Minimum Criminal Intelligence Training Standards Oct07

United StatesDepartment of JusticeMinimum CriminalIntelligence Training Standardsfor Law Enforcement and Other CriminalJustice Agencies in the United StatesFindings and RecommendationsPrepared by the Intelligence Training Coordination Working GroupPresented to the Counter-Terrorism Training Coordination Working Group, the GlobalIntelligence Working Group, and the Criminal Intelligence Coordinating CouncilOctober 2007Version 2

This project was supported by Grant No. 2007-MU-BX-K002 awarded by the Bureau ofJustice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Office ofJustice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Instituteof Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and the Office forVictims of Crime. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author anddo not represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Minimum CriminalIntelligenceTraining StandardsFor Law Enforcement and Other CriminalJustice Agencies in the United StatesFindings and RecommendationsVersion 2October 2007

Minimum Criminal Intelligence Training Standards—October 2007Ta b l e o f C o n t e n t sIntroduction . 1Philosophy . 1Understanding Minimum Standards . 2Curricula . 3Additional Criminal Intelligence Training . 3Intelligence Analyst. 5Summary . 5Objective I . 6Objective II . 6Objective III . 7Objective IV . 7Objective V . 7Objective VI . 8Objective VII. 8Objective VIII . 8Intelligence Manager/Commander . 9Summary . 9Objective I .10Objective II .10Objective III .11Objective IV .11Objective V .12Objective VI .13Law Enforcement Executive.15Summary .15Objective I .16Objective II .16Objective III .16Objective IV .17Objective V .17Page i

Minimum Criminal Intelligence Training Standards—October 2007General Law Enforcement Officer—Basic Criminal Intelligence.19Summary .19Objective I .20Objective II .20Objective III .20Objective IV .21General Law Enforcement Officer—Criminal Intelligence Refresher .23Summary .23Objective I .24Objective II .24Objective III .24Objective IV .25Criminal Intelligence Officer .27Summary .27Objective I .28Objective II .28Objective III .29Objective IV .29Objective V .29Objective VI .30Objective VII .30Train-the-Trainer .31Summary .31Objective I .32Objective II .32Objective III .32Objective IV .33Objective V .33Objective VI .33Objective VII .33Objective VIII .34Appendix.35Page ii

Minimum Criminal Intelligence Training Standards—October 2007IntroductionThe intent of this document is to provide perspective and guidance for the developmentand delivery of law enforcement intelligence training. It is recognized that any type of“standard” can be debated based on an individual’s personal philosophy, professionalpriorities, and life experiences. In order to minimize bias or atypical context, thedevelopment process for these standards used a consensual approach reflecting thecumulative judgment of law enforcement intelligence practitioners, managers,executives, trainers, and scholars from all levels of government.The standards reflect the collective judgment of these subject‐matter experts (SMEs)with respect to the minimum training needed in each noted classification to provide thebasic knowledge, skills, and abilities for personnel in each classification in order forthem to perform their intelligence duties. In particular for the intelligence analyst, thoseduties would be at the entry level.This document should be viewed as a “living document” because supplements may bedeveloped in the future. Future supplements may address additional trainingclassifications or other specialized training needs based on threats that, although notcriminal, have implications for homeland security. Individuals and organizations areinvited to submit recommendations for future versions of this document via theNational Criminal Intelligence Resource Center (http://www.ncirc.gov) e‐mail address:information@ncirc.gov.P h i l o s o p hyThese minimum standards were created within the context of the following statementof philosophy as applied to all training categories:This training is designed to develop a culture of information analysis andinformation sharing within the law enforcement communities for thepurpose of safeguarding America’s communities while protecting citizens’privacy and civil rights.Page 1

Minimum Criminal Intelligence Training Standards—October 2007Understanding MinimumStandardsThe SMEs who developed these standards expressed the need to reinforce the fact thatthese are minimum training standards. Personnel who attend training that meets thesestandards will possess core competencies to perform their duties lawfully andeffectively. Of course, effectiveness and efficiency will both increase with experienceand additional training.Program developers are urged to expand the modules’ content and times as practicable.This is particularly true as new laws, issues, trends, and best practices emerge.Standards are dynamic, reflecting the best knowledge at the time they are written;monitoring changes within the training environment is a critical responsibility oftraining program developers.Permeating each component of the training should be the consideration of issues relatedto fusion centers, the Information Sharing Environment (ISE), privacy issues, andcommunity policing, as applicable to each component of the training.The minimum standards outlined in this document are recommendations for coreminimum criminal intelligence training standards for each training classification: Intelligence Analyst Intelligence Manager/Commander Law Enforcement Executive General Law Enforcement Officer—Basic Criminal Intelligence General Law Enforcement Officer—Criminal Intelligence Refresher Criminal Intelligence Officer Train‐the‐TrainerThe recommendations include objectives, standards, and suggested curriculum/sourcesof information, as well as time allocations. Standards are defined as specific courses ortopics of instruction required to meet the training objective.Page 2

