Information Sources in Police Intelligence
| DOI | 10.1350/pojo.2009.82.2.463 |
| Author | Petter Gottschalk |
| Date | 01 June 2009 |
| Published date | 01 June 2009 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
PETTER GOTTSCHALK
Professor of Information Systems and Knowledge Management,
Department of Leadership and Organisation, Norwegian School
of Management, Oslo, Norway
INFORMATION SOURCES IN
POLICE INTELLIGENCE
Police intelligence is dependent on a variety of information
sources. In this conceptual research article, a total of 16
information sources are described. Intelligence information is
applied to crime analysis, and the case of market share analysis
is also discussed. Intelligence information needs appropriate
registration, storage and retrieval using information techno-
logy. Such information technology can be identified in terms of
stages of knowledge-management technology as presented in
this article.
Keywords: crime strategy; criminal business enterprise;
criminal organisation; entrepreneurs; illegal markets; net-
works; opportunism; organised crime
Introduction
Traditionally, ‘intelligence’ was understood to mean information
from criminals about criminal activity by a covert source. Today,
intelligence is a systematic approach to collecting information
with the purpose of tracking and predicting crime to improve law
enforcement (Brown et al., 2004). Intelligence analysts investig-
ate who is committing crimes, how, when, where and why. They
then provide recommendations on how to stop or curb the
offences. As part of this, analysts produce profiles of crime
problems and individual targets, and produce both strategic
(overall, long-term) and tactical (specific, short-term) assess-
ments within the confines set by the police force.
This is a conceptual research article exploring information
sources and the use of information in intelligence analysis. First,
distinctions are made between data, information, intelligence,
and knowledge. Next, a total of 16 information sources are
presented. The case of criminal market-share analysis in police
intelligence is presented. Finally, a stages-of-growth model for
knowledge-management technology for storing and retrieving
intelligence information is presented.
The Police Journal, Volume 82 (2009) 149
DOI: 10.1358/pojo.2009.82.2.463
This exploratory research is important, as there is a tendency
to expect too much from computer information systems, without
taking information sources into account. Police records and
systems will be as good as only the electronic information
available in them.
Data, Information, Intelligence, Knowledge
Any definition of knowledge and intelligence involves making a
distinction between the related notions of information and data.
A common approach in the knowledge management (KM)
literature is to define ‘knowledge’ as the most valuable form of
content in a continuum starting from data, encompassing
information, and ending with knowledge. Knowledge therefore
is presented as existing at the top end of a hierarchically
arranged content continuum from data to information to knowl-
edge. Sometimes wisdom is included in the continuum as the
ultimate end goal (Glomseth et al., 2007).
Figure 1 presents this depiction in the literature of a knowl-
edge ladder-type continuum. Included in the figure is ‘intelli-
gence’ in order to relate this knowledge continuum more
specifically to a policing and law enforcement context. Data are
considered as the raw material from which information develops.
Figure 1 Hierarchy of police knowledge expressed as a
continuum
150 The Police Journal, Volume 82 (2009)
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