currently enrolled in the study and used to create a Geographic Information System (GIS). Data on violent crime, both workplace and non-workplace, will be accessed from the study law enforcement agencies and incorporated into the GIS. Finally, the investigators will access socio-demographic information on the study neighborhoods from the US Census. Statistical modeling will utilize Generalized Estimating Equations (GEEs) to account for hierarchical nature of neighborhood data, and spatial modeling techniques to determine the correlation between neighborhood characteristics and workplace violence. This study will add a social context to the workplace and robbery information that has already been collected. The results of this study will assist in targeting prevention resources to specific high-risk workplaces and neighborhoods.
