Strategic Thinking in Criminal Intelligence complements the drive for more effective strategic planning in law enforcement by providing insights into the thinking and practice of leading strategic intelligence analysts.

The first chapters establish the place of strategic intelligence in current law enforcement thinking. The central chapters provide a road map for the production of strategic intelligence. The final two chapters dissect the issues surrounding the implementation of intelligence systems and explore the opportunities to develop more strategic thinking in the business of law enforcement.

Every chapter is written by a practitioner or researcher closely involved with the law enforcement strategic intelligence field. These contributors are drawn from agencies such as the Australian Crime Commission, the National Criminal Intelligence Service (UK), the Metropolitan Police (London, UK), and the Australian Federal Police, and they represent some of the leading specialists in the field of strategic criminal intelligence.

Table of Contents

Preface - Mick Keelty APM, Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, Chair of the Board of the Australian Crime Commission

CHAPTER 1: The structure of strategic thinking - Jerry H. Ratcliffe
CHAPTER 2: Developments in Australian strategic criminal intelligence - Kevin Rogers
CHAPTER 3: Developments in UK criminal intelligence - John Grieve
CHAPTER 4: Strategic aspects of the UK National Intelligence Model - Brian Flood
CHAPTER 5: Task definition - Jonathan Nicholl
CHAPTER 6: Rising to the collection challenge - Oliver Higgins
CHAPTER 7: Intelligence research - Jerry H. Ratcliffe
CHAPTER 8: Exploratory analysis tools - Corey E. Heldon
CHAPTER 9: Methods and issues in risk and threat assessment - Russell Bond
CHAPTER 10: Futures work in strategic criminal intelligence - Neil Quarmby
CHAPTER 11: Intelligence products and their dissemination - David Mackay and Jerry H. Ratcliffe
CHAPTER 12: Project management - Patrick F. Walsh
CHAPTER 13: A practitioner's perspective of UK strategic intelligence - Steve Christopher
CHAPTER 14: Setting the strategic agenda - James Sheptycki and Jerry H. Ratcliffe

Index

"The book is structured as a seamless synthesis of the theoretical and practical operational aspects of criminal intelligence....

The existing literature on this vital area is scarce, inadequate and surprisingly under-researched until recently. In this respect, the book under review is actually a pioneering effort, which makes it a must-read for the decision makers and policy planners in the area of law enforcement.

Some of the presentations are quite theoretical, treating the project as a management exercise and analysing the complex interplay of the factors involved, which significantly impact the outcome. However, these articles, when juxtaposed with the actual experiences of the existing operating models in the UK and Australia, bring out the practical wisdom of the theoretical drill.

While the developed countries continue their research and experimentation on their criminal intelligence models, their experiences provide us with enriching insights, which could be a great help in evolving our own long overdue criminal intelligence mechanism. Senior decision makers – both in the bureaucracy and the police – will find this book an extremely valuable tool to understand the complexities of the problem and devise an efficacious criminal intelligence apparatus best suited to our needs and requirements."

-- Amit Varma IPS, Criminal Investigation Department Review, August 2004, 26