Intelligence Led Policing
Abstract
This essay is about intelligence-led policing which was first created in 1990s by the Americans and the British. It is a strategy that involves examination of threats and insecurity management whereby the intelligence officers act as guides rather than medium in the process of operations. Some key terminologies in intelligence led policing include law enforcement, homicide, suicide, community policing, crime laboratory, lethal force and cross deputization agreements. Other terms are DNA, medico-legal, municipality, arrest and Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
Intelligence-led policing is important in handling challenges faced by criminal justice system. Identifying the problems is the first step in solving them through the incorporation of novel approaches. Improved techniques and tactics in the police departments have mitigated the level of criminal activities. Despite having good strategies, some problems still recur.
Intelligence led policing has relevance in the criminal justice system. The relevancy is brought about whereby past failures have been useful in avoiding repetition of some shortfall. Evidences have also been used to evade potential risks that can come up in the process of decision making. Strategies used in intelligence led policing are also common to those employed in the criminal justice system. One of the techniques used in both the intelligence led policing and criminal justice system is problem-oriented policing.
Conclusions have also been drawn from the scholarship on intelligence led policing. It is an important asset in managing expenditures in the police department. Time taken in the investigation of crimes is also minimized with reliable outcomes. Intelligence led policing techniques have also been applied in real life in many ways such as in trainings and police culture whereby they maintain work ethics during investigations.
Introduction
Intelligence-led policing is a policing technique built on the evaluation, analysis and management of threats or insecurity. The intelligence officials involved functions only as guides in the processes but not as the channels of the operation process. The idea of intelligence-led policing was first initiated by the British and Americans in the year 1990s. This essay is about key terms in intelligence led policing, its rapport with the criminal integrity system; It is also about the conclusions that can be drawn from the scholarship on the topic and a variety of key terminologies used in the intelligence led policing.
Key Terminologies In Intelligence Led Policing
Law Enforcement
This is a generic term for operations government institutions responsible for the enforcement of law and maintenance of order. The activities may include detection of crime, investigation of past, present and potential crimes, prediction as well as prevention of criminal activities. Conducting an in-depth analysis and cross-examining a bomb-blast crime scene is an example of law enforcement operation.
Homicide and Suicide
This is the killing of one or more people by another person or a group of individuals. In some cases, even the law enforcement personnel can commit homicide either intentionally, unintentionally or as a defense mechanism. Suicide is a term used to refer to planned and intentional killing of oneself. It can be done by a single individual or a group of people.
Community Policing
It is a community strategy that employs group techniques such as problem-solving and partnerships between the community members and the police. The techniques address situations that promote insecurity like criminal activities fear of crime as well as social disorder. The community can greatly help in coming up with a clear and coherent conclusion at a crime scene which is the locality where a criminal activity has been committed.
Crime Laboratory and Lethal Force
Crime laboratory refers to a scientific laboratory which has a full time scientist whose main work is to analyze physical evidence found at a crime scene. He or she later gives reports or his personal opinion concerning the research in a court room. Lethal force refers to the force that law enforcers uses with the aim of causing a severe harm, usually physical in nature.
Crime laboratory refers to a scientific laboratory which has a full time scientist whose main work is to analyze physical evidence found at a crime scene. He or she later gives reports or his personal opinion concerning the research in a court room. Lethal force refers to the force that law enforcers uses with the aim of causing a severe harm, usually physical in nature.
Cross Deputization Agreements
These are measures that have been put in place to permit law enforcers from both national and grass-root level to cross borders beyond their own jurisdictions for the purpose of investigating a crime. The enforcers are also permitted to arrest any offender regardless of being a member of the same locality.
CODIS and Medico-legal
CODIS is a common term used in intelligence led policing. It is a computer software program that controls databases of DNA records for convicted criminals, pending crimes. Medico-legal is a term related to medicine and law and refers to the legal or illegal use of medicine.
DNA
DNA is an abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid. It is the genetic component that is found in the cells of biotic organisms. It is the basic material that is responsible for the genetic make-up of all individuals. An individual’s DNA is similar in all parts of his body. Some of the areas where it is present include blood, body organs, semen, tissues, cells, brain, skin, hair, saliva, urine and perspiration.
Municipality and Arrest
It is an administrative system that has territories which have been clearly defined. The population may be measured in terms of number of people living in a village, a town, city or other groupings, usually small in size. It is usually ruled by a city council, municipal council or a mayor. Arrest refers to the denial of an individual’s liberty by a higher authority as a result of a suspected criminal behavior.
According to Deukmejian Intelligence-led policing, specifically community policing is an important asset in bettering most of the challenges that the criminal justice system face. The system can be improved through the sensitization of the intelligence officers on the diverse ways of dealing with criminal cases. It can also be improved by controlling the midlevel which would in turn result to a better view and content analysis of the pending complex cases.
Deukmejian did a research which had a lot of relevance on the related criminal cases and identified the most common challenges in community policing. The identification of the challenges helped the justice system come up with the necessary remedies. Successful policing would only be achieved through the adoption of the new approaches.
The police departments have occasionally ameliorated their effectiveness as well as their efficiency in developing novel techniques and tactics in order to mitigate crime and protect the public. Some techniques can translate into problems when their implementation is carried out publicly regardless of having an appropriate planning. The most reason that police departments use to justify their poor strategies and tactics is lack of resources. Problems related to implementing strategies usually arise if rank-and-file officers are excluded during the planning.
