Jerry Ratcliffe (ed.), Strategic Thinking in Criminal Intelligence
| DOI | 10.1177/0004865811420027c |
| Date | 01 December 2011 |
| Published date | 01 December 2011 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
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Garner Clancey
Sydney Institute of Criminology (University of Sydney)
Jerry Ratcliffe (ed.), Strategic Thinking in Criminal Intelligence, 2nd edition. Sydney: The Federation
Press, 2009; 273 pp.: 9781862877344, $60.00 (pbk)
When Strategic Thinking in Criminal Intelligence was first released (Ratcliffe, 2004), it
represented the most significant volume on strategic criminal intelligence in print.
(Criminal Intelligence Analysis edited by Andrews and Pet erson (1990) and
Applications in Criminal Analysis: A Sourcebook by Peterson (1994) are the two key
resources on tactical and investigative criminal intelligence.) This remains true for the
second edition despite the intervening five years. The second edition of Strategic
Thinking in Criminal Intelligence has been revised throughout to improve readability
and includes a number of s ubstantial new cont ributions. The book is o rganized into
16 different chapters, each written by an expert(s) in a particular aspect of criminal
intelligence. Ratcliffe opens with a broad discussion of strategic intelligence and lays
out the purpose and structure of the book as well as his vision for strategic criminal
intelligence (Chapter 1). The following chapters, while not explicitly categorized in
this manner, generally touch on one of three main areas: the history of criminal
intelligence in the United Kingdom and Australia; ideal practice at each stage of
the ‘intelligence cycle’; and recommendations for improving strategic criminal
intelligence.
Chapters 2 to 4 focus on the history of criminal intelligence in Australia and the
United Kingdom. These chapters constitute the most thorough histories of law enforce-
ment intelligence in these jurisdictions currently written. One of the weaknesses of exist-
ing scholarship on criminal intelligence throughout the English-speaking world is the
lack of detailed histories of how criminal intelligence developed in these jurisdictions,
why it has taken particular forms, and what factors were most important in its spread
and adoption. While these chapters do not fully address this gap, they provide both the
practitioner and the scholar the greatest insight available in one location into the history
of criminal intelligence in these jurisdictions.
Rogers (Chapter 2) chronicles the introduction and adoption of strategic criminal
intelligence in Australia. He traces the role of public security events such as the 1978
Hilton bombing, Royal Commissions, and especially the Commonwealth Law
Enforcement Arrangements Review in shaping the development of strategic criminal
intelligence in Australia. At the end of this chapter, there are significant updates from
his chapter in the first edition. In the first edition, Rogers, writing within a year of the
creation of the Australian Crime Commission, concluded by discussing its prospects for
success. In this second edition, Rogers has the chance to reflect on the first six years of
Book Reviews 449
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