Supporting reasoning and communication for intelligence officers

2013

Secur Inform

Criminal network investigation involves a number of complex tasks and problems. Overall tasks include collection, processing, and analysis of information, in which analysis is the key to successful use of information since it transforms raw data into intelligence. Analysts have to deal with problems such as information volume and complexity which are typically resolved with more resources. This approach together with sequential thinking introduces compartmentalization, inhibits information sharing, and ultimately results in intelligence failure. We view analysis as an iterative and incremental process of creative synthesis and logic-based sense-making where all stakeholders participate and contribute. This paper presents a novel tool that supports a human-centered, target-centric model for criminal network investigation. The developed tool provides more comprehensive support for analysis tasks than existing tools and measures of performance indicate that the integration of synthesis and sense-making is feasible.

Section: Criminal Network Investigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Criminal Network Investigation Tasksmentioning

confidence: 99%

CrimeFighter Investigator: Integrating synthesis and sense-making for criminal network investigation

2013

Secur Inform

“…Synthesis [8] was chosen over foraging [5,35], collation [14], and textualization [2]. Sensemaking over analysis [8].…”

Section: Figure 1: Human-centered Target-centric Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hypertext structures for investigative teams

Proceedings of the 22nd ACM Conference on Hypertext and Hypermedia

2011

Investigations such as police investigations, intelligence analysis, and investigative journalism involves a number of complex knowledge management tasks. Investigative teams collect, process, and analyze information related to a specific target to create products that can be disseminated to their customers. This paper presents a novel hypertext-based tool that supports a human-centered, target-centric model for investigative teams. The model divides investigative tasks into five overall processes: acquisition, synthesis, sense-making, dissemination, and cooperation. The developed tool provides more comprehensive support for synthesis and sense-making tasks than existing tools.Policing (e.g., [1,10,14]). Many models have been developed over the years, ranging from reactive community and problemoriented policing models to the more proactive intelligence-led and terror-oriented (i.e., political) policing models. These models run in parallel to the traditional law enforcement model characterized by its paramilitary and bureaucratic "command and control" structure, and focus on incident-driven response to calls for service. Police investigations include a variety of tasks like criminal profiling, crime scene analysis, data processing, and storing and sharing of information. Most information produced by police officers is difficult to represent and thus to access and communicate due to its nature. Police knowledge tends to be implicit and experience-based.Counterterrorism (e.g., [7,8,32]). Before 9/11 (2001), investigations were mainly handled by a nations security services, but are now moving towards joint operations with police in what is often referred to as the emerging policing-security nexus. Counterterrorism investigations are, like many of their targets, covert operations. The goal is to transform intelligence from different sources (humans, signals, images, open, etc.) into actionable intelligence products, typically for governments to take proactive measures in order to thwart high risk plots. Due to the

“…On the other hand, if information is scarce, decisions might be based on uncorroborated intelligence later proven to be false. Information complexity (e.g., [2,11,12]) is typically caused by the emerging and evolving nature of information, especially within the counterterrorism domain. Information abundance or scarcity on its own does not necessarily make the relations between entities in the information more complex.…”

Section: Criminal Network Investigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on cases and observations of criminal network investigation, contact with experienced end-users from various communities, examination of existing process models and existing tools for criminal network investigation (e.g., [1,2,3,4,5,6,8,13,16,19,20,25,26]), and our own ideas for tool support, we maintain a list of investigation tasks divided into five processes: acquisition, synthesis, sense-making, dissemination, and cooperation. The list of tasks can be seen as a wish list of requirements for what a tool for criminal network investigation should support; the list serves as the basis for our tool development efforts.…”

Section: B Criminal Network Investigation Tasksmentioning

confidence: 99%

CrimeFighter Investigator: A Novel Tool for Criminal Network Investigation

2011 European Intelligence and Security Informatics Conference

2011

Criminal network investigation involves a number of complex tasks and faces many problems. Overall tasks include collection, processing, and analysis of information, in which analysis is the key to successful use of information; it transforms raw data into intelligence. Problems such as information abundance or scarcity and information complexity are typically resolved by adding more manpower resources, inhibiting information sharing. This paper presents a novel tool that supports a human-centered, target-centric model for criminal network investigation. The developed tool provides more comprehensive support for analysis tasks than existing tools.