Customer and Client Workplace Violence: Type 2 Prevention Guide

Type 2 workplace violence is violence or threats against employees by the people they serve: customers, clients, patients, students and visitors. Think of the patient who swings at a nurse or the tenant who screams at the leasing office. Because these people have a legitimate reason to be there, you cannot simply lock them out. This guide covers who faces the most risk, how escalation unfolds, and what Arizona employers can do. For all four types, see our workplace violence prevention and response services.

Where this guidance comes from. This article draws on data and guidance from BLS, NIOSH, OSHA, the FBI, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), CISA and the Arizona Revised Statutes, plus our team’s field experience running security posts and investigations in Arizona. Each statistic lists its data year.

If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911.

What is Type 2 workplace violence?

The four-type model comes from the University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center’s 2001 report, Workplace Violence: A Report to the Nation. It defines Type II this way: “The perpetrator has a legitimate relationship with the business and becomes violent while being served by the business.” The FBI uses the same model, describing Type 2 as “Violence directed at employees by customers, clients, patients, students, inmates, or any others for whom an organization provides services.”

That relationship sets Type 2 apart. A robber has no reason to be in the store, but a patient or customer does. Prevention therefore focuses on how service is delivered, not just on who gets through the door.

It also covers more than assault. OSHA defines workplace violence as “any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening behavior that occurs at the work site.” A customer who threatens to come back and hurt a clerk has crossed that line.

Related: the four types of workplace violence. For outsiders who come to commit a crime, read our guide to Type 1 robbery and criminal-intent violence. For threats between employees, see Type 3 coworker violence.

Which jobs face the most customer and patient violence?

Healthcare carries the heaviest load. In the 2021–2022 two-year total, healthcare and social assistance had 41,960 nonfatal violence cases requiring days away from work, job restriction or transfer. That was “72.8 percent of all cases in private industry,” at an annualized rate of 14.2 per 10,000 workers. Psychiatric aides had the highest rate: “543.6 cases per 10,000 full-time workers.”

The 2001 UIIPRC report noted that “a large proportion of customer/client incidents occur in the health care industry, in settings such as nursing homes or psychiatric facilities; the victims are often patient caregivers.”

BJS crime-victim survey data for 2015–2019 shows nonfatal violent victimization rates per 1,000 workers of 95.0 for security guards, 46.1 for mental health professionals, 15.1 for medical workers, 11.9 for teachers and 10.7 for retail sales workers. In the same data, customers or clients committed 7% of nonfatal incidents and patients another 7%.

On the fatal side, the latest BLS breakdown by assailant available covers 2013–2017. It counted between 36 and 51 workplace homicides per year by a client or customer, with 51 in 2017.

Beyond healthcare

OSHA’s higher-risk groups include workers who exchange money with the public, social assistants, public service workers, customer service agents and people who work alone or in small groups. It also lists working with volatile people, alcohol-serving establishments and late-night shifts as risk factors.

Retail. In the National Retail Federation’s 2024 survey (a trade-association survey, not government data), 73% of respondents said shoplifters were more violent and aggressive than a year earlier, and 71% had increased budgets for workplace-violence training. Our retail loss prevention security guide covers the theft side.

Other settings. We have no occupation-level statistics for these, but they share the risk factors OSHA describes:

• Front desks in medical, legal and professional offices, where staff deliver news about waits, bills or denials.
• Property management, HOA and apartment offices, where evictions, fines and towing bring residents in angry.
• Government counters for permits, licenses and benefits, where a “no” affects someone’s home or income.
• Hospitality and bars, where alcohol and late hours combine.
• Transit, where drivers often work alone.
• Schools, where staff may face aggression from students or parents.

How customer aggression escalates

Most customer incidents build through frustration, raised voices and threats before anyone is hurt. OSHA’s late-night retail guidance (OSHA 3153) lists “Early recognition of escalating behavior” as a training topic for that reason.

The table below is a practical working model, not a clinical scale. Some people skip stages entirely.

