Gavin de Becker

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Gavin de Becker (born October 26, 1954)[1] is an American author and security specialist,
primarily for governments, large corporations, and public figures.[2] He is the founder and
chairman of Gavin de Becker and Associates.

Contents

 1Career
 2Expert witness testimony
 3Writings
 4Cultural references
 5Philanthropy
 6See also
 7References
 8External links

Career[edit]
Together with the United States Marshals Service, he co-designed the MOSAIC Threat
Assessment Systems,[3] which is used to screen threats to Justices of the Supreme Court of the
United States, members of United States Congress, and senior officials of the Central
Intelligence Agency. Los Angeles County Law enforcement agencies adopted MOSAIC in 1997
to help police manage and reduce spousal abuse cases that might escalate to homicide.[4]
He was twice appointed to the President's Advisory Board at the United States Department of
Justice, and he served two terms on the Governor's Advisory Board at the California Department
of Mental Health.
De Becker has shared his philosophies about prevention of violence in several appearances
on The Oprah Winfrey Show, 60 Minutes, Larry King Live, 20/20, The Jordan Harbinger
Show and the Waking Up podcast with Sam Harris. He has also been profiled in Time
Magazine and Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and others. De Becker's
first book, The Gift of Fear, was a US #1 bestseller on the New York Times Bestseller List.
In 2008, Oprah Winfrey dedicated a show to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the
publication of the book. In the last year of her show, she dedicated two hour-long shows to de
Becker's work in domestic violence.[5]
His latest book, Just 2 Seconds, has been described as a guide for protectors of at-risk people
and includes 5 lessons for people charged with protecting others. It also includes summaries of
incidents from the last several decades for training and analysis. Co-authors of the book are Tom
Taylor and Jeff Marquart.[6]
In 1997, his firm was hired by Bill Cosby to investigate the murder of his son, Ennis.[7]
De Becker served as an expert advisor to the Los Angeles County District Attorney on the
criminal prosecution of O.J. Simpson, and served as an advisor on the successful civil case
against Simpson. His role is described in several books on the Simpson case, including those
written by Marcia Clark[8], Christopher Darden[9], Jeffrey Toobin[10], and Daniel Petrocelli[11].
De Becker has served as an adviser for the anti-bullying resource, Bystander Revolution.[12]

Expert witness testimony[edit]

Gavin de Becker has provided expert witness testimony in many cases, including the successful
prosecution of Arthur Richard Jackson, the assailant of actress Theresa Saldana. He later led a
national campaign to keep Jackson incarcerated.[13] He also testified in the civil case against the
employer of murderer Rodney Garmanian.[14]
De Becker testified in the successful 1994 civil case arising when The Globe tabloid accused an
uninvolved man of being the actual assassin of Senator Robert Kennedy (Khawar vs Globe
International, Inc). Globe tried to get de Becker's testimony thrown out by a higher court;
however, it was ultimately upheld by the California Court of Appeals.[15]
De Becker advised the Los Angeles County District Attorney in the successful prosecution of
Robert Bardo, the murderer of actress Rebecca Schaeffer, and was a consultant on the
unsuccessful prosecution of O.J. Simpson for the murder of his wife and Ron
Goldman,[16][17][18] and the successful civil action against O.J. Simpson.[19]

Writings[edit]
 de Becker, Gavin (1997). The Gift of Fear and Other Survival Signals that Protect Us From
Violence. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-23502-0. OCLC 36143575.
 —— (1999). Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (and Parents
Sane). New York, NY: Dial Press. ISBN 978-0-385-33309-2. OCLC 317692059.
 —— (2002). Fear Less: Real Truth about Risk, Safety, and Security in a Time of Terrorism.
Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-08596-0. OCLC 48746358.
 —— (2008). Just 2 Seconds: Using Time and Space to Defeat Assassins. Gavin de Becker
Center for the Study and Reduction of Violence. ISBN 978-0-615-21447-
4. OCLC 0615214479.

Cultural references[edit]
 Actor Miguel Ferrer, who played Albert Rosenfield, an FBI agent in the 1990s television
show Twin Peaks, reported that his character was based on Gavin de Becker. Ferrer
reportedly knew de Becker since high school.[20]
 De Becker gave a eulogy at Carrie Fisher’s memorial service. Fisher and de Becker
reportedly attended high school together and they are described as friends. “The first time I
had sex was at Carrie’s house,” de Becker stated in the eulogy, and added, “It wasn’t with
Carrie, but she arranged it.”[21]
 De Becker gave the eulogy for Garry Shandling; making reference to a long-term feud with
studio head Brad Grey, de Becker said, "Over the years, many people asked me, 'Why
doesn't Garry have a family?' My answer was, 'Of course he had a family.' He created the
Sanders family, which was as much a family as anything, and he had this family [motioning
to the crowd]. And even Brad Grey had a role in his family, because every family has an
uncle or a cousin who is a sociopath."[22]

Philanthropy[edit]
 De Becker founded and personally funds The Naqaqa Giving Foundation, a charitable
foundation that provides medical, educational, and infrastructure support to remote villages
in Fiji.[23]
 He founded and funded Patient Pets, providing pet therapy for violently inclined patients at
Atascadero State Hospital.[24] [25]
 De Becker provided the entire funding for the first Los Angeles County Domestic Violence
Hotline, and along with Oprah Winfrey, makes MOSAIC domestic violence assessments
available to anyone at no charge.[5]