3 ways to automate a violence risk assessment

#1 - Simple assessment

Who it's for: Single-site businesses recording the violence risk assessment themselves, where you know the venue and just need a clear, structured record.

What it is: A violence risk assessment records each risk of aggression or violence, who it could harm, the controls in place, and any further action. This version is structured around the 5 areas that shape violence risk in a customer-facing premises: night working, noise exposure, cash handling and venue security, violence and aggression itself, and locking up after hours. Each area is a small group of three prompts written for that area. Night working asks you to identify the night working hazards, decide who might be harmed and how, and evaluate the night working risks and decide on precautions; Violence and aggression asks about the flashpoints and who is at risk of harm; and so on through all 5, so every question tells you exactly what it's about.

In practice: A late-night bar works down the 5 areas. Under Violence and aggression: the flashpoints (refusing service, closing time, overcrowding), who's at risk (bar and door staff, customers), and the precautions (conflict de-escalation training, SIA-licensed security, CCTV). Under Locking up after hours: the staff member who locks up is confirmed safe with a check-in system and an emergency contact on file. Three short answers per area, and the whole premises gets covered.

Why it works: The 5 areas cover the real sources of violence risk in a premises open to the public, not just the obvious one. Night working and locking up alone get the same structured attention as the violence itself, so risks that build up quietly, like fatigue or isolation after closing, don't get missed. And splitting each area into three prompts means nobody has to remember what a good answer contains; the structure asks for hazards, people, and precautions separately, which is what makes the record defensible.

Steps included:

• 5 assessment areas: night working, noise exposure, cash handling and venue security, violence and aggression, and locking up after hours
• Each area is a group of 3 prompts written for it: identify the hazards, decide who might be harmed and how, evaluate the risks and decide on precautions

#2 - With guidance

Who it's for: Businesses where a manager, not a security specialist, completes the assessment and needs the method in front of them.

What it is: The same 5 areas and three prompts, but each area's group now carries its own written guidance: why that area matters and what to check before you answer. The violence and aggression group carries the prompts about de-escalation training and door security; the cash handling group carries banking routines and lone-working rules; the locking up group carries check-in systems and emergency contacts.

What it adds to the simple assessment:

1. Guidance for every area, on screen exactly where you answer it
2. What to check before answering, not just a blank box
3. An assessment that's consistent whoever completes it

Why it works: Generic guidance at the top of a form gets skimmed once and forgotten by area 3. Guidance attached to each area gets read at the moment it's needed, so a manager who isn't a security specialist still asks the right questions about SIA licensing, alcohol service limits, and check-in procedures.

Steps included:

• The 5 assessment areas, each a group of 3 prompts
• 5 guidance notes, one per area: why it matters and what to check

#3 - With photo evidence

Who it's for: Businesses that want visual proof of each area's condition alongside the written record.

What it is: The same 5 areas and three prompts, but each area's group now carries a photo step. As you assess each area you photograph it: the door entry point, the till and cash handling area, the panic alarm, the route to the car park. The record shows the condition of each area at the time, not just a description of it.

In practice: A restaurant manager works through the assessment with their phone. At Cash handling and venue security they photograph the till point and the safe; at Violence and aggression, the CCTV coverage of the entrance; at Locking up after hours, the lit route from the back door to the car park. Every answer now has a picture next to it.

What it adds to the simple assessment:

1. A photo per area, captured as you assess it
2. Proof of conditions that holds up to review, not just a written claim
3. A visual baseline to compare against at the next review

Why it works: A written assessment says the CCTV covers the entrance; a photo shows it. When the assessment is reviewed next year, the photos also show what changed. And because the photo step sits with its area, the evidence files itself against the right risk instead of landing in a camera roll.

Steps included:

• The 5 assessment areas, each a group of 3 prompts
• 5 photo steps, one per area: the hazard or the control in place, captured at the time

How to pick the right version

You don't need to know our product to choose. Every version here is the same 5-area assessment; the additions change who can run it and what the record proves.

Do other people run the assessment?

If you run it yourself and know the method, the plain steps are enough: #1. The moment a manager who isn't a security specialist does it, the guidance needs to be on screen next to each area: #2.

Do you need photo proof?

A written assessment covers the duty; photos show the actual condition of each area. If a written record is enough, #1 or #2. If you want the door entry, the till point, and the lit walkway on camera next to their answers, #3.

Need both? Open the version that matters most in the playground and add the other's steps. That is how the product works anyway: every option here is the same assessment with steps added.

Related workflows

• Lone working risk assessment - lone staff face higher violence risk
• Stress risk assessment - aggression is a major source of work stress
• Restaurant risk assessment - the wider front-of-house assessment

Conclusion

Aggression toward staff is common in customer-facing work and too often shrugged off as part of the job. A violence risk assessment is how you show you take it seriously and have put real controls in place. Every version above is the same 5-area assessment; the additions put guidance or a photo inside every area's group. Pick the one your business needs and build on it in the playground.

→ Build your own violence risk assessment on Pilla.