Strategic Criminal Intelligence Education: A Collaborative Approach

Royal Commissions recognized in 1981 that there was a lack of strategic intelligence coordination across Australia. As a result, the Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence (ABCI) was created. One of its tasks has been to develop a strategic intelligence training program. Strategic intelligence differs from traditional intelligence in its focus on likely crime trends projected into the future based on an analysis of information obtained on current crime characteristics. The initial Strategic Intelligence Course was a 1-week residential course. Since 1999 it has expanded to a 2-week course that is fully integrated into a Graduate Certificate Program in Criminal Intelligence with a university partner. It includes pre-residential and post- residential course work. The NSIC aims to provide participants with a working knowledge of strategic intelligence, advanced analytical tools, research methods, and project management. Recent developments in the structure of intelligence organizations within Australia are likely to produce some minor administrative changes to the course, but the basic structure is likely to remain. Most intelligence analysts receive training in analytical computer packages, such as the use of mapping systems, with little regard to the more intellectual components of intelligence analysis. The NSIC promotes the use of intelligence at the policy and strategic decisionmaking level, which includes the development of recommendations for strategies that will address future challenges in law enforcement. Overall, it provides students with an expertise recognized by all law enforcement agencies in the country.