Relevance of Intelligence Led Policing in Criminal Justice System
James’ argument brings relevance of intelligence led policing to the criminal justice system by use of past failures in avoiding reoccurrence the shortfalls. By closely analyzing failures of the past the officers may come up with better methods in managing the crimes and thus mitigating risks.
Forensic science can be employed in informing judicial proceedings in the establishment of data. Detailed data is very important in arriving at good decisions on the cases presented. The relevance of Morelato et al.’s argument is grounded on the use of evidence to avoid risks that might surface during the judicial decision making process. It also involves the presentation of the actual incident and the evidence at hand in order to come up with an authentic and rational judgment on cases.
The police officers in mid-level are very important channels between the officers at the street-level and administrators in the development of programs and methodologies in astuteness driven mode of policing. It is important to comprehend the managers’ perspectives in the policing process since their views set the pace for further investigation. Most respondents attest that a majority of administrators prefer cross-examination of crimes without making personal conclusions
Strategies
There has been an evolution of policing strategies over time. The intelligence-led policing are the most novel methodology in improving the time taken by the police to respond. Analyzing the opinions and stance of managers in the police departments managers may also aid in the identification of potential hurdles. In the process of initiating intelligence led policing, the top administrators in the police departments may get the information needed in anticipating problems as well as understanding the supervisors’ mind-set.
<pм>Evolution of strategies stems from shifting of goals. For instance, the administrators can advice those involved in the investigation to concentrate more on preventing crimes than on responding to them. Technological advancements like the presence of vehicles and telephones also brought an enhancement in policing. These improvements mitigated the time taken to respond to cases and widened the sphere of patrol by the police.
Significant revolutions in American policing were brought about in twentieth century. During this period, only qualified individuals were recruited as officers and the departments begun to establish standard operating methodologies that were employed in the governance of the system. Officers on duty in the ridged military-style institution got motivation from the policing team in appreciation of their efforts.
According to community policing, the prevention of capital offences would only be possible by first analyzing the root causes. This technique created a good rapport between the community members and the police so as to beef up security and protect their welfare. The technique is also considered to be useful in preventing criminals from carrying out their activities.
Problem-oriented Policing
Decentralization is one of the mechanisms used by team policing in responding to the needs of the citizens. Problem-oriented policing requires the community to identify problems and solutions and work together with the police. The strategy is also about the movement of the police further away than responding to individualistic situations.
Conclusions Drawn from the Scholarship on Intelligence Led Policing
Intelligence-led policing is a vital tool in the limitation of expenses in the police departments. It helps reduce the expenditure on the acquisition of evidence to the cases. Intelligence-led policing is relevant to criminal justice system or criminology since it bears some of the important approaches that are employed in solving of cases. Time that is spent in the investigation of cases is also minimized and there are high chances of coming up with valid outcomes through intelligent led policing.
Useful policing methodologies can be applied in criminal incidences to eliminate cases of insecurity in the given locality. It is the best technique which can help yield better outcomes in examination of cases. Their argument is relevant to criminology by the virtue of the fact that intelligence can breed good results if incorporated in policing. The common challenges in police departments can be lessen by introducing appropriate perspectives to policing.
According to James, proper employment of the policing strategies can help in revealing past crimes that were initially nullified due to lack of evidence. Appropriate solutions to problems that were characterized by inefficiency can also be brought up in handling them. The evidence is used to build on more viable approaches that would be an improvement of the methods already tried.
Application In Real World Context
Police Culture
Conventional techniques and schemes corroborate the customs of governingand can be easily translated into practice in the real world context. Police culture can be incorporated through adherence to law enforcement values and expectations instead of focusing on issues that do not relate to policing. The other culture is maintaining the policing ethics, that is, not involving in awkward behaviors that are considered to be beyond policing ethics. Responding to service calls and arresting offenders on time are fundamental responses in crime analysis.
Studies show that most of crime analysts do not feel as if they have been considered as part and parcel of police culture. These analysts argue that is only the supervisors who are explicitly aware of their role and not the patrol officers. Managers ought to act as mediators and work towards establishing a solid relationship between the analysts and the officers. By so doing, the analysts may be motivated in providing detailed and quality reports.
Supervision Roles
One of the key roles of the supervisors is to motivate the officers especially in an instance where there is a structural change or other changes related to duties. Supervisors should consider examination of offenses as part of the policing culture and be optimistic about completing the crime analysis process. Investigators are advised to make use of intelligence reports in order to come up with clear and accurate results.
Police officers are the basis of information and therefore they find it easy analyzing and applying these key basics. For intelligence-led policing to be successful, the street officers and the mid-level managers should work harmoniously, debate and offer solutions to potential future challenges.
Training
Training in crime analysis is necessary in educating and sensitizing the community members to accept intelligence led policing. According to a research conducted by Phillips, most supervisors have accepted and facilitated the promotion of timely report-giving and crime analysis. This is an achievement since most managers did not have ample time for training. Intelligence led policing may increase with an increase in instruction levels.
Conclusion
Intelligence led policing can be well facilitated by motivating the mid-level police managers since they are considered the most reliable police officers in the implementation of new programs. Intelligence led policing is a revolutionary strategy improving crime management solving cases. Since managers accept and understand intelligence led policing, its implementation is quite easy because it lacks resistance.
The police officers ought to perceive criminal activities as acts emanating from problems or their basic causes which might be offensive or inoffensive in nature. These problems can be solved through the systematic examination of the underlying information and related data. Compstat requires significant criminal activity scrutiny for the officers to exhaust resources needed in solving the problem.
