RECENT NEWS HEADLINES
"Glass in burgers injures two policemen," – MSNBC News
"Two jailed in slayings at eatery." -Dallas Morning News
The first headline refers to an incident in Florida where two sheriff's deputies were hospitalized after eating broken glass intentionally placed in their food at a quick-serve restaurant. The second describes a heinous crime committed by two ex-employees of a national steakhouse restaurant. These ex-employees killed three restaurant employees in what appears to be an act of retribution and theft. One of the slain employees was six months pregnant. Shocking and reprehensible.
DISTURBING TRENDS
These are but two examples of many acts of violence that have happened in restaurants and other businesses across the nation. All of us have significant concerns about the safety of our employees and customers in what seems to be a growing trend of destructive behavior. When we hear about vicious or hostile acts against another person or property most of us want to know why. Acts so repugnant to us are difficult if not impossible for us to understand. Some of us seek explanations through psychiatry, social injustice, poverty, poor parenting, media violence, etc. We seek answers to the problem while our prisons are rapidly filling up with the perpetrators of these crimes. Many of us feel a certain helplessness in dealing with the reality and potential implications of these hostile and criminal acts. On a very practical and personal level we must deal with the possibility of violent crimes committed by our employees in our businesses.
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