The Future of Crime and Intelligence Analysis - Essay Example

The Future of Crime and Intelligence Analysis Introduction Crime and intelligence analysis is a vital element for any nation that is keen to preserve its homeland security detail. Globally there are many inherent issues that necessitate the need to set up an elaborate intelligence and analysis department to be able to gather intelligence reports and utilize them accordingly for crucial decision-making and at the same time curb criminal activities in that particular country (Spariosu, 2004). There is no standard definition that can be accorded to criminal and intelligence analysis however for the purpose of this essay we can define criminal intelligence analysis a discipline with the police department which is scientific in nature which is mainly tasked with identifying, analysing criminal trends and patterns then disseminating information regarding those crimes to aid law enforcement agencies to solve or rather prevent those criminal activities (Clark, 2012). Crime can be described as any actions or intentions that contradict the set laws of the land. An act is said to be criminal if it is against the expectations of the society and if it infringes on the rights and privileges of other people. Criminal activities are penalised by law through the penal code which stipulates the punishment to be accorded depending on the intensity of the criminal offence committed (Spariosu, 2004). Intelligence is basically a kind of police science whereby detectives use scientific and technological techniques to gather crucial information regarding crime and criminals which will help them gather and put together evidence to implicate criminals to crimes committed. Alternatively intelligence information is used to help law enforcement officials to act to subvert criminal activities from being committed (Spariosu, 2004). Crime and intelligence go hand in hand as they complement each other. For instance authorities perform intelligence activities so as to curb or bring into book criminals by analyzing their record of criminal activities over time and try to connect them with current occurrences to reconstruct criminal trends (Chen, et al., 2004). Intelligence reports are analysed by experts to help provide crucial information that will be relied on in courts of law and even in police operations to combat crime in a given area. Crime on the other hand is conducted with information on intelligence lapses that have been identified by the criminals. Especially organized crimes are conducted after thorough scrutiny of the current intelligence reports that are available and also they propagate on the future trends that the intelligence officials may opt to take thus they identify any loophole that may be inherent thus find a niche for conducting their activities unidentified. Crime and intelligence are similar in the sense that they both have to conduct due diligence analysis before they are conducted. That notwithstanding they are also conducted depending on information from each other’s activities (Chen, et al., 2004). Despite intelligence being fanned as an integral part of fighting criminal activities inaccurate intelligence reports will lead to wrong decisions being made by law enforcement officials thus resulting to failed missions or vicious crimes being committed (Schaffer, 2009). Thus it is prudent that the nature of intelligence report that is being formulated be of substance and accurate to enable them be of value to the authorities. That notwithstanding intelligence information is supposed to be classified in a manner that it is not disclosed to unauthorised parties. If intelligence reports gets into the hands of wrong people they are going to use them to change tact and thus be ahead of the law enforcement authorities whenever they are conducting crime (Schaffer, 2009). In essence criminal investigation and analysis is a problem-solving technique, which seek to solve inherent problems within the criminal circles of a given nation (Cole, Smith & DeJong, 2013). In all nations across the world, criminal intelligence is not included in the penal code that is responsible of punishing crimes committed; rather it is exclusively distinguished as a data mining strategy that gathers all information which may have importance as far as interior security of a nation is concerned (Chen, et al., 2004). In the modern world intelligence analysis is part of every problem solving strategy as this is the only bone fide techniques that organizations or government agencies can use to gather classified information regarding anything within their area of jurisdiction (Siegel, 2009). Criminal intelligence is broadly divided into two disciplines according to the functions, which are performed. Strategic criminal intelligence is a discipline that mainly deals with disseminating information to higher ranking officers to aid them make informed decisions regarding sensitive matters (Ratcliffe, 2009). This may involve providing intelligence reports regarding an imminent attack or providing criminal trends and patterns to be able to calculate the probability of similar crimes being propagated in the future (Siegel, 2009). Operational criminal intelligence on the other hand is concerned with the actual process of fighting crime , this include; fighting and disorienting organized criminal groups within a country or internationally, using criminal records to track and apprehend wanted criminals and also preparing profiles for wanted criminals and distributing them to facilitate their arrest (Arquilla & Ronfeldt, 2001). Future of crime and intelligence analysis Over the years there have been great emerging trends in the global platform as far as security and criminal intelligence are concerned (Schaffer, 2009). After the 2nd World War the nations that were affected by the war went back to the drawing board to come up with formidable strategies of how to counter such occurrences in the future (Todd & Bloch, 2003). Manny countries invested heavily in security apparatus and most importantly criminal intelligence, it was perceived that the nation