NCJ Number
220551
Journal
International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume: 9 Issue: 3 Dated: Autumn 2007 Pages: 257-273
Date Published
2007
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Based on qualitative research conducted within eight English police forces, this article examines the perception and use of community intelligence as a source of intelligence within the National Intelligence Model (NIM).
Abstract
Little evidence was found of the use of community intelligence within the NIM. Although the NIM is in theory intended to involve the community, in practice there is little evidence to demonstrate such involvement in reality. The findings indicate that community intelligence is placed low down on the list and NIM is about intelligence-led policing in its purest form. A combination of police culture, lack of knowledge within management and police officers, the absence of a general definition of intelligence, a lack of guidance around community intelligence and the secrecy surrounding intelligence, stand out as factor that may explain the low status and use of community intelligence. The challenge for the police service will be how to reconfigure the NIM with the type of quality of intelligence that will predict future risks. The aim of the research in this article was to examine what constituted intelligence within the NIM in the United Kingdom. In particular, it focused on the level of community intelligence being used in comparison with other sources of intelligence, based on the hypothesis that community issues are downgraded within the NIM. The study included focus interviews with 23 intelligence practitioners across the United Kingdom police service, combined with open-ended interviews with academics and persons working to implement the NIM. Figures, references