Agency head - The director of a law enforcement agency. Accommodation address - Mail drop. Activity - A process or procedure that is repeated multiple times. Activity, criminal - One or more of the elements involved in the furtherance of a criminal procedure. Agent handler - A member of a law enforcement intelligence unit who is responsible for directing the activities of an intelligence agent or operative. The purpose of the handler is to isolate the agent or operative from others in the law enforcement agency. Agent, intelligence - An individual acting under the direction of an intelligence unit to collect or assist in collecting data for intelligence or counterintelligence purposes or to be applied in the performance of other intelligence functions. Agent provocateur - A person who works for the government, directly or indirectly, and who encourages others to commit criminal acts so that they may be arrested and prosecuted or given the opportunity to work as informants. All-source intelligence production - The utilization of all available sources of materials to produce an intelligence product. Analysis - A process, occurring in the production phase of the intelligence cycle, during which information is subjected to systematic examination in order to identify facts and develop conclusions which may or may not become intelligence. Apparent Question - A collection question that attempts to answer part or all of a consumer's request for intelligence. The apparent question is based on identified criminal activity indicators. The end result of each question is to confirm or deny the existence of each selected indicator. Area of Concern (AC) - A specific geographic area, outside of the Area of Operations, where the occurrence of activities by criminals could affect an ongoing investigation or operation occurring in the Area of Operations. The Area of Concern may or may not be adjacent to an Area of Operations. There may be more than one Area of Concern related to each Area of Operations. Area of Operations (AO) - A specific geographic area where a law enforcement operation or investigation is planned or is taking place. Area of responsibility - A specific geographic area where a law enforcement agency is committed to providing various types of law enforcement services. Assessment - Evaluation of the effectiveness of a law enforcement agency's activity or the value of an intelligence unit's product. Assumption - A supposition regarding a criminal situation or anticipated criminal events; either or both are assumed to be true in the absence of positive proof to the contrary. Backstopping - The fabrication of a life history along with the appropriate false documents to support the "cover" of an operative in the event members of the criminal element attempt to develop background intelligence on the operative. Basic intelligence - Background intelligence that is factual and relatively permanent in nature. It can include any number of subjects involving a geographic area or the inhabitants of an area. It can also involve subjects such as geography, climate, culture, and social customs. Basic intelligence is obtained mainly from open sources. Biographical leverage - The utilization of derogatory materials, relating to a person's life history or current activities, to encourage the individual to work as an operative for law enforcement or the criminal element. Black - A term indicating desired secrecy or the concealment of an operational event. Black box - A device utilized in intelligence, usually for the collection of intelligence, which has capabilities or characteristics that are not to be discussed openly. Black list - A list of persons who are considered to be a threat to law enforcement intelligence operations. Blown - A slang term used to indicate the loss of anonymity or secrecy, which is applied to persons, locations, items, and operations; usually refers to the exposure of an agent's cover. Brief encounter - A short meeting during which documents or other materials are exchanged between an intelligence agent or operative and the agent's or operative's handler. The meeting is designed to appear that the two people do not know each other, a strictly chance encounter. There is no discussion during the encounter. Briefing - (1) The oral presentation to a group of authorized users. (2) The preparation of an individual or group for an operation, which is completed by describing the anticipated situation that will be encountered, the methods to be employed, and the objectives to be accomplished. Bug - A concealed device which can secretly collect and transmit voice or data. Bugging - The secret installation of devices to collect and transmit voice or data. Burned - Slang term for having the identity of a person, location, item, or activity compromised. The criminals or law enforcement may not have determined exactly what is occurring, but they realize something is not proper. Capabilities, criminal - Course(s) of action a criminal or criminal group is capable of accomplishing and, if selected by the criminal, could affect the accomplishment of the law enforcement investigation or operation. Capacity - The ability to perform an operation or accomplish an objective successfully. Clandestine - Secret or hidden; conducted surreptitiously. Case agent - A member of a law enforcement intelligence unit or operational unit, usually sworn, who is responsible for managing an investigation. Channel - To direct a person or group, covertly or overtly, into a specific geographic area where a predetermined law enforcement action may be brought to bear on the person or group. Choke point - A specific location or area, which may interfere with the movement of a person or group; may be utilized to temporarily slow or stop the movement of the person or group. Clandestine operation - A secret intelligence data collection activity or covert operation designed to assure secrecy. Classifications - The process of reviewing materials, based on a set of predetermined criteria, and then assigning restrictions regarding the use, control, and dissemination of those materials. Classified materials - Official materials determined to require, in the interest of criminal justice, protection against unauthorized disclosure. The materials are assigned a level of security classification based on their content. Clean - A person, location, or item that has never been used in an operation or investigation in a specific area and is, therefore, believed to be unknown to the criminal element.
