Eliciting human intelligence: police source handlers’ perceptions and experiences of rapport during covert human intelligence sources (CHIS) interactions

Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism

Milne

et al. 2020

Self Cite

The collection of accurate, detailed, and timely intelligence buttresses critical law enforcement decision-making. However, the quality and quantity of the intelligence gathered relies heavily upon the interviewing techniques used to retrieve it. The perceptions of intelligence practitioners are key to developing an understanding of practices concerning intelligence collection. Yet, to date, no research has been undertaken that explores the United Kingdom's Source Handlers' perceptions of the interviewing processes employed with informants. The present study interviewed 24 Source Handlers from Counter Terrorism Dedicated Source Units in the United Kingdom. Five themes emerged from the interviews, (i) a comparison between interviewing and debriefing; (ii) the PEACE model in intelligence interviews; (iii) the importance of effective communication; (iv) Source Handlers' use of cognitive retrieval techniques; and, (v) Source Handler interview training. The perceived commonalities between interviewing and debriefing provided support for the transferability of investigative interviewing research and practices into the collection of Human Intelligence (HUMINT), reiterating themes (ii), (iii), and (iv). Finally, participants highlighted a need for additional training concerning intelligence gathering techniques, as police officers who are responsible for gathering HUMINT could benefit from further professional development based on investigative interviewing research and professional practices.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Source Handler perceptions of the interviewing processes employed with informants

Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism

Milne

et al. 2020

Self Cite

“…The present study expanded on (Nunan, Stanier, Milne, Shawyer, & Walsh, 2020), which explored source handlers' perceptions of rapport during CHIS interactions, by analysing rapport-building between source handlers and CHIS. Prior to data access and collection, ethical approval was authorised by those who funded the present research (Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats) together with the first author's University.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) Intelligence Practice Research Consortium (IPRC) assisted with access to the data. The present research analysed the same data set from (see Nunan et al, 2020), and, therefore, the criteria remained the same. Thus, the purposive sample comprised source handler and CHIS audio recorded telephone interactions (N ¼ 105) from one English police force, which involved source handlers' gathering intelligence (intelligence yield, IY) from an adult CHIS (those who are 18 years and over).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of rapport on intelligence yield: police source handler telephone interactions with covert human intelligence sources

Psychiatry, Psychology and Law

Milne

et al. 2020

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Sources (CHIS) provide unique access to criminals and organised crime groups, and their collection of intelligence is vital to understanding England and Wales' threat picture. Rapport is essential to the establishment and maintenance of effective professional relationships between source handlers and their CHIS. Thus, rapport-based interviewing is a fundamental factor to maximising intelligence yield. The present research gained unprecedented access to 105 real-life audio recorded telephone interactions between England and Wales police source handlers and CHIS. This research quantified both the rapport component behaviours (e.g., attention, positivity, and coordination) displayed by the source handler and the intelligence yielded from the CHIS, in order to investigate the frequencies of these rapport components and their relationship to intelligence yield. Overall rapport, attention and coordination significantly correlated with intelligence yield, while positivity did not. Attention was the most frequently used component of rapport, followed by positivity, and then coordination.

“…There is need to develop a nuanced understanding of the willingness of informants to engage in various forms of interaction with their handlers and, critical to this, is the importance of establishing rapport. Rapport is critical to the elicitation of intelligence (Nunan et al 2020a). Rapport outperforms accusatorial approaches (Evans et al 2013) as it increases the information gained (Nunan et al 2020b), enhances cooperation and increases trust (Alison and Alison 2017).…”

Section: Covid 19: the Impact On Recruitment And Elicitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of COVID-19 on UK informant use and management

2021

Policing and Society

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The effect of COVID-19 on informant use and management, during the peak of the imposed Government lockdown measures was felt across English and Welsh police Dedicated Source Units. Within these restrictions, staff managing informants had to develop and then implement new strategies that delivered safe, yet effective, informant handling capacity and capability. Based on a survey of 205 respondents directly involved in the handling, control or authorisation of informants, this article examined their perceptions of the effect of COVID-19 in this highly specialised policing activity. The research findings revealed five broad themes associated with the impact of COVID-19 on informant management practices: (i) health protection; (ii) governance; (iii) innovation and technology; (iv) recruitment, communication and informant development and (v) tradecraft and intelligence. The article explored the organisational responses to initiating and maintaining informant-handler relationships and ensuring the flow of intelligence within this unique operational environment. Participants perceived that handler-informant relationships were strengthened, and also indications of a willingness to adapt policy and procedure associated with the informant management cycle: targeting, initial recruitment contact, assessment and evaluation, tasking and deployment and payment of informant rewards. It also highlighted a wider consensus that there was further scope for enhancing resilience to similar future pandemics including the use of enabling technology and responsive policy adaptation.