MOSAIC Threat Assessment Systems - Developer's Claims Regarding MOSAIC

Developer's Claims Regarding MOSAIC

According to the developer, in 2000, officials from the CIA, Yale University Police Department, the U.S. Capitol Police, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the U.S. Marshals Service, the California Highway Patrol, and other experts gathered for a comprehensive review of the MOSAIC used for assessment of threats to public figures, and that an updated system emerged, now known as the MOSAIC for Assessment of Public-figure Pursuit (MAPP). No documentation of this has been provided by the developer or other sources.

According to the developer, in 2000, the State of California convened a group of experts to study the domestic violence MOSAIC and suggest any changes. A special MOSAIC called CAL-MOSAIC was developed and California provided it at no cost to the State’s 600+ police departments. This cannot be independently verified.

According to the developer, in 1999, the California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) convened a group of fifteen nationally-known subject matter experts on domestic violence for a line-by-line review of the DV-MOSAIC. After several upgrades and enhancements, the new system was made available at no cost to every one of the State’s more than 600 law enforcement agencies. MOSAIC is not currently listed among the publications, training programs, or other sections of the POST website.

Also according to the developer, in 1999, the Los Angeles and Chicago school districts participated in a project to develop a MOSAIC specially designed for assessing threats made by students. According to the developer, Paul Vallas, Superintendent of Chicago Schools, said at a press conference:

Our schools need to avoid overreacting to threats that aren't substantial, and this system can help them in this respect. We can't be afraid of new technology, we can't be afraid of new approaches. Violence is a fact of life across this country, and we need to equip our principals with the analytical tools to make accurate calls as to which services and intervention support to make available to their students.

However, as no reference for this quotation has been given, the accuracy of the developer's statement cannot be verified.

According to the developer, the MOSAIC systems that emerged, MAST (MOSAIC for Assessment of Student Threats) and MAST-U, for universities, is used by about 25 university systems. Again, the developer has not provided the names of any university systems allegedly using MOSAIC, again making it impossible to independently verify this statement.

According to the developer, in 1998, MOSAIC was selected by the National Victim Center as one of the “Top Ten Most Promising Strategies and Practices in Using Technology to Benefit Victims.” This has not been independently verified.