Code name - A name assigned to an investigation or operation to allow it to be referred to in public writings or on a clear radio transmission without identifying exactly what is being discussed. Collation - The process of examining, comparing, and noting points of conflict in the data contained in a document. The data is then assembled into a logical sequence where it can be converted into information. Collection - The systematic exploitation of sources by collection units. The materials obtained are delivered to the intelligence collection management unit. Collection Authorization Number (CAN) - A number assigned to a type of criminal activity that has been approved by the intelligence unit manager for intelligence collection on a repeated basis known as a Standing Collection Order. The approvals of the collection authorizations are updated periodically as agency needs dictate, but usually at least once a year. As the collection will occur without a specific collection tasking, a collection authorization number is utilized in place of the tasking number.Collection cueing - A process where one collector, human or technical, identifies a predetermined indicator and then alerts one or more other collectors. Cueing is performed mainly to utilize an inexpensive initial collector to reduce the time and cost required for the utilization of a more costly collector. Collection indicator - Persons, places, items, activities, or events that assist a collector in determining or confirming the data being collected is what was requested. Collection management - The process involved in managing the requests for intelligence and focusing the intelligence collection support to fill those requests.Collection matrix - An intelligence unit form utilized to track the data collection assignments and the status of the data collection taskings.Collection need - An established intelligence-unit need considered in the allocation of intelligence assets and resources to fulfill the request for intelligence and other intelligence-related needs. Collection plan - A plan where all collection needs are identified and the most appropriate and available collector is assigned and tracked during the collection. Collection requirement - See "Intelligence collection requirements." Collection strategy - A plan to gain maximum advantage of collection assets and resources during an investigation or operation. The strategy involves the utilization of collection cueing, collection redundancy, collector mix, and the employment of both human and technical collectors and collection integration. Collection tasking - A documented request with an assigned tasking number approved by an intelligence unit manager, authorizing and directing the collection of specific materials (data or items). It contains the tasking collection requirements, including who and where, how, and when the materials are to be collected. It also describes the tasking reporting requirements to include any reporting of unique security requirements. In addition, the tasking may contain restrictions relating to the execution of the tasking. The word "tasking" is a verb, but in the intelligence community the word is also used as a noun. Compartmented intelligence - A security designation assigned to protect certain intelligence materials. Access to these materials requires that a person be in possession of an additional security clearance in relation to the individual's normal security clearance. Compartmented intelligence clearances are over and above a normal security clearance, not in place of the clearance. Once a person no longer requires access to the compartmented materials, the additional security clearance is removed. Concept of operation - A statement in an operations plan or operations order delineating the mission manager's assumptions and/or intent.