Minimum Criminal Intelligence Training Standards—October 2007CurriculaProgram developers are reminded that the minimum standards are not curricula. Thestandards represent topics for which curricula are developed. A suggested curriculumand sources of information are included for each standard. The SMEs who developedthese standards made one overarching recommendation regarding curricula. Curricula content should include the latest iteration of national standards for lawenforcement intelligence (e.g., the National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan(NCISP) and the Information Sharing Environment Implementation Plan) as well asthe most current developments in the field (e.g., new regulations, emergingprivacy guidelines and/or state‐specific requirements, new technologies, andintelligence resources).Curricula structure should be based on accepted principles of adult learning. Theseinclude methods to evaluate learning, such as pre‐ and posttests, problem‐solvingexercises, and/or demonstration of learning objective mastery.A d d i t i o n a l C r i m i n a l I n t e l l i g e n c e Tra i n i n gThe training categories contained in this document are drawn from those articulated inthe NCISP and are dependent largely on a person’s specific assignment in a lawenforcement organization. It is recognized there are important and relevant intelligencetraining programs that are not covered by the standards; for example, programs fordeveloping an intelligence capacity in a law enforcement agency, new programsfocused specifically on intelligence‐led policing, or a program on public/privatepartnerships for the intelligence process and the ISE. Similarly, new programs maytarget specific issues, such as gang intelligence or drug intelligence. These programs areimportant and have value despite the lack of specifically defined minimum standards.Collaborative efforts with other criminal justice agencies, such as corrections and paroleand probation, may also result in additional topics in the future.Program developers are urged to explore the diverse applications of law enforcementintelligence where training voids exist. In those programs, developers are also urged toadopt the same philosophy and curricular issues described above.Page 3

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Minimum Criminal Intelligence Training Standards—October 2007Intelligence AnalystTime Allotment: 40 hours minimumTime Allotment per Objective:3 hoursObjective I:Intelligence analysts will understand the criminalintelligence process, intelligence-led policing, the information sharingframework, and their roles in enhancing public safety.2 hoursObjective II: Analysts will gain an understanding of the properhandling and collation of criminal intelligence information, including filemanagement and information evaluation.4 hoursObjective III:Analysts will experience the development ofintelligence through the processes of critical thinking, logic, inferencedevelopment, and recommendation development.2 3 hoursObjective IV: Analysts will understand the methodical process ofdeveloping and implementing collection and analytic plans, to includethe reevaluation of that process/product.2 3 hoursObjective V: Analysts will be familiar with the legal, privacy, andethical issues relating to intelligence.3 hoursObjective VI: Analysts will be provided with information on sources,including the Internet, information sharing systems, networks, centers,commercial and public databases, and other sources of information andtheir limitations.16 hoursObjective VII: Analysts will be able to demonstrate a practicalknowledge of the methods, tools, and techniques employed in analysis.4–8 hoursObjective VIII: Analysts will be familiar with the skills underlyinganalytic methods, including report writing, statistics, and graphictechniques.*It is recommended that the most current developments in the field (e.g., fusion centers, InformationSharing Environment (ISE) Implementation Plan (IP), and updated terminology) be referenced in thecurriculum for each training objective.SummaryThe role of the intelligence analyst is more critical than ever as we move to a systemicmodel involving the ISE. Analysts have more diverse information and are required toproduce more explicit tactical and strategic intelligence products. There are demandsfor threat assessments and the need to prepare intelligence reports that are in a formeasily consumed, not only by intelligence professionals but also by line‐level lawenforcement officers. The Minimum Criminal Intelligence Training Standards for theIntelligence Analyst must incorporate these elements if the conceptual model forintelligence fusion and the Information Sharing Environment (see appendix) is going toreach fruition. Thus, these standards include new and emerging responsibilities for thePage 5