What is the Maine Threat Assessment Group that Maine State Police claims to partner with?

PORTLAND, Maine (WMTW) – The New England State Police Administrators Conference is recommending that Maine State Police create a behavioral threat assessment program to prevent future mass shootings.

The recommendation was included in NESCAP’s independent review of the Maine State Police After Action Review of its response to the Lewiston shooting.

MSP said they already have access to a threat assessment tool through their partnership with the Maine Threat Assessment Group.

“The Maine State Police, for more than a year has been a partner of the Maine Threat Assessment Group (MTAG) who partners with the FBI, DHS, Department of Corrections, Department of Education and the Maine School Safety Center,” the agency wrote in a statement shared last Thursday.

They say Robert Card wasn’t referred to the group.

“They make an assessment, and they respond back to the group with some type of direction,” said Maine State Police Col. William Ross. For instance, maybe this is somebody that you should consider for a yellow flag law, like in Robert Card’s case, but you might have someone that might be a student in a grammar school, who’s having behavioral issues.”

As of Tuesday, 8 Investigates hasn’t been able to find any information about MTAG. Multiple law enforcement officers and a Bates professor with expertise in the field of violence prevention and threat assessment say they’ve never heard of it.

When asked for clarification, MSP spokesperson Shannon Moss said she was busy. “Perhaps another agency can help,” Moss said over email. “MSP can’t always be the go-to.” She directed us to the FBI, who referred us back to MSP.

It’s possible that Ross was referring to a behavioral threat management program that MSP is involved in that’s used in Maine schools. Still, a spokesperson for the Maine Department of Education says that tool is intended for students and can’t be applied to anyone outside the school system.

When asked whether MSP was referring to that program, Moss said, “I can’t be 100%, but it looks right.”

Copyright 2024 WABI. All rights reserved.