Criminal Intelligence borrows from the same principals as military intelligence but applies them to the issue of policing and law enforcement.
Criminal intelligence is all about focusing intelligence resources in the criminal domain.
In the mid 1990’s, the idea of ‘Intelligence led policing’ began to emerge as the preferred policing model in the United Kingdom. This concept quickly spread and was adopted by law-enforcement in most western countries as the preferred model for pro-actively targeting criminal issues.
Today Policing and Intelligence are inseparable, with criminal intelligence a key aspect of all policing jurisdictions all over the world.
Today, more than ever – there are more and more intelligence analysts being recruited to support policing and criminal intelligence efforts than ever before.
So, what exactly is Criminal Intelligence?
Criminal Intelligence is the process and practices of applying intelligence functions to support law-enforcement, corrections and criminal investigations. It involves the use of the intelligence cycle to collect , process, and analyse required information to target criminal threats.
Since Criminal Intelligence is typically based on the intelligence cycle, it works in a similar way to Military Intelligence.
Intelligence analysts utilise available information sources such as official information, criminal profiles, forensic data, communications information and human sources to gain insight into criminal activity. This is used to target criminals and improve the safety of the community.
Recent years have seen a significant increase in demand for qualified (and capable) intelligence analysts to support policing operations.
The use of technology, databases, and shared intelligence (between states and national agencies) has provided significant advantages for combating major crimes such as drug trafficking, organised crime, and money laundering.
