The battle against domestic violence will go high-tech today in Carson, as the sheriff's station there becomes the first in law enforcement nationwide to try out a new computer program to assess how dangerous a domestic abuser is to his household.
The program is the brainchild of Gavin de Becker, 42, a nationally recognized violence-prediction expert and master of computer programs that analyze threats to public figures from obsessed fans and sworn enemies. His programs are used by the U.S. marshal's office, California Highway Patrol, CIA and U.S. Supreme Court Police to protect such figures as the governor, legislators and justices.
But de Becker's latest program brings his computer talents closer to home.
Authorities will ask domestic violence victims 48 questions, such as "Does he own a gun?" and "Are there children in the home?" The answers will be fed into a database, which will compare the batterer to more than 4,000 abusers whose actions escalated to homicide, and then print a report rating the level of danger.
Depending on the level it finds, the program also recommends steps for authorities to take, such as referring the case to the Department of Children and Family Services or recommending a battered-women's shelter.
"We are very excited about using this program," said Sheriff's Lt. Sue Tyler, adding that the department responded to nearly 15,000 domestic violence calls in 1995. "The courts can't fight domestic violence alone and neither can law enforcement. Now we will have another tool to help with a team effort."
In addition to the county Sheriff's Department, the Los Angeles Police Department's Hollywood Division also has been trained to test the program and is scheduled to begin using it within the next month.
The program, called Mosaic-20, is designed to make it easier for authorities to assess which cases have the highest possibility of a fatal end result, de Becker said. The program, created to assess male batterers because they are six times more likely than women to commit an offense, sets a standard for dangerous behavior while giving authorities a measuring stick for the potential of violence.
In addition, a report of each batterer's profile will be given to the Los Angeles district attorney's office to document the seriousness of the incident and paint a picture of the violent history in each case. The county office reports that the number of domestic violence felony filings in the county has increased 220% since 1991.