Escalation stage	What you see	What staff should do
1. Frustration	Sighing, pacing, repeated questions, complaints about the wait or rules	Acknowledge the problem, explain the next step and a realistic time frame
2. Verbal escalation	Raised voice, swearing, refusing directions, leaning over the counter	Speak calmly, keep the counter between you, offer limited choices, quietly bring in a second staff member
3. Intimidation and threats	Specific threats, pounding the counter, blocking a door, following staff	Stop negotiating, create distance, use the code word or panic alarm, call security or 911, never block the person’s exit
4. Physical aggression	Throwing objects, grabbing, pushing or striking	Leave the area, get others out, call 911, do not physically confront the person
5. After the incident	The person leaves, is removed or calms down	Care for anyone hurt, document, save video, report, debrief staff, decide on a ban or injunction

De-escalation: CISA’s four-part approach

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) publishes a free De-escalation Series built on four steps: Recognize, Assess, De-escalate and Report. In plain terms, staff notice the warning signs, decide whether it is safe to engage, calm the situation if they can, and report what happened.

CISA’s De-escalate sheet gives specific techniques: “Speak calmly to demonstrate empathy,” keep “your hands down, open, and visible at all times,” use “slow, deliberate movements,” and keep “a relaxed and alert stance off to the side.” It also advises moving other people out of the area and respecting personal space.

Do not argue facts while someone is yelling, and offer only choices you can deliver. If the person will not calm down, the goal shifts from solving the complaint to keeping everyone safe.

OSHA’s healthcare guidance adds that “both de-escalation and self-defense training should include a hands-on component.”

Build a workplace violence prevention program for Type 2 risk

OSHA 3148 (2016) is written for healthcare and social service employers, but its structure fits any customer-facing business. It rests on five building blocks:

1. Management commitment and employee participation: leaders fund it and front-line staff shape it.
2. Worksite analysis: review incidents, walk the site, ask staff where they feel unsafe.
3. Hazard prevention and control: fix the layout and procedures that create exposure.
4. Safety and health training: recognition, de-escalation, alarms and reporting.
5. Recordkeeping and program evaluation: track incidents and near misses, then adjust.

There is no federal OSHA standard written specifically for workplace violence. OSHA uses the General Duty Clause, and its 2017 enforcement directive (CPL 02-01-058) focuses on sectors that include healthcare and social service and late-night retail. Our OSHA-based prevention program guide walks through each building block.

Environmental controls that reduce exposure

Good layout gives staff time and distance, the two things de-escalation needs most.

• Counter design. A deep counter or desk keeps distance between staff and visitors. Do not let visitors walk behind it.
• Clear exits. Seat staff nearest the door in offices and interview rooms so they are never trapped.
• Panic alarms and code words. Fixed or wearable duress buttons and a simple code phrase let staff call for help quietly. OSHA 3153 lists panic buttons and alarms among its engineering controls.
• Sight lines. OSHA 3153 recommends low signs and shelving so workers can see who is coming.
• Two-person rules. For known difficult visits, such as an eviction notice or a client with a history of threats, schedule two staff members or add a security officer.
• Lone-worker check-ins. Staff who open, close or work alone should check in at set times with someone who knows what to do if a check-in is missed.

A physical security assessment can show where your layout, lighting and alarms leave gaps.

Policies: bans, trespass notices, documentation and reporting

Banning abusive customers. Decide in advance which behaviors lead to a warning, a temporary ban or a permanent ban. Base it on documented conduct and apply it consistently.

Trespass notices. Many businesses deliver a written no-trespass notice, often with local police, so there is a record that the person was told not to return. Ask your local police how they handle these.

Documentation. Record the date, time, exact words, witnesses and any video for every incident, including verbal threats. That record supports a ban, a police report and an injunction petition.

Reporting. BJS found that only about 39% of nonfatal workplace violence was reported to police in 2015–2019. Make internal reporting easy, expected and free of blame so staff do not quietly absorb threats.

Arizona law on customer and patient workplace violence

This section is general information, not legal advice. Talk to an Arizona attorney about your specific situation.

A.R.S. 13-1204: aggravated assault on protected workers

Under A.R.S. 13-1204(A)(8), an assault is aggravated when the person knows or has reason to know the victim is a protected worker, including first responders, teachers and other school employees, health care workers and public transit employees. It is a class 6 felony. The health care worker provision excludes a person who cannot form the required mental state because of a mental or developmental disability, which matters in psychiatric and dementia care.

A.R.S. 12-1810: injunction against workplace harassment

When the same customer keeps returning to threaten staff, A.R.S. 12-1810 gives the employer its own court tool. The employer or its authorized agent files, so the targeted employee does not have to.