that would boast as the world super power would not be victorious in a war unless they had effective intelligence techniques (Siegel, 2009). It resulted in the development of intelligence services by individual nations to spy and acquire intelligence reports on what their enemies were up to and thus they would be prepared in time to combat any eventuality (Clark, 2012). The U.S.A., for instance, has in the recent past used billions of dollars just in a bid to enhance its security apparatus and mostly through intelligence services (Spariosu, 2004). The American CSI is the premier intelligence agency in the world which is acclaimed of massive intelligence information of almost the entire globe where the American nation has interest this has made the USA to stand out as the world super power for a long time since it has in its possession information which every other nation requires but is not in their possession (McCue, (2006). To begin with the intelligence in the 21st century has revolutionized in an astonishing rate thanks to major technological advancement in the field of security and at the same time the rise of security threats posed by organized criminal gangs and terrorist groups across the globe (Mallory, 2012). This has necessitated a change of tact in the manner in which criminal intelligence was conducted in the past to curb the criminal from out smarting intelligence agencies. The initial step that will mark the future of crime and intelligence is the police department being mandated to own all information pertaining criminal incidence and their accompanying information (Todd & Bloch, 2003). This will help provide a central organ from which whatever organization that wants such information will have to go through the department of police to obtain it. Thus, this will be an imperative step as it will prevent classified information leak to authorized parties which may cost the nation its security (Schaffer, 2009). That notwithstanding by the police being mandated to own all information it will be easier for them to coordinate their efforts in the bid to prevent and eliminate criminal activities in a timely manner since they have got all the required information to trace and apprehend criminal elements (Spariosu, 2004). However, this policy comes with its own shortcomings; this is because some sensitive information may be mishandled. Police officers are trained to be a law enforcer and thus they lack the technical knowledge of how to handle and maintain information that is crucial for the general security of the nation (Clark, 2012). Setting up of an international intelligence analysis network is yet another step that will shape the future of criminal intelligence (Santos, 2013). Organized crime has been associated with syndicates that have presence in a number of nations across the globe, this make it hard for any single country where the actual crime is perpetrated bringing the situation under control because the network is very large to an extent it has to depend on intelligence information from other nations in order to solve that crime (Schaffer, 2009). For instance, terrorism is a global crime that is coordinated in a number of countries however the source of their resources is done from a centralized point (Siegel, 2009). It becomes very difficult for example the East Africa countries to deal with Al Shabaab since it has its operatives out of the continent that finance and plan for them missions which are implemented by the local wing (Cole, Smith & DeJong, 2013). Therefore, to eliminate the menace of this terror group global participation is vital since they occur in a number of regions with spontaneous activities which suggest some central command that is operating those groups (Spariosu, 2004). If a global network of intelligence analysis is established, the process of dissemination of information will be made easier and thus dangerous crimes will be prevented in time before they occur. Global intelligence coordination will destabilize organized crimes that are conducted in the international front as individual countries will provide with local intelligence information that will ensure crimes are monitored all over thus proving an ease of preventing them (Schaffer, 2009). With the advancing technology criminal are also becoming more sophisticated in the manner that they conducted crimes (Todd & Bloch, 2003). To curb these trend intelligence agencies need to upgrade their operations by utilizing the latest technology in terms of implementing synchronized databases that stores all the information which can be remotely accessed from any geographical position. Use of the latest forensic tools that can conduct data mining is a trend that will shape the future of intelligence (Santos, 2013). The 21st century is virtually digital in nature whereby almost all major crimes are coordinated via the internet and its support services thus if intelligence agencies are able to control and secure the internet it will a first step that will ensure success in combating crimes and criminal gangs (Johnson, 2013). For instance the federal bureau of investigations of United States of America is already on this step as it is perceived to have created close to two million twitter handles just to monitor the operations in social media (Spariosu, 2004). Though it may be argued that it is a breach of privacy the move is essential because it is the most vulnerable avenue that can provide the breeding ground for crimes and thus appropriate measures need to be institute to ensure everything is brought under control (Cole, Smith & DeJong, 2013). For a long time the curriculum that is used to train intelligence personnel has remained unchanged thus leading to the development of intelligence officers who are not oriented with the criminal trends (Todd & Bloch, 2003). Promoting a synergy between the law enforcement agencies in terms of the activities involving analysing and combating crime with the kind of knowledge that is thought in intelligence course will serve to solve this and ensure intelligence activities are done in a more professional manner and according to the