Cooking the books - A slang term referring to the skewing of both collection and analysis in the production of an intelligence report to support a prearranged conclusion. Counterintelligence - The intelligence activity assigned to monitor and neutralize the activities of the criminal element and to protect law enforcement materials, intelligence, and personnel against compromise and law enforcement facilities and equipment against damage or destruction. Counterintelligence also refers to the intelligence products derived from this activity. Countermeasures - Activities taken to counteract the known or suspected capabilities of the criminal element. Countersurveillance - A surveillance process to determine if others, usually criminals, are conducting surveillance on the same person, location, item, event, or activity as law enforcement units or are conducting surveillance on law enforcement units. Counterterrorism - Measures taken to prevent, deter, and/or respond to terrorist acts or the threat of such acts. Course of action - A plan or tentative plan that could be utilized in law enforcement investigations or operations. In the planning of a law enforcement investigation or operation, a number of criminal courses of action are usually developed for consideration during the initial planning stages. These are based on identified or suspected courses of action that may be taken by the criminals involved. As the process progresses, law enforcement courses of action are further developed and reviewed. Normally only a few law enforcement courses of action are selected for each potential criminal course of action. Cover - An intelligence-community term referring to a story and the supporting documents used to support a false identity for the protection of a person, organization, or facility and to prevent the compromise of an associated clandestine operation. Covert activity - An operation designed to influence or develop a prosecutable case against a criminal or criminal group for law enforcement purposes. The activity is designed to be performed in a manner that is not attributable to the implementing law enforcement agency. Criminal activity indicator - Used when answering a request for intelligence to detect and determine the presence or absence of a specific circumstance or situation. It is any positive or negative evidence of criminal activity that points toward one or more of a criminal group's capabilities, vulnerabilities, or intentions. Criminal activity indicators are the basis for the formulation of intelligence collection requirements. Criminal intelligence - See "Intelligence, criminal." Current intelligence - Intelligence of various types, relating to various subjects, that is perishable and hopefully of immediate value to the intelligence consumer. Due to its time-sensitive nature, it is usually disseminated with very limited or, in some cases, no intelligence evaluation, interpretation, analysis, or integration. Cut-out - One or more persons who are assigned to go between an intelligence agent's handler and an intelligence agent or other operative for the purpose of protecting the identity of the agent or operative. Damage assessment - An evaluation of the impact of an intelligence compromise in terms of the loss of intelligence materials and the suspected damage to the intelligence sources or methods now or in the future. The assessment process attempts to determine the damage and how it occurred or was allowed to occur and recommends measures to prevent future compromises. Data - A word, figure, fact, or number that may exist alone or with others; collected for development into "information" for intelligence purposes. Data mining - A process involving the examination of multiple types of records using a Modus Operandi and/or link-analysis approach to develop associations and identify potential criminal targets. The associations developed may relate to persons, locations, items, events, or activities that may become the target of additional intelligence research.
Dead drop - A location usually designated by an agent's handler where documents and items are exchanged. The location is usually in a remote area where there is little chance of someone else finding the documents or items or observing the documents or items being placed. Upon depositing the documents or items at the predestinated location, the person will move to another location and set an "indicator" to notify the other party that the materials have been delivered. An indicator is usually something that will not draw public attention, such as an old can at the base of a road sign. This is the signal to notify the person retrieving the materials that the materials have been deposited at the predestinated location. Setting an indicator precludes the person obtaining the materials from making multiple trips to the materials' pick-up point and possibly drawing attention to himself/herself or the dead-drop location. Deception - An intelligence or counterintelligence activity designed to mislead a criminal element. The desired result is to induce the criminals to react in a manner that will be detrimental to their criminal activities.Decision point - An anticipated, specific location and/or time or the occurrence of a specific event when it will be necessary for the mission manager to make an operational decision. The mission manager is responsible for identifying, in advance, as many decision points as possible during the mission planning process. Once the decision point is reached, the required decision cannot wait any longer if the operation or investigation is to proceed. Declassification - The removal of a protective security classification status from law enforcement documents or items. It requires a determination that disclosure would not be detrimental to the subject of the report, law enforcement agency, law enforcement community, or intelligence sources or methods. Deconfliction - The process of coordinating various aspects of multiple investigations or operations to avoid conflicts that may occur. The main goal of this process is oriented toward officer safety issues. Demographics - Data relating to the population that resides in an area. Denial - An action designed to prevent access by unauthorized persons into an area. This may be completed by covert or overt law enforcement activities.Derivative classification - A classification of a new document derived from the classification of the document or documents from which the materials were obtained or extracted. Detection ( As it relates to law enforcement counterintelligence) - A counterintelligence measure designed to expose a collection effort operated by a criminal element or