Intelligence Management

The current rapid development in both computing power and the ability to present and mine complex data sets in useful ways provides the backdrop to Intelligence Management: Knowledge Driven Frameworks for Combating Terrorism and Organized Crime.  The chapters address the linkage between: law enforcement; developments in information and communication technologies and key ideas about the management of data, information, knowledge and intelligence. The work is conducted by a number of international academic and industrial research groups, law enforcement agencies, and end users.   Section 1 presents four chapters that address the details, outcomes, user needs and background theoretical ideas behind a large-scale research aand development project in this domain (The Odyssey Project).  This project explored the challenges of establishing a Pan-European ballistics and crime information intelligence network.  It represents an example of the type of system that is likely to become commonly used by Law Enforcement Agencies in the near future. Many of the challenges are not technical but organisational, legal, economic, social and political.  Sections 2 and 3 therefore present wider commentaries.  Section 2 explores other research and development projects that attempt to exploit the power of contemporary ICT systems to support Law Enforcement Agencies in many aspects of their work including investigations, data analysis and presentation, identification, training and crime prevention.  Section 3 takes a look at the social and organisational issues around aspects of crime prevention, crime detection and policing – with a view to the role of information and communication technologies in thesecontexts.