National Defense Intelligence College Paper: Out of Bounds - Innovation and Change in Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysis - Crime Analysts, Case Studies and Stories

This unique and informative paper was produced by the National Intelligence University / National Defense Intelligence College. Topics and subjects include: intelligence analysts, crime analysts, case studies and stories, intelligence-led policing, CSI, SARA model, 3-I model, appreciative inquiry (AI), analytical categories and technologies, LE analyst, choosing good analysts, global justice XML data model, problem analysis triangle, software, geographic profiling, terrorism, organized crime, MOs, victimology, CompStat, ViCAP, Chief William Bratton, vignettes of successful crime analysis, crime mapping.

In the novel and on the movie screen, the suave detective and the hard-bitten-but-sensitive street cop get the glory. But behind the scenes in the real world, a crucial foundation of good police work is the collection, assimilation, analysis, and communication of information about events, places and people. Crime and intelligence analysis is the back-office process that frequently underlies the solved crime, the ameliorated problem, and the effective prevention strategy.

Out of Bounds: Innovation and Change in Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysis addresses the changing nature and role of analysis in policing. This examination, though, focuses not only on the analytical process, but on the analysts— critical actors who function with relative anonymity. It employs a provocative method of study: appreciative inquiry. In essence, analysts tell their stories: what motivates them, what successes they have enjoyed, what processes have worked well for them, how they see the future. A picture emerges of women and men who have great passion for their work, and who make tremendous contributions to solving crimes, interrupting crime patterns, apprehending criminals, and even preventing crime. By studying what works, the appreciative inquiry process draws out the themes that characterize these successes: innovative thinking; creative problem solving; intra-agency teamwork; collaboration and information sharing among agencies.

One of the more significant traits uncovered among state and local agency crime and intelligence analysts is an overwhelming agility. These people are quick on their intellectual feet. They constantly adapt, try multiple approaches, quickly adopt technologies or methodologies they find helpful, cultivate allies and complementary partners across organizational boundaries, and find ways to overcome impediments. They can describe specific results achieved with great clarity, and can define their own contribution to the successes. This stands in bold contrast to the fuzzy goals and bureaucratic doublespeak that seem to characterize federal intelligence agencies. The locals appear not only to have their act together, but to be quite adept at leveraging information, technology, and people to achieve results. Of particular note, local analysts who function in a patchwork of jurisdictional overlaps and adjacencies, with divergent governing bodies and widely varying information systems, have found remarkably effective ways of bridging these potential divides and collaborating effectively. The Feds could learn a lot from the locals in this regard.