Workplace accidents ‘more lethal than murder’

Around twice as many people in England and Wales lose their lives as result of workplace accidents as do through murder, according to the findings of a new report.

Produced by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies (CCJS), the research indicates that at least 1,300 people lost their lives due to injuries sustained at work in 2005-06.

This compares to the much smaller figure of 765 people who were murdered during the same period.

It was also found that non-fatal injuries sustained at work which required hospitalisation were more prevalent that the serious injuries sustained by victims of violent offences normally recorded as crimes.

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Commenting on the findings, report author Professor Steve Tombs said: "Violent street crime consumes enormous political, media and academic energy. But, as hundreds of thousands of workers and their families know, it is the violence associated with working for a living that is most likely to kill and hospitalise."

Adopting its current name in 1999, the CCJS was originally established in 1931 as the Association for the Scientific Treatment of Criminals.