Investigative Intelligence- Chapter 10 Lecture Notes
THE CHALLENGES OF COVERT ACTIVITY
- This section reiterates the often misunderstood idea that covert activity is notintelligence‐led policing. Covert activity is simply a technique to gatherinformation. Intelligence‐led policing is a business model for better resourceallocation and decisions.
- Although the ACPO market research report found a general level of supportfor proactive policing, covert techniques of information gathering must beemployed in such a manner as not to damage police legitimacy in the eyes ofthe public.
- The risks of greater informant use in covert activities
- Norris and Dunnighan’s quote is probably a little too negative, but aconsiderable problem with the research literature is the lack of researchgenerally into the area of informant use, positive or negative.
- The 5x5x5 scheme is similar to the Admiralty (or NATO) system, but with theaddition of a handling code to indicate conditions for the dissemination of theinformation. The Admiralty system is a 6×6 scheme. The links section has alink to a relevant Wikipedia page.
- Principle of proportionality
- ‘Surveillance creep’ is a term that Gary Marx applied to a range ofsurveillance‐type measures. For example, we could apply the concept to CCTVcameras, the tracking of credit card information, monitoring of web sitesvisited, automated e‐mail reading, social networking sites and so on.
- Storing private information
- Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 23,is often abbreviatedto 28CFR23.
- The Policy clarification from the BJA is important because of the commonmisunderstanding of the constraints of 28CFR23. Often, too many US policedepartments do not use criminal information to the fullest extent because ofan over‐cautious approach to this legislation.
- Human rights and surveillance
The Don Weatherburn quote is probably the most salient comment; ‘If police areto create a credible threat of apprehension for carrying a prohibited weapon theyare bound to conduct searches of a large number of people who, it will turn out,are not in possession of a weapon’. Dr. Don Weatherburn is the Director of theNew South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.
THE WIDENING SECURITY AGENDA
- This is an emerging academic research area that is being spearheaded byyoung and innovative researchers such as my colleague Jennifer Wood, andUniversity of Montreal Professor Benoit Dupont.
- Greater strategic application
- The GMAC PBM (see chapter 7) is a good example of the integration ofstrategic meetings into the normal tactical planning cycle.
- Jim Sheptycki has written extensively on the greater strategic application ofcriminal intelligence. See further reading section below.
- If you are interested in Reassurance Policing and Signal Crimes, then the work,of Martin Innes is appropriate and useful. See further reading section below.
- The greaterstrategic use of crime intelligence is an issue for authors of Threat and RiskAssessments.
- Merging criminal intelligence and national security
- Observers in the UK will be familiar with the brief foray of the MI5 role intoorganized crime and drugs after the collapse of the Iron Curtain. 9/11brought back a counter‐terrorism focus, but the boundaries between policeand national security had already been blurred.
- The challenge in the US is a little more difficult. In many respects, the problemis not that national security agencies don’t want to work with local police, butrather that both sides do not understand the needs of the other.
AN AGENDA FOR THE FUTURE
- Conceptual training for analysts and executives
- The lack of executive training in intelligence‐led policing is a real problem.Too many think they know what intelligence‐led policing is, without actuallyengaging with the idea and learning what is actually involved.
- The few agencies I am aware of that address executive training include; theAustralian Federal Police Intelligence Program, the New Jersey State PoliceRegional Intelligence Academy, and the National Counter Terrorism Academy(NCTA) in LA. The Manhattan Institute have been instrumental in getting theUS locations up and running.
- Disseminating success
- A link with the Center for Problem Oriented Policing is one possibility, though
there is also a funding proposal before Congress in the US for a Center forIntelligence‐Led Policing.
- Looking beyond the tactical imperatives
- The development of SOCA in the UK has been, I understand, a rather unevenbusiness.
- The training of law enforcement leaders in the use of crime intelligence forstrategic planning rather than tactical operations is a theme running throughthe book. The issue is a tricky one in the US, where police chiefs only have ajob tenure of a few years – little time to see valuable initiatives come tofruition.
- Engage the next cohort of police leaders
- The increase in numbers of police officers entering the service with tertiary(University) degrees is encouraging.
- Some police forces, such as the Australian Federal Police, only employgraduates.
- In the future, it is to be hoped that a background in investigations is not acommon prerequisite for senior ranks.
- Ten yardsticks for intelligence‐led policing
- Where I say ‘5. Analytical and executive training is available’, this reallyshould read ‘education’ rather than training. The whole issue of intelligenceledpolicing is a broader educational need rather than one of learning systemsby rote as might be suggested by the word ‘training’. However, I didn’t wantto lose my audience completely!
- There is no single one of these ten are more important thanthe others. However, without a doubt little will happen unless there is no. 1 –a supportive and informed command structure… than can demonstrateleadership, ownership and understanding.