Open-source intelligence (OSINT)

INTERVIEW: Nauris Paulins, Innovation and Digital Transformation Adviser at the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Latvia, recently spoke to Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth about the work of the unit, its role within the European NOTIONES Project, and how the FIU’s involvement in this and other research and innovation projects benefits both policing in Latvia and forces further afield.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: AI is transforming the way police forces vet applicants by tackling the vast scale of social media data. In this Q&A, Fivecast’s Joseph Miller explains how open-source intelligence tools are reshaping vetting, making it faster, smarter, and more accurate than ever before.

FEATURE: A new report by the Garda Síochána Inspectorate has called for the force to carry out a strategic threat and risk assessment to identify and tackle transnational organised crime; a workforce plan to better allocate resources, prioritising data-informed processes, and adopting an “all-island” approach to organised crime were also among more than 60 recommendations, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Uncovering the role of social media in the Southport riots and how open-source intelligence (OSINT) can combat misinformation and violent calls to action.

FEATURE: A new report from Europol sets out how artificial intelligence (AI) could “significantly transform policing”, with tools such as generative AI offering a “treasure trove of possibilities” for law enforcement; but the report also highlights the profound risks around AI systems embedding “longstanding societal biases”, and the important restrictions coming into force via the landmark EU AI Act passed earlier this year, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports. 

ANALYSIS: With a renewed government focus on neighbourhood and community policing in the UK, Steve Dodd, a former South Wales Police detective and College of Policing subject matter expert on intelligence professionalisation, sets out the potential of community intelligence-led policing methodology in improving intelligence gathering and rebuilding public trust and confidence, in the first of a two-part series.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Fivecast, a leading Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) solution provider, explains how OSINT techniques can help police forces identify coordinated efforts by online groups with the intent to vandalise or disrupt government infrastructure related to the expansion of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone. By leveraging OSINT, intelligence officials can uncover networks of actors, events and analyse trends indicating criminal behaviours and risks to public safety.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Fivecast, a global provider of Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) solutions, share their expertise on the terrorism landscape in the UK and Europe and how OSINT can significantly enhance law enforcement efforts and resources to keep our communities safe.

FEATURE: UK National Crime Agency Director General Graeme Biggar has warned that policing and the wider criminal justice system is not moving fast enough or far enough in its efforts to combat the shift online in serious and organised crime, and that the roll out of end-to-end encryption on sites such as Facebook would be “tantamount to consciously turning a blind eye” to child abuse, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Dr Chris Allen spoke to Dr Tetiana Melnychuk, Associate Professor at Ukraine’s National University Odesa Law Academy and visiting researcher at the Center for European and International Criminal Law Studies at the University of Osnabrück, about the ‘blurred edges’ of organised crime, preventing criminals infiltrating government and legal agencies, and the need to prepare for the restoration of law and order after the war in Ukraine.

OPINION: Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used by New Zealand Police to identify, analyse and investigate criminals and criminal activity; but University of Auckland Associate Professor Alexandra Sims believes that new legislation and independent monitoring is needed to protect against the dangers of the erosion of privacy and algorithmic bias, and ensure compliance with existing frameworks and principles.

INTERVIEW: As cybersecurity threats persist, Dr Reza Montasari, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Threats at the Cyber Threats Research Centre at Swansea University, spoke to Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth about the dangers to law enforcement agencies and public sector authorities, and how new approaches to cyber security and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms present opportunities to transform policing.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Dr Adrian James, Reader in Police Studies at Liverpool John Moores University, about the negligible impact of the National Intelligence Model, the myth of the criminals’ code of silence, and policing’s inability to reduce the supply of drugs.

OPINION: With the information war increasingly taking place on digital platforms, and cheaper technology making covert surveillance more available, some argue that the importance of human intelligence (HUMINT) sources in law enforcement appears to be diminishing; but Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth believes HUMINT still has an essential role to play in meeting strategic intelligence requirements.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Steve Hone, former National Crime Agency (NCA) Regional Manager for North America, Canada and the Caribbean and now an independent serious and organised crime consultant, about Afghanistan, targeting crack, and the importance of covert human intelligence sources.

INTERVIEW: In the latest in a series of interviews with leading figures involved in the research and investigation of organised crime, Policing Insight’s Chris Allen spoke to Sir Jon Murphy, Professor of Advanced Policing Studies at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) and former Chief Constable of Merseyside Police about the untapped academic resource in fighting organised crime, targeting criminal communications, and the challenges of technological change.

INNOVATION: With global digitalisation, an increasingly complex international security landscape and the rapid advances in technology, new intelligence gathering tools and techniques are developing at pace; now a new European collaboration of 15 intelligence and security agencies has been established to focus and share research and development, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

FEATURE: The return of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and their apparent attempts to use social media and other avenues to hunt down those who have collaborated with coalition forces, has highlighted once again the dangers and security concerns around the online presence of police officers; Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth examines some of the main risks, as well as steps police and others can take to protect themselves and others from harm.

FEATURE: A new book by the former Director of GCHQ the UK’s first Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator outlines some of the key skills and attributes required of spies; but as Policing Insight's Andrew Staniforth reports, the book includes approaches and attitudes that would benefit any police officer involved in intelligence gathering and analytical thinking.

OPINION: A digital categorisation tool is now in use in prisons in an effort to reduce crime on the wings and in wider society; but as a new Police Foundation discussion document highlights, the use of police intelligence data as the basis for prisoner ‘risk ratings’ raises concerns over accuracy, bias and transparency, as the Foundation’s Director, Rick Muir, explains.