Tag Archives: police

Major City Chief advocates key aspects of Intelligence Led Policing

Posted on by

Our regular commentator John Buckley steps away from his usual topic of managing confidential informants to discuss the wider issue of intelligence led policing:

Unfortunately, there remain a significant number of senior managers in law enforcement who have no real understanding of the concept of intelligence led policing and how it should be used to protect citizens and enhance public safety. All too often we find managers who may mention ‘intelligence led policing’ in a sound-bite but then continue the conversation by demonstrating their lack of understanding of what the concept entails.  It is therefore refreshing to read of a Chief who not only advocates the concept but actually gets what it is about. In an article for the Baltimore Sun newspaper dated 31st March 1013, http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-batts-homicide-20130330,0,535844.story.  Referring to ‘five strategic pillars’, not only captures the key points of intelligence led policing but pretty much gets them in the order in which they should be considered. We can explore how the Police Department’s strategy follows the concept of intelligence led policing:

  1. “…concentration on violent offenders, gang members and guns…”  The first thing to do in intelligence led policing is for a Chief to identify their policing priorities and make sure that the police department is working towards those priorities. Law enforcement has limited resources. They can’t do everything and it is the Chief’s job to decide what are the most important things for their department to deal with.
  2. 2.      “…community engagement.”   There are many who perceive intelligence led policing as being a concept that is in conflict with that of community policing.  In reality it is the opposite – intelligence led policing and community policing feed off each other. There should be no conflict.  It is from within communities that a significant amount of information for intelligence purposes will originate. If law enforcement officers are not in those communities then they won’t get the intelligence they need to protect those communities.
  3. “…creating an ability to produce more actionable and timely intelligence…”  Unless an agency puts in place structures to collect information, process it to intelligence and use that intelligence to combat crime it is failing in its duty. It should be noted that intelligence is not analysis of crime figures. While analysing crime statistics can help it should never be confused with intelligence led policing.
  4. 4.      “…encouraging better data-sharing with our state and federal partners…” There is little point in having intelligence unless structures are in place to share it internally and externally with those who can make use of it. All too often intelligence ends up in some detective’s desk drawer or hidden forever in a stand alone computer.
  5. 5.      “…ethics, integrity and accountability.”  Gathering and using intelligence by its very nature engages civil liberty issues and raises legitimate concerns with the public. Furthermore, many intelligence gathering techniques involve significant risks, all of which need to be documented and managed. Only by building intelligence management structures that operate on an ethical basis and keeping effective records can law enforcement hope to maintain community support for intelligence related activities.

Intelligence led policing strategy is a highly effective policing strategy. It can be implemented within any police agency and if done properly will enhance public safety and prevent crime. Unfortunately, while many are happy to talk the talk, fewer take the time to understand the how to actually walk the walk.

John regularly advises ABM in relation to the development of abmpegasus™ software for managing intelligence. His latest title, Managing Intelligence; A Guide for Law Enforcement Professionals, will be published in September. John can be reached at john.buckley@abmsoftware.com

abmpegasus™ is a modular piece of expert-led software that helps law enforcement agencies and police manage information, intelligence and covert operations in accordance with best practice, policy and legislation.

If you would like more information on the abmpegasus intelligence management software please contact Dawn Starling on dawn.starling@abmsoftware.com t: +1 703-326-1366 or complete an ABM Software contact form and a member of our team will get in touch.

Abandoned California sexual abuse case highlights dangers of confidential informant mismanagement

Posted on by

A former Seaside Police Department officer has just been acquitted of 33 charges relating to his alleged sexual abuse of six women while in uniform. The ex-officer, who was fired last year after an internal investigation, initially lied about meeting one of the women because he ignored police department advice not to meet informants alone. After one of the confidential informants made her complaint against the officer, he was arrested – another five women also made similar complaints.

The case highlights two important aspects of police procedure. Firstly, policies and procedures need to be firmly implemented to ensure that officers do not make unauthorised or unaccountable contact with confidential informants. Secondly, confidential complaints by citizens need to be carefully stored to prevent officers’ free access to information that may include allegations against them.

San Francisco Police to review use of confidential informants

Posted on by

The tensions between the operational need for confidential informants and the requirement to maintain police integrity have made themselves clear in yesterday’s San Francisco Examiner article.

Police Captains clearly see confidential informants as an essential part of policing. However, police bosses have to balance this with the need to operate in a safe, legally compliant and transparent way. The Examiner article reveals that the way in which confidential informants are managed is currently being reviewed at San Francisco Police Department. By improving management processes and officer training, SFPD will hope to reduce opportunities for police misconduct whilst still allowing the agency to benefit from the invaluable intelligence that confidential informants provide.

oops… police mistakenly name church pastor as marijuana dealer

Posted on by

Shelby County Sheriff’s Office observed a man handing over marijuana to a confidential informant in May 2010. They then put the man’s photo and name on their ‘Most-Wanted’ website and, when he turned himself in the Sheriff’s Office sought to arrest him. Perfect case? Unfortunately not… The Sheriff’s Office has mistakenly identified the drug dealer as Kenneth Dukes, a baptist church minister. Dukes is now threatening to sue the Sheriff’s Office for the case of mistaken identity and the damage it casued to his reputation. Shelby County Sheriff’s Office responded by saying “The actual subject who sold the marijuana has a strong physical resemblance to Mr. Dukes”, according to the Shelby Count Reporter. Hopefully the office will try to get their facts right next time…

$900,000 bill for police corruption lawsuits

Posted on by

Tulsa’s budget will have to accommodate between $700,000 to $900,000 to handle a wave of lawsuits which are arising as a result of a corruption scandal in the city’s police department. As reported by Tulsa World, three lawsuits have already been filed against the Tulsa police for wrongful imprisonment. This is because police officers allegedly stole drugs and money, planted drugs in houses, falsified search warrants and made up confidential informants.

