James, AD, Phythian, M, Wadie, F and Richardson, J What works in intelligence. Project Report. Unpublished. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

This report analyses police intelligence practice in Britain through the lens of the ‘what works?’ concept. It is based on a survey of a self-selected group of intelligence staff together with interviews with a random sample of their number. Participants reflected on: their skills and abilities; their training; their successes and their failures; and the utility of the structures and processes within which they operated. We found that respondents broadly agreed on what contributed to effective practice. For example, analysts, intelligence officers and managers ranked a skilled workforce as of greatest import. Human intelligence (HUMINT); operational teams, capable of responding quickly to intelligence; information technology; and plentiful sources of intelligence in their communities, were consistently ranked the top four significant factors in their successes. At the same time, we conclude that while the ‘what works?’ approach has some value when applied to policing, there are clear limits to its explanatory power. We conclude that the ‘what works?’ approach also raises important, albeit largely ignored, questions about institutional memory and identity and that institutional and cultural factors represent significant barriers to the adoption of evidence-based practice in policing.

Item Type:	Monograph (Project Report)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	intelligence; evidence-based practice; organisational culture; what works
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology
Divisions:	Humanities & Social Science
Publisher:	Unpublished
Date Deposited:	09 Apr 2018 12:00
Last Modified:	01 Feb 2022 08:40
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/8436

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