Understanding Police Intelligence Work: Key Themes in Policing

Procedural and moral shortcomings in both child abuse cases and the long-term deployment of undercover police officers have raised questions about the effectiveness and efficacy of intelligence work, and yet intelligence work plays an ever growing role in policing. Part of a new series on evidence-based policing, this book is the first to offer a comprehensive, fully up-to-date account of how police can—and do—use intelligence, assessing the threats and opportunities presented by new digital technology, like the widespread use of social media and the emergence of “big data,” and applying both a practical and an ethical lens to police intelligence activities.