Confidential Informants – Where is it going?

Posted on by

Much is being written about the ‘Confidential Informant‘ culture in the US and it is fair to say that in many ways this is positive.  However, as is normally the case, the negative has to be reported and inevitably it is this, which receives the most airtime.  Of course, using informants is not just an activity adopted in the US, it is without doubt a global culture.

The difference is the rules that determine how you use informants, particularly when it comes to managing and regulating them.   More important is how the risk assessment is considered and measured along with the individual’s rights and welfare.  Officers and supervisors have to ensure they have done what is possible to mitigate any risk.  The clear documentation of this is important, because if things do go wrong, and a positive trail of management can be followed, it will protect all participants; informants and officers alike.

In the UK the regulation of informants, or sources, is very robust. There is not only legislation, but very clear guidelines on the use and management of sources.  In the US, the recent introduction of ‘Rachel’s Law’ is being written into all Florida Police Departments’ standard operating procedures and of course, this brings more transparency and management. Other countries are also following suit.

What I have found interesting is that the use of informants is generally to achieve an objective; to prevent and detect crime.  Whether this is simply to record intelligence that can then be fed into the bigger picture, or indeed intelligence that a crime is about to be committed, the means to the end is just the same. Many officers who deal with informants are dedicated professionals with a high level of training. Unfortunately, I suspect where it can fall down, is the lack of ability to accurately record all the details when dealing with an informant. This is important because if clear data and structured information can be recorded and maintained when dealing with informants, the added protection not only to the informant but the officer is incalculable. This is reinforced by a firm but accountable management structure that would come with this type of regime.

It is becoming very obvious that the simple use of a spreadsheet or in-house Access database is not sufficient to manage all the information and requirements asked of officers involved in the handling of informants.  A move to a more robust and professionally developed electronic system is going to be necessary. In addition to this, the providers of these systems will also need to have knowledge not only of the electronic system requirements, but a strong awareness of the practicalities of handling informants and the infrastructure that supports the activities along with good comprehension of the business process. Strong and knowledgeable Consultants are going to be the key for this type of task along with the ability to ensure the product to process fit is exact.

21st Century Policing Procurement

Posted on by

It is interesting that the second phase of the UK Government’s consultation process around 21st Century Policing moves on to the subject of procurement. Following Phillip Green’s articles in the paper this morning reporting the significant waste in public sector spending resulting from a lack of intelligent bulk buying, you end up agreeing that local buying is not the way to gain financial benefit as you would in a large multinational. However, those on the other side of the argument will state that “one size does not fit all” and that centralisation of buying tends to discriminate against small local companies that often provide a better quality product at cheaper cost.

So where is the happy medium in this? The recent consultation paper around police buying seems to try and find the middle position, with the introduction of “Procurement Frameworks” utilising the current OGC frameworks. This approach seems fine in principal, but again there are downsides. Firstly, these current large scale frameworks are notoriously difficult to get on to, with most dominated by the larger System Integrator companies, leaving many current suppliers off the radar. Secondly, if you are a small sized company, you can operate through a framework company to provide your products and services, but there is an administrative mark up by the Framework company, which necessarily reduces value for money for the buyer. It is also apparent that due to the value of some of the contracts that go through Frameworks, some of those Framework suppliers find that they do not make enough mark up (which is capped) to make it worth their while.

So what is the solution? Well, Frameworks are a good way of tackling the issue, but at the same time they need to be more open to the types of products and services which the police need and use. There also needs to be a better education programme for Procurement Departments across the country about what options they have on their procurement menu. So many times have we seen that procurement departments have no idea what is available from the Frameworks that are currently in place.

So in principle, Frameworks are the answer, but not in their current form……

$200m worth of drugs seized in California drug raid

Posted on by

460 pounds (208kg) of crystal meth, 19 gallons (86 litres) of meth solution, 15 pounds (7kg) of cocaine, $35k cash and 2 handguns and 7 suspected Mexican drug dealers comprise the impressive haul that Sacramento County Sheriff’s drugs task forces (Cal-MMET, HIDTA, and ADACAET) made on Thursday in Gilroy, California, according to The Sacramento Bee. This was the culmination of a year long investigation into a Mexican drugs cartel. The seized drugs would have had a street value of around $200 million USD.

Despite this significant  successful raid the head of the multi-agency drug task force, Lt. Fred Links, was keen to stress the massive scale of the drug problem and the difficulty of keeping up with it. The U.S. DoJ National Drug Threat Assessment 2010 reports that 3,478kg of Methamphetamine was seized along the US/Mexico border in 2009, along with 17,085kg of cocaine and 1.5 million kg of marijuana. The problem is growing, fuelling associated gang crime and firearms trafficking.

With limited financial, human and physical resources, US law enforcement agencies will need to maximise the benefits of intelligence and use technology to help them take proactive action.

Stealing police funds leads to 20 month prison sentence for police officer

Posted on by

Baltimore City Drug Enforcement Officer Mark Lunsford faces a 20 month prison sentence for sharing $10,000 with a police informant and stealing a diamond watch worth $18,000 from someone’s house during a drugs raid. The US DoJ has reported that the 40 year old officer has been required to leave the police force and has been sentenced to 20 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.

This story reiterates the need to law enforcement agencies to improve their management of confidential informants, particularly with regard to informant payouts.