Intelligence-led policing in practice: reflections from intelligence analysts

Intelligence-led policing (ILP) is a managerial law enforcement model that seeks to place crime intelligence at the forefront of decision-making. This model has been widely adopted, at least notionally, in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. Drawing on interviews with intelligence analysts from two Australian state law enforcement agencies, this article contributes to the relatively small body of literature that has examined ILP in practice. The article identifies three relational themes that inhibit the successful implementation of ILP: analysts and data, analysts and tools, and analysts and decision makers. Furthermore, it calls attention to the need to better understand the structure and operations within law enforcement agencies, including the similarities and differences among organizational units, in order to better understand how these nuances shape the practice of ILP.