Incident Reporting Statistics (2026): Workplace Violence, Abuse Reports, Volunteer Injuries & Reporting Gaps

Incident reporting is the quiet backbone of volunteer safety: it tells leaders what went wrong, who was hurt, and where screening or supervision broke down. This report gathers the most credible public figures on workplace violence, child maltreatment reports, volunteer injuries, fraud and cyber incidents, and official crime reporting systems, then explains what they mean for churches, libraries, youth programs and other volunteer-driven nonprofits. It is part of our statistics hub on volunteer screening.

Key takeaways

Workplace violence: who gets hurt and how often

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts workplace violence cases that cause a worker to miss work, be restricted, or be transferred. Between 2021 and 2022 those cases totaled 57,610 nonfatal cases, an annualized incidence of 2.9 per 10,000 full-time equivalent employees. Women account for most of that burden, and the gap in rates is wide.

Health care is the clearest concentration. Researchers citing BLS data note that health care workers experienced 73% of all nonfatal injuries from violence in U.S. work settings, which is why hospital and clinic volunteers should be screened and supervised with the same rigor as staff.

Assault trends are moving up, not down

A National Council on Compensation Insurance analysis of BLS assault data found that workplace assaults grew at an annualized rate of 5.3% from 2011 through 2021–22. The same analysis reports that the rate per 10,000 full-time equivalent workers rose by 62% over that span.

The same analysis notes that assaults are concentrated in health care and social assistance, and that workers aged 20 to 34 are affected out of proportion to their numbers. For programs that recruit younger volunteers for events, that age pattern matters for supervision ratios. Our guide on volunteer risk management covers how to translate this into practical controls.

Fatal incidents: homicides at work

A joint federal study drew on BLS fatality data to show that workplace homicides peaked at 1,080 in 1994 and fell to 454 in 2019, while the period from 2014 to 2019 saw an 11% increase. The most recent Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries reports 470 workplace homicides in 2024, a figure we could confirm only through a secondary summary of the BLS release.

Nonfatal violence is far more common than homicide. A federal estimate based on National Crime Victimization Survey data puts the annual average of nonfatal workplace violent victimizations at 1.3 million for 2015 through 2019. Leaders who only track fatalities or police reports will miss most of what volunteers and staff experience.

Child maltreatment reports: scale and trend

Abuse reporting is the most sensitive incident category for any program that serves minors. The federal Child Maltreatment series is the primary national source. Its most recent edition reports that 52 states reported 546,159 victims of child abuse and neglect in FFY 2023, a national rate of 7.4 per 1,000 children, and that about 2,000 children died from abuse and neglect that year.

The rate fell to 7.7 victims per 1,000 children in FFY 2022 and then to 7.4 in FFY 2023. Most reports do not come from the public. For 2023, professionals submitted 70.9 percent of reports alleging child abuse, which means mandated reporters, including many youth-serving staff, are the front line.

Child welfare agencies have also reported a multi-year decline in victims. The HHS press office described a five-year low in identified victims for FY 2021, while the same reporting shows that fatality counts have moved in the other direction. Leaders should read these figures as a measure of what reached child protective services, not as proof that abuse is declining in their own programs. For background-check requirements tied to youth work, see our guide to how to screen volunteers safely and fairly.

Volunteer injuries: a data gap with real consequences

Volunteers are rarely captured in standard injury statistics. A NIST technical note explains that the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses covers only paid employees and excludes volunteers. The best-documented volunteer injury data come from fire services, where the NFPA reports that volunteer firefighters experienced an annual average of 4,700 fireground injuries from 2014 through 2018.

Career firefighters' adjusted odds of severe injury relative to volunteers, 2010 NFIRS data.

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