Working Toward a Model of Intelligence-Led Policing: The Phoenix Police Department Intelligence Officer Program

Intelligence gathering and analysis are essential in law enforcement efforts to reduce crime and address chronic problems. Confining intelligence operations exclusively to special units or counterterrorism efforts limits the sharing and gathering of information. This proposal would expand the Phoenix Police Departments Intelligence Officer (IO) program to a citywide program that would more effectively integrate intelligence gathering and analysis into patrol operations. This citywide expansion would also involve further incorporating other evidence-based approaches, such as problem solving and hot spots policing, into an intelligence-led framework. The program involves training select officers to use and gather intelligence more effectively in their day to day work in order to both assist patrol officers in identifying suspects and closing cases more quickly and address crime proactively in chronic problem locations. The funding will allow for a more rigorous and complete evaluation as the program expands citywide. The evaluation plan to assess the effects of the IO program is multi-faceted and includes person-based, location-based, and intelligence report-based analyses using data from surveys, officer activities, calls and incidents, and intelligence reports. The evaluation will focus on four primary research questions. First, how familiar are officers with the IO program? To what extent do precinct officers interact with and share information with IOs? What are their perceptions of the program? Second, are there differences in arrests, proactivity, and crimes solved by officers based on their level of involvement with the IO program? Third, what role does the Intelligence Officer Reporting System, designed as part of the program to gather and share intelligence, play in developing actionable intelligence? Finally, what is the effectiveness of advanced intelligence officers in reducing crime in chronic problem locations?