The MOSAIC System for assessing unwanted pursuit of Public Figures (MAPP) has restricted access. It is typically used by agencies protecting elected and appointed officials (Governors and other constitutional officials, Federal and State Legislators), as well as by National Security Agencies, and iconic public figures.
Access to MAPP is generally limited to law enforcement agencies, however there are some exceptions, including corporations whose CEO’s are prominent public figures, religious institutions with famous leaders, media companies protecting television personalities, etc. Qualified users can learn more and request access below.
In 1990, the California State Police asked to review the MOSAIC method. Following their evaluation of MOSAIC, they adopted a version of the system for assessing threats to the Governor and other constitutional officers. After legislation substantially expanded the threat assessment responsibilities of the State Police (now the California Highway Patrol), they adopted seven different MOSAIC systems, and the Commanding Officer of California’s Special Investigations Unit served as an Advisor on the development of several MOSAIC systems.
That same year, Captain Robert Martin of the Los Angeles Police Department founded the nation’s first Threat Management Unit, and they became the first municipal police department to use the MOSAIC method.
By 1992, MOSAIC had been adopted by the United States Supreme Court Police, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Reserve Board, and the United States Capitol Police.
With a cadre of threat assessment professionals around the nation using MOSAIC systems, a common language emerged, allowing practitioners to discuss and compare various types of cases. Experts who had previously worked independently on similar missions attended meetings of MOSAIC users, where new ideas were introduced to the field. For example, in 1994, Detectives Bill Zimmerman and Richard Lopez of the United States Capitol Police noticed that mentally ill pursuers who visited Congress often made their encounter attempts close to their birthdays.
Zimmerman observed: “When taking reports, I notice that the date a pursuer shows up and his date of birth are often quite close. Maybe there’s a useful correlation. Should MOSAIC consider this?”
To answer the question, researchers at Gavin de Becker & Associates studied ninety incidents in which unwanted pursuers inappropriately visited a public figure. The goal was to determine how often visits occurred during the birthday quarter. By mathematical likelihood, the answer should have been that 25 percent of pursuers showed up during their birthday quarter, but it turned out to be 62 percent.
Zimmerman and Lopez were correct: Birthdays could be considered as an indicator of the imminence of encounter attempts. The area of inquiry is now considered in MOSAIC, and in subsequent years other areas of inquiry have been suggested, tested, and added.
In 2000, a Development Team including several of the nation’s leading experts on public figure protection was convened to completely review the MOSAIC for Assessment of Public-figure Pursuit (MAPP). Lieutenant Tom Taylor, president of the National Governor’s Association (1994, 1997) and author of Dodging Bullets, joined Detective Bill Zimmerman from the United States Capitol Police, Sergeant Steve Weston from the California Highway Patrol, Tony Stanley from the Central Intelligence Agency, and others to develop the new MAPP system.
Today, MAPP is used by state police agencies protecting governors of twelve states, and by many federal agencies.