7 Tasks Analysts Undertake in a Serious Crime Investigation

One of the key positions in any police Intelligence Cell is that of the analyst.  Their role is vital in any major investigation where they can even be a part of the Senior Investigating Officer’s management team.

The analyst can be a police officer but most forces employ civilian analysts.  Their primary role is to receive information and to convert it into intelligence through analysis.

Seven of the most common tasks they may undertake include:

• Conducting environmental scanning of the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal and Organisational (PESTELO) issues to provide an overview of the environment as it relates to the commission of the crime or is likely to affect the subsequent investigation;
• Drawing networks of associates of both a victim and potential or actual suspect;
• Telephone call analysis, charting specific telephones to assist with identifying associations between telephones and the patterns of calls involved;
• Analysing local and regional crime and incident patterns to identify similar offences and/or precursor incident;
• Analysing a series of crimes and identifying common denominators between different, possibly linked crimes;
• Drawing charts of (possibly) significant events including a suspect/victim’s sequence of events chart and an extended sequence of events specific to a particular suspect;
• Analysing prison intelligence; communications intelligence; intelligence from surveillance and undercover operations.

Could you use an analyst in your crime fiction?

You can find more information to help your story-writing by following this blog or using your copy of the British Police and Crime Directory for Writers and Researchers or click on the picture below to buy your copy:

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