Workplace violence is seldom the freak episode that the media portrays it to be. It rarely involves a mass shooting with a gun, and rarely does it result in a homicide or mass casualty.

This month’s column will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of reporting to the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), one of the reporting structures that appears to be gaining significant ground across industry sectors.

Last month’s column addressed the security organization reporting to the Chief Financial Officer.

Last month’s column addressed the security organization reporting to the General Counsel, which studies show is one of the more common reporting relationships for security executives.

Last month I covered the unlikely probability of the security organization reporting to the Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Where within the enterprise the corporate security department reports is often more form over function. It may be personality driven, power driven or simply a corporate culture thing. Many companies have a hard time deciding where corporate security should report. 

Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook – These schools are household names around the U.S., but not necessarily for their academics, athletics or famous alumni.