Intelligence-led policing in the 21stCentury: How increased mobility requires new paradigms of information sharing

Abstract

The challenge posed by mobile criminality to law enforcement has increased in the 21stCentury, as technology and digital communication have accelerated. This study examines the threat by analysing foreign national suspects data (arrested in a UK police force, n = 293) and UK-based practitioner interviews (n = 36). The evidence reveals the threat from offenders who travel between countries is growing, in quantity and sophistication. To keep pace with this evolution, law enforcement must develop new paradigms of information sharing, using technological advances and machine learning to their benefit and relying less on resource-intensive human practice. It suggests such a change will create cultural challenges.