ABSTRACT
Intelligence-led policing is crime fighting that is guided by effective intelligence gathering and analysis-and it has the potential to be the most important law enforcement innovation of the twenty-first century. (Kelling and Bratton 2006: 5)
Even though there has been broad endorsement of intelligence-led policing across the world, I sometimes wonder whether some proponents know what they are supporting. A lack of clarity as to definitions and conceptual direction can be the downfall of some initiatives, while others can founder due to misunderstandings associated with terminology and tactics. It is easily possible for intelligence-led policing to fall by the wayside and become lost in the history of failed attempts of law enforcement to move away from the traditional focus on reactive, investigative policing. One of the significant threats is a misconception among both police and the public that the meaning of intelligence retains a suggestion of ‘subterfuge, a clandestine and covert activity conducted by officers of a shady disposition and involving a degree of moral ambiguity’ (Ratcliffe in press). Although this is not the case, intelligence-led policing does promote increased use of covert information gathering as an adjunct to traditional crime analysis. This chapter therefore explores some of the misconceptions regarding how police employ covert activity and the legislation surrounding these information collection tools.