current trends (Schaffer, 2009). Since criminals keep on changing tactics each and every day it is prudent for intelligence activities to be dynamic in order to stay abreast with current global events of crime and intelligence (Spariosu, 2004). Knowledge enhancement programs should be established to equip those tasked with intelligence analysis with the relevant skills and knowledge at all times to facilitate their efforts of providing real time reports that will ensure criminal activities are tracked in time (Todd & Bloch, 2003). Standardized international intelligence model will mark the future of crime and intelligence analysis. Developed countries with Europe had an established national model which they adopted to ensure intelligence analysis is conducted in an efficient manner that its benefits can be realized (Schaffer, 2009). The idea of standardizing intelligence models is to ensure compatibility between various intelligence models of different countries when it comes to foreign cooperation in intelligence missions that involve a number of nations (Todd & Bloch, 2003). If a standardization model is achieved globally intelligence information will be easily synchronized among the partners to enable organized crimes which are multinationals are curbed since any fine detail involving these crimes will be remotely acquired from anywhere (Cole, Smith & DeJong, 2013). Increased hostilities in some crime prone areas has claimed a number of secret intelligence officers in the past thus raising the issue on how credible intelligence gathering can be achieved without loss of human lives (Todd & Bloch, 2003). This necessitated for a mechanism or a new methodology of intelligence gathering to be developed to solve the problem of loose of human lives. The united states of America, for instance, during its gulf war with Iraq its soldiers and secret operatives died in a foreign land in the pursuit of the war (Schaffer, 2009). Thus, this culminated to the development of drones to act as spy agencies for the Security Council, which are fitted with state of the art technology which enables them to tap photographic and audio information and relay them in real time to its base station (Spariosu, 2004). They are computer controlled and thus can be directed even into the most hostile places on earth for the sole purpose of intelligence gathering. With increased extremism in Arab nations across the Middle East & some regions of Africa it is evident that use of secret intelligence personnel will not bear much as these places are very dangerous and the very ones that are threatening international peace (Schaffer, 2009). The use of drones and other related technology will be imperative in the future because they are the only credible mechanisms that can win over hostile regions in terms of intelligence gathering (Todd & Bloch, 2003). Currently, a number of nations including; USA, Russia, China, North Korea and lately India have launched satellites to space to facilitate communication. That is an integral step as far as intelligence gathering is concerned (Spariosu, 2004). USA can tap into telephone conversations of anybody that is under their watch list. This is made possible since they deployed one of the most sophisticated satellite to space thus they have the capability to monitor anybody at any geographical position in the world (Schaffer, 2009). However, this move has met considerable resistance from many quarters especially those that came to realize they have been monitored. Indeed it is a privacy breach but at some instance it is of great help. In future telephone tapping to gather intelligence information will be common place as many nations will strive to advance their technology to ensure they are not only monitored by rivals but also can be able to monitor back at will (Spariosu, 2004). Intelligence is increasingly becoming an emotive issue which is beyond the security spectrum. Thus, emergence of intelligence courses in universities in an emerging trend that will shape the future of crime intelligence (Spariosu, 2004). Criminal activities are conducted in almost all disciplines of life thus if knowledge on intelligence is dispensed on a number of people it will be easier to deal with inherent issues that may emerge in future effectively (Schaffer, 2009). The business sector is embracing this by setting up an intelligence department as to be monitoring any criminal activities that may be happening within the organization. Hence in the near future intelligence analysis will be an all-round function that will be conducted by both intelligence agencies and private practitioners in a bid to rationalize intelligence practice to enhance increased accountability (Spariosu, 2004). Conclusion Crime and intelligence are issues that have marked the 21st century as great efforts have been made to ensure sanity is maintained in countries by mobilizing resources to combat crime. Criminal activities on the other hand have revolutionized the intelligence sector as they keep on changing tactics each day thus pitting intelligence agencies to be working all round the clock to bring their actions under control. It is expected that countries will dedicate billions of dollars on intelligence activities due to the nature of modern warfare that is shaping and the global threat of terrorism. Despite huge investment being made in warfare machinery and artillery future wars will be determined by the amount of intelligence information that those involved possess rather than the sophistication of their weaponry. References Arquilla, J., & Ronfeldt, D. (2001). Networks and netwars: The future of terror, crime, and militancy. Rand Corporation. Baker, T. E. (2009). Intelligence-led policing: Leadership, strategies, and tactics. Flushing, NY: Looseleaf Law Publications. Clark, R. M. (2012). Intelligence analysis: a target-centric approach. CQ press. Chen, H., Chung, W., Xu, J. 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Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. Todd, P., & Bloch, J. (2003). Global intelligence: The worlds secret services today. Dhaka: University Press. Read More