• A single threat or act of physical harm can qualify.
• The court can bar the defendant from coming near the employer’s property and from contacting anyone there or performing official work duties.
• Each injunction names one defendant and expires one year after service.
• An employer is immune from civil liability for seeking or not seeking the injunction, unless it seeks one mainly for a purpose the law was not designed for.

Consider a hypothetical: a tenant disputing fines comes to the leasing office three times in a month, shouting threats. With good records, the property company could petition under 12-1810 and, if granted, call police when he returns. Separately, threatening to cause physical injury can be a crime under A.R.S. 13-1202, generally a class 1 misdemeanor.

Hospitals: Joint Commission requirements

Effective January 1, 2022, the Joint Commission applied new and revised workplace violence prevention requirements to all accredited hospitals and critical access hospitals. For response planning, see our guides to Code Silver response for a weapon or active threat and Code Grey for combative patients and visitors.

When to post a security officer

An officer makes sense when risk is ongoing and training and layout changes are not enough, such as:

• Repeat incidents, or a banned person who keeps returning.
• High-stress services such as evictions, collections, benefits decisions or behavioral health intake.
• Late hours, alcohol, cash handling or staff who work alone.
• A specific threat or an active injunction.

For many offices, clinics and residential properties, a concierge-style unarmed security officer fits best: the officer greets visitors, manages the lobby and steps in early. Officers face risk too. BJS put security guards’ nonfatal violence rate at 95.0 per 1,000 workers in 2015–2019, so any officer you post needs de-escalation training and clear post orders.

Frequently asked questions

What is Type 2 workplace violence?

It is violence or threats against employees by people the business serves, such as customers, clients, patients and students. The University of Iowa’s 2001 report describes a perpetrator who “has a legitimate relationship with the business and becomes violent while being served by the business.”

Is a customer threat workplace violence?

Yes. OSHA’s definition includes any “threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening behavior that occurs at the work site.” Document the threat, tell a supervisor, and call police if it is credible.

Can a business ban a customer in Arizona?

Many businesses use conduct policies and written no-trespass notices, often with local police. For a repeat threat, A.R.S. 12-1810 lets an employer ask a court for an injunction barring the person from its property for one year after service. Talk to an Arizona attorney about your specific case.

Does assaulting a nurse carry extra penalties in Arizona?

Yes. Under A.R.S. 13-1204(A)(8), assaulting someone you know or have reason to know is a health care worker is aggravated assault, a class 6 felony. The same applies to teachers, school employees and public transit employees, with an exception for people who cannot form the required mental state because of a mental or developmental disability.

How do you de-escalate an angry customer?

CISA recommends speaking calmly to show empathy, keeping your hands down, open and visible, moving slowly, and standing relaxed and alert off to the side. If threats or physical aggression start, get to safety and call for help.

When should a business hire security?

Consider an officer when incidents repeat, a banned person keeps returning, or staff work late, alone or around cash or alcohol. A security assessment can show whether you need an officer, better layout and alarms, or both.

How Honeybadger Solutions helps with customer and client violence

Honeybadger Solutions is a veteran-owned security and investigations firm in Casa Grande, serving the Phoenix metro, Pinal County and the Tucson area. For Type 2 risk, we provide armed and unarmed security officers, security assessments of front desks and service areas, and workplace violence prevention programs and de-escalation training workshops. When a customer’s threats escalate, we offer behavioral threat assessment, investigations and court-ready documentation to support a ban or injunction.

Submit a confidential service request online or book a consultation. For something that cannot wait for business hours, use the urgent intake form. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911 first.

Why the online intake is faster than a phone call: it takes about two minutes, and your answers are routed straight to the specialist team that handles your kind of matter, whether that is cyber and forensics, investigations or field security. That team sees the full picture before it replies, so you skip phone tag and get a real answer and next steps sooner. If it cannot wait for business hours, use the urgent intake form, which is read seven days a week.

Related reading

• ▸ Coworker Workplace Violence: Type 3 Warning Signs and Response
• ▸ Domestic Violence at Work: Type 4 Workplace Violence Guide
• ▸ Arizona Workplace Violence Laws: Employer Duties and Injunctions
• ▸ Concierge Security in Arizona: Front Desk Officer Guide