Intelligence Analysis

Critical to the National Strategic Security

Now more than ever, the contributions made by the intelligence community must be strengthened. There is an increasing need for a national strategic security awareness that integrates local law enforcement all the way through the federal intelligence and law enforcement community.

Law enforcement and intelligence utilize very distinct perspectives. Law enforcement operates to build a case and make an arrest. In other words, it focuses on collection and analysis for purposes of a successful prosecution. Some local law enforcement agencies are large enough to have criminal analysts. These agencies have the benefit of additional processing of information for the purpose of identifying trends and measuring progress.

Intelligence is a continuing cycle of planning, collection, processing, analysis and production, and dissemination. Small departments manage some elements of the intelligence cycle through official briefings and even casual word of mouth. Generally, local law enforcement culture does not lend itself to intelligence unit operations. The term 'intelligence' sounds outside of the law enforcement scope.

Post 9/11, this cultural resistance is beginning to relent. In one municipal police department, a patrol officer made a simple traffic arrest that yielded an unexpected result. Unusual documents in the vehicle led to a search warrant for the suspect's apartment. There was very little inside the apartment except a few pieces of furniture, a big screen television, and Boeing 727 flight simulator. The suspect was turned over to a federal agency. This astute police officer had been well-briefed by his department.

It is critical for law enforcement departments and agencies large and small to understand that they are all critical to the national strategic security. Joint task forces, liaisons to other agencies, regional information sharing, and an internal understanding of the intelligence process are all important elements of law enforcement integration.

Intelligence-Led Policing

Intelligence-led policing is a new architecture. It is a collaborative enterprise based on improved intelligence operations and community-oriented policing and problem solving, which the field has considered beneficial for many years. To implement intelligence-led policing, police organizations need to reevaluate their current policies and protocols. Intelligence must be incorporated into the planning process to reflect community problems and issues. Information sharing must become a policy, not an informal practice.

Most important, intelligence must be contingent on quality analysis of data. The development of analytical techniques, training, and technical assistance needs to be supported. Because of size and limited budgets, not all agencies can employ intelligence analysts or intelligence officers. Nonetheless, all law enforcement agencies have a role in the transformation of national intelligence operations.