some other person or group whose efforts would be injurious to law enforcement personnel and operations.Disinformation - The process of providing false or misleading information and/or materials that will discredit or cause problems for a person, location, item, event, or activity. Even if the truth is discovered at a later time, the damage or disruption caused has served its purpose. Dissemination - The process of providing intelligence materials to authorized consumers in a timely manner and usable form. Double agent - A person engaged in providing intelligence to a law enforcement agency and to one or more criminal groups with which he/she is associated. The person may or may not be providing intelligence regarding each group to the other. Drop - The process of placing documents or other materials in a secluded location to be retrieved by another person or device. See "Dead drop." Dry Cleaning - A process utilized to determine if a person of interest to law enforcement is currently under surveillance by a criminal group or other group. Dynamic - Something that is in a constant state of change, as in criminal investigations or operations. Elicitation - The collection of data from a person where the collector does not identify the focus of the meeting during which the collection is taking place. The purpose is to prevent the target of the collection from identifying the focus of the collection regarding certain areas of the target's knowledge. Emission - Electromagnetic output from radios and other transmitters. Emissions, when detected, may be recorded and Enforcement Area Research (EAR) - Factual, fundamental, and relatively constant materials about all aspects of an area to include physical locations and social, economic, political, biographical, and cultural elements; used as a base for intelligence products in the support of law enforcement planning, policy development, and operations. Enforcement Effectiveness Evaluation (E3) - (1) Process involved in conducting a timely and accurate assessment of the effectiveness of a law enforcement operational activity on a selected target or group of targets. (2) An evaluation of the effectiveness of law enforcement in their attempt to conduct an operation or criminal investigation. Espionage - An activity conducted by criminals to acquire materials or intelligence using clandestine methods. Essential Elements of Information (EEI) - See "Priority collection requirement." Estimate - ( 1) An analysis of a criminal situation or suspected criminally related situation, development, or trend that identifies the major criminal elements, interprets their significance, evaluates future possibilities, and identifies possible results of the various actions that might be undertaken by criminals. (2) An appraisal of the capabilities, vulnerabilities, and potential courses of action of a criminal group in reaction to a contemplated law enforcement plan, policy, decision, or course of action. (3) Analysis of an actual or contemplated clandestine operation in relation to the situation in which it is or would be conducted in order to identify and evaluate factors, such as required assets, potential obstacles, possible accomplishments, and consequences. Estimative intelligence - A category of intelligence where all available data, information, and intelligence, although incomplete, are analyzed. Estimative intelligence is used to address two separate time periods. First, what is it that is presently occurring? Secondly, what will happen in the future? The results of estimative intelligence are usually not specific and are usually stated in ranges of possible criminal actions or activities. Evaluation - An appraisal of the value of an intelligence activity or product in terms of its contribution to a specific goal; an appraisal of the credibility, reliability, pertinence, accuracy, or usefulness of intelligence in terms of satisfying the consumer's requirements. Event chart - A chart displaying a series of events in the order in which the events occurred. It differs from a date/time event chart in that there is usually no reference to the date or time of occurrence. Time may be displayed to show the generic time required between events. This type of chart is used, many times, in describing a Modus Operandi. Exploitation management - Managing the available collection activities so as to take advantage of materials received from an ongoing collection activity that satisfies another totally separate data collection requirement not planned to be serviced by the original collection activity. Eyes only - A security restriction designating those specific persons who are allowed to read the documents usually contained under seal. Feedback - Input from the intelligence consumer as to the value of the intelligence provided by the intelligence unit in their reports and briefings. Field collection request - When a request for materials cannot be satisfied by the research of automated and manual files, and the materials are still required, they must be collected by finding the data or items through interviews and other collection methods. Finished intelligence - The product resulting from the data collection and data collection evaluation and processing, analysis, integration, and interpretation of all available materials concerning a criminal activity; the end product of the production phase of the intelligence cycle. Fusion, intelligence - The process of examining all sources of available intelligence and information to derive a complete assessment of an activity. General intelligence - Very broad in nature; designed to provide the consumer with an overview of one or more intelligence subject areas, as well as to expose the consumer to a large number of current criminal activities in very limited detail. Handler - A person responsible for directing or communicating with an intelligence agent or operative. High-payoff target - A target whose loss will significantly contribute to the success of the law enforcement investigation or operation. High-value target - A target whose loss will interfere significantly with the criminal's ability to perform criminal activities successfully. Human intelligence - Intelligence that results from materials collected by human sources through covert and overt activities. Hypothesis - An explanation as to the reason for one or more events; may also be referred to as a theory. IALEIA - Acronym for the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts, Inc. This group is working to professionalize analysis in the law enforcement intelligence field.Imagery - Refers to images reproduced electronically or by optical means using film or electronic display devices.
