Intelligence Led Policing

Running head: INTELLIGENCE-LED POLICING

INTELLIGENCE-LED POLICING AND CIVIL LIBERTIES
Capella University
June 18, 2010

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The Early Years of Intelligence-Led Policing

      Intelligence units within law enforcement organizations of the early 1920s, adopted the dossier or [database system] that was developed and perfected by the military (Carter, 2005). Intelligence files are simply dossiers; they are files based on the collection and/or gathering of raw data received─in reference to individuals who are considered offenders, who may be actively involved with criminals, or individuals who may be considered a threat to the safety and good order within a given (Carter, 2005). During the erly days of prohibition bootleggers and other prolific criminals of early 20th century─such as Al Capone and other notorious gangsters─these were the typical types of individuals who law enforcement organizations kept dossier files on (Carter, 2005).

      During the 1930s, minimal gains were made in the arena of law enforcement intelligence. During this era, the immediate threat to the United States was the economy, not criminals or the offenses they may have committed (Carter, 2005). However, during the latter part of the 1930s, new more ominous problem was Communism. Law enforcement organizations throughout the United States once again turned to using the dossiers to track these individuals (Carter, 2005).

      During the 1960s, law enforcement organizations across the United States met two of the most significant challenges head on where the intelligence dossiers once again appeared to be an important tool of choice in documenting individual activity: these challenges were the Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement (Donahue, 2006). In both situations, these groups appeared to be operating outside of mainstream society. To the majority of the population these groups appeared as being un-American (Donahue, 2006). Over the... [continues]

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