In the 21st century, it is crucial for police action to evolve beyond reactive measures to combat crime and maintain public order. Instead of solely focusing on responding to reported crimes, it’s necessary to move towards assessing and managing the potential threat of crime. It should be noted that tension within police structures arises from their historical orientation as reactive tools before a crime is committed. Globalization, asymmetric conflicts, and ethical constraints pose challenges to traditional security systems, hindering their ability to respond to organized crime.
Bureaucratic limitations and outdated frameworks have impeded efforts to combat organized crime. To address this, a shift towards specialization and diversification may be necessary. Specialization could require innovative, cross-sectoral, and integrated responses. While reactive measures are undoubtedly important, it’s becoming increasingly clear that a proactive strategy prioritizing the prevention of criminal behaviors is needed, rather than merely restoring rights after a crime has been committed.
In this evolving landscape, criminal intelligence is crucial. It goes beyond traditional police intelligence by emphasizing a multidisciplinary approach to the analysis and interpretation of information for protecting national interests against organized crime. Criminal intelligence is a crucial aspect of governance analysis, as it allows for the anticipation of the impact of decisions on public affairs and helps prevent unintentional support of organized crime.
It’s important to differentiate criminal intelligence from other related concepts. While police intelligence focuses on areas of criminal behavior, criminal intelligence specializes in dealing with organized crime. The nature of organized crime presents a challenge to the traditional separation of internal and external security responsibilities.
Criminal intelligence is a preventive force that constantly analyzes individuals, activities, or organizations that may pose future threats. Its preventive nature distinguishes it from criminal investigation, which reacts to specific criminal acts. Although criminal intelligence can contribute to police operations, its ultimate goal is to anticipate and neutralize threats.
The distinction between criminal intelligence, police investigation, and criminal analysis can be confusing due to the overlapping nature of their activities. It’s noteworthy that the traditional intelligence cycle may not fully capture the complexity of organized crime. An alternative approach is intelligence analysis that focuses on the target, promotes collaboration, and enhances the intelligence product. This model allows for a more interactive understanding of complex issues like organized crime.
In summary, there’s a need to shift towards a proactive policing strategy that prioritizes the prevention of criminal behaviors. To achieve this, criminal intelligence plays a crucial role in providing a multidisciplinary approach to anticipate and neutralize the threats posed by organized crime. Given the changing nature of crime, it’s important to develop innovative responses and adopt a more interactive approach to intelligence analysis.
