OSCE Launched Guidebook on Intelligence-Led Policing

ILP model puts criminal intelligence analysis at the core of law enforcement planning and decision-making.

By Nevena Vasić (BCSP intern) / Photo: OSCE

The evolution of transnational threats and criminal patterns and increased public demand for police services and their financial efficiency have highlighted the need to share and analyze data and information from all levels. Intelligence-led policing (ILP) represents a step toward addressing these challenges since terrorist attacks and other forms of transnational crime cannot be dealt with in a traditional reactive way.

A new Guidebook on intelligence-led policing has been launched on July 3, 2017, at the headquarters of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna. This guidebook presents an innovative law enforcement model and focuses on systematic intelligence gathering and evaluation and combines it with analysis which serves as a ground for informed decision-making.

“The publication of this Guidebook is an important milestone in the OSCE’s work on police-related activities. It presents methodologies and tools that can serve to improve law enforcement, with the broader goal of maintaining security and stability in the OSCE area,” said Ambassador Clemens Koja, Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council, representing the Austrian OSCE Chairmanship at the guidebook’s launching event.

This Guidebook defines ILP and presents conceptual model including tools to implement it and covers subjects of human rights and data protection when implementing ILP. In addition, it addresses the analysis process, the intelligence products which serve as the basis for evidence-based decision-making and it also introduces recommendations for organizational structures as well as minimum standards needed for decision-making.

ILP model offers instruments to address serious and organized crime, tools for strategic planning and operational action plans, but can also be applied to day-to-day planning and police management. However, most countries have limited its operational application to serious and organized crime and crimes that generally cause public concern.

Although ILP challenges the traditional reactive policing model, its adoption won’t change the fact that law enforcement will always need to be reactive to committed crimes. So it is safe to say that ILP as the top-down model is designed to complement traditional policing. On the other hand, community policing aims at building trust between the police and the public and thus can become a valuable source of information for planning anti-crime and terrorism operations. Community policing can facilitate the sharing of information so in that way, it is complementing and supporting ILP.

There are several challenges and preconditions for ILP to work to its potential. First of all, ILP requires new management methods and cultural changes within police leadership. In adopting and implementing ILP, there must be a focus on training high and medium-level leadership and management; also feedback, evaluation and constant managerial and quality control are of fundamental importance.

ILP is designed to improve accountability of law enforcement management so it repeatedly stresses the obligation to respect human rights and data protection principles.

“Intelligence-led policing is meant to improve decision-making and management in law enforcement. One of its aims is to improve transparency and accountability, which are among the fundamental principles of OSCE’s police-related activities,” said Ambassador Eberhard Pohl, Permanent Representative of Germany to the OSCE at the launching event.

The guidebook provides a number of practical examples of good practices in implementing ILP including cases of the United Kingdom, North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany and Sweden, followed by Republic of Serbia and Montenegro.

ILP model has been adopted in a number of countries worldwide in recent years and the promising results have encouraged the development of the concept to a more comprehensive business model to address a variety of problems at the local, regional and national levels. Interest in this approach has grown across the OSCE region as the answer to the search for the methods that enable police to prevent crime.