NCJ Number
208740
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 45 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2005 Pages: 39-57
Editor(s)
Geoffrey Pearson
Date Published
January 2005
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This paper examines a particular dimension of “scientification” of crime control with specific concern in the technologies of crime intelligence analysis and their application by law enforcement agencies.
Abstract
Research in 1986 noted a trend toward the “scientification” of police work, whereby scientific knowledge and technology has increasingly been incorporated into the routines of policing. Police organizations have started to invest heavily in resources to enhance their abilities to conduct analyses of crimes, criminals, and criminality. Crime analysis technologies are felt to allow for a more objective understanding of crime. This paper focuses on the connections between crime intelligence analysis and social scientific research methods and analyzes empirical data on the work of crime analysis. It begins with a brief examination of the role and status of intelligence work in contemporary law enforcement and some of the main techniques that are employed in crime analysis. Empirical data are presented on how network association charts and crime maps are constructed in practice. There is an attempt to articulate a conceptual framework for understanding the conduct and failings of contemporary approaches to the manufacture of intelligence in policing. Data were obtained from an ethnographic study of four intelligence units located in two police forces in England. The analysis suggests that crime analysis is used in line with traditional modes of policing, thereby claiming an enhanced “scientific” basis for policing shaped largely by police perspectives on data. References