Whilst police agencies are increasingly being asked to assist vulnerable individuals, the concept of vulnerability, and how it how it should be policed, remains ambiguous. This study compares current academic thinking with the views and experiences of serving police employees. It presents a conceptual map to depict intersecting individual, social and environmental factors, to assist practitioners understand the concept of vulnerability, that also supports data sharing and partnership working. Further, it highlights the central importance of the police in a multi-agency triage process, signposting vulnerable individuals to the most appropriate service.

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role of the police analyst has lived up to expectation. This has been an interesting development considering that crime analysis is an essential component in influencing policing activity. This study explores the status of police analysts in the UK and outlines why the position may have been undermined. However, it also asks whether the growing emphasis towards evidence-based policing (EBP) provides a renewed opportunity for police analysts and the integration of crime analysis. It argues the integration of EBP (interpreted in its widest sense) could be an evolutionary step in finally establishing the police analyst as a true law enforcement professional. In doing so, it examines the role of the analyst both as a producer of information and as a bridge to partners, including academia, to assist in coproduction of rigorous analysis that can be used to direct policing resources and influence policy.

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The movement of policing from a traditional reactive approach to a more proactive ‘intelligence‐led’ approach has been a widespread but infrequently evaluated process. This study compares 200 offenders arrested for dealing Class A drugs in public spaces, half of whom have been arrested through ‘intelligence‐led’ police operations and half of whom have been arrested through traditional ‘reactive’ approaches. Analysis shows the offenders arrested through an intelligence‐led approach show a ‘local lifestyle’ profile. They are more likely to be older, be unemployed and live closer to their drug market, are less likely to diversify in relation to the illicit drugs sold, and show a high incidence of prior offending (especially in relation to acquisitive crime). The study argues that taking an intelligence‐led approach to open drug markets identifies prolific offenders who cause the most distress to the local community, as well as highlighting those most in need for treatment services.