CRIMINAL INFORMATION AND INTELLIGENCE OPERATIONS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Define the types of criminal information and the responsibilities at the various levels of command. Describe the criminal information process and the system of records and laws.

The successful conduct of law enforcement investigations relies upon the acquisition, processing, and application of certain essential information. Criminal information is a part of police intelligence and as such contributes to the overall Navy intelligence function. The value of criminal information cannot be overemphasized. It not only serves the purposes of investigators but also contributes to the needs of the commander in administering command functions.

DEFINITIONS

Now let's look at the types of criminal information and their definitions.

Figure 15-1.-Navy command investigator ID card. 15-4

Police information- Processed information relating to criminal activities, police law enforcement and security operations, and incidents that disrupt law and order.

Criminal information- A category of police information applying to criminal activities, violation of criminal law, and crime prevention. Criminal information applies to acts of crime committed by individuals or organized criminal groups-crimes that affect the discipline, law, and order within the U.S. Navy.

Operational information- A category of police information required for planning and executing police law enforcement and security operations.

Source of information- Any person, object, or recorded data from which law enforcement personnel obtain information that may be of investigative assistance.

Essential elements of criminal information (EECI)- Critics items of information pertaining to criminal activities and crime areas that, when related with other available information, provide the investigator or investigating agency the information for reaching conclusions and making decisions. Essential elements of criminal information provide guidelines for the collection of information to assure critical items of information are collected, processed, and disseminated to the appropriate user.

Other criminal information requirements (OCIR)- Additional information requirements that are useful to the collection effort but not immediately essential.

Criminal intelligence operations- Those formalized programs regarding significant criminal activity targeted against or directly involving Navy and Marine Corps personnel to gain information of a criminal intelligence nature for law enforcement purposes.

RESPONSIBILITIES

A high degree of specialized training and experience is mandatory to the successful accomplishment of criminal intelligence operations and, to the extent that they are undertaken within the Department of the Navy, the operations are done exclusively by the NCIS, regardless of location. Criminal intelligence operations are undertaken at NCIS initiative, in close coordination with senior command authority. During their course, these sensitive operations may cover wide geographic areas and extend across multiple command lines.

All Department of Defense investigative records are indexed within the Defense Criminal Investigative Index (DCII). There are four major contributors to the DCII. These are the Army, Navy-Marine Corps, Air Force, and the DIS. The purpose of the DCII is to reveal past investigative activity involving any subject of an investigation. The NCIS is the contact point for command investigators requesting inquiries to the DCII.

The local command investigators collect criminal information at the local level and may evaluate it for their own purposes, sharing it with other military agencies in the investigative effort. They must also develop sources of information, provide input to the criminal information system, and apply criminal information to investigations.

CRIMINAL INFORMATION PROCESS

The criminal information process is a continuous cycle of interrelated activities directed toward converting raw information into material useful for law enforcement purposes.

Normally, the criminal information process described here is carried on in a large-scale operation. However, for MAs and command investigators, the process may be well-applied at a local level.

There are six steps in the criminal operation process, as follows:

1. Planning and Collecting. Planning for collection of information is needed at all levels. Short-, medium-, and long-range requirements should be established.

Priority areas of interest, expressed in the EECI and OCIR, are required due to resource limitations. They are not permanent, and the areas of interest will vary. Subordinate commands support the EECI and OCIR of higher commands and may establish their own priorities to meet local needs.

The individual investigator is the key to a successful collection effort. During daily activities, the investigator should look for information as specified in EECI and OCIR. The collection effort is continuous and should be aggressively pursued to be effective. Though priority will be placed on EECI requirements, the collection of other useful criminal information must be emphasized.

Available sources of information are unlimited as long as they are energetically used. Historically, the

police have relied upon people and other agencies for information. Informants have always supplied an important part of the information received.

2. Evaluating Criminal Information. The evaluation of criminal information involves determining the reliability of the source and the accuracy and pertinency of the information.

The individual investigator collecting the information is best able to judge the reliability of the source, particularly when it comes from informants. This determination is dependent upon past experience with the source. This evaluation of the information's accuracy and pertinency is best determined by the individual investigator and the local police operation.

Information processed by higher levels is evaluated in relation to other known information and prevailing circumstances. Information corroborated with other sources will generally be evaluated as more accurate.

3. Analysis. Analysis of information is conducted at all levels of the criminal information collection activity. The best basis on which to conduct analysis is experience. Additionally, the information may be subjected to various types of analyses (such as statistical analysis, operations research, systems analysis, and computer analysis).

Information is analyzed by itself before it is integrated with other information, to determine its value and to identify significant elements. It is then combined with other information. Analysis is the asking, "What significance does this information have? What does it mean?"

4. Collation. Collation is combining information with related information. This allows examination of all available information and presents the greatest possibility of deriving sound theory and judgments.

5. Reporting. Reports of criminal information may be as brief or as complex as is necessary. The reports should be tailored to the needs of the principal user and objectively prepared so the user can make sound decisions when using the information. Reports should be logically and concisely prepared and show what is positive information and what information is inferred or theory.

6. Dissemination. Criminal information is useless unless placed where it can be used. Dissemination of information should be made to law enforcement and command channels when required. The information should be valid. However, strict control should be used in the entire information process. For these reasons, various records should be maintained, and certain restrictions should be followed in disseminating.