Implied question - The indirect and, many times, obscure question or questions that must be answered by logical necessity along with, prior to, and after an apparent question is addressed in an Intelligence Collection Report or an Intelligence Analysis Report. Indicator - See "Modus Operandi indicator." Indicators (as used in the term "Indicators and Warnings") - Activities, which, if should they occur, would signal the possible likelihood of a threat to the operational plans of an investigation or operation . Indicators are used to identify and forewarn of activities of criminal groups and suspected criminal groups, which would negatively impact a law enforcement investigation or operation. Indicators and Warnings (I&W) - Part of the intelligence process, which is utilized as a law enforcement "early warning system." Selected activities of criminals are identified by the intelligence unit and monitored. Should one of the indicators or warnings occur, it would be utilized to forecast that one or more specific criminal activities are likely to follow. Informant - A person, usually with a criminal background, who is supplying materials to law enforcement usually in return for money or a favorable consideration on a pending criminal prosecution for himself/herself or an associate.Information - An aggression of data that has been evaluated and may be used in the production of criminal intelligence. Insurgency - An organized movement aimed at the overthrow of a constituted government through the use of subversion and/or armed conflict. Intelligence agent - A sworn law enforcement officer who is assigned to a criminal intelligence unit and authorized to collect intelligence-related materials. Intelligence Analysis Report - A report prepared by the intelligence unit for authorized consumers, containing finished intelligence. The report is a finished product and should not be confused with the "Intelligence Collection Report." Intelligence collection asset - A human or technical data collector under the direct control of a tasking intelligence unit manager. Intelligence collection operation - A law enforcement operation designed to collect materials for intelligence purposes.Intelligence Collection Plan - A plan for gathering materials from all available sources in response to a request for intelligence. The plan is designed to convert the request for intelligence into one or more intelligence collection taskings, including specific conditions and restrictions on collecting and reporting. Intelligence Collection Report - The raw and unprocessed materials collected in response to an intelligence collection Intelligence collection requirements - One or more collection directives based on a single request for intelligence. Intelligence collection resource - A human or technical data collector not under the direct control of the requesting intelligence unit manager requesting the data. Intelligence collection tasking - See "Collection tasking." Intelligence, criminal - A process involving the collection of materials, which are developed into information, and analysis of that information to produce intelligence intended to support law enforcement agencies in their fight against crime by enhancing their knowledge. Intelligence cycle - The process by which data and items are acquired and converted into information, then ultimately into intelligence, and made available to authorized consumers.Intelligence estimate - An appraisal based on available intelligence relating to a specific situation; designed to determine the courses of action available to the criminal element and provide a relative probability as to each course of action that may be selected for the criminal activity. Intelligence gap - A subject area where intelligence materials have been requested and are not currently available within an intelligence unit. Intelligence need - A subject area that has been identified as requiring the development of more intelligence. Intelligence personnel - Sworn and non-sworn law enforcement personnel assigned to a criminal intelligence unit. Intelligence product - The product of the intelligence cycle; includes reports, briefings, models, diagrams, etc. Intelligence research technician - A person who conducts various types of research based on authorized requests for intelligence-related purposes. Intelligence synchronization - The process of coordinating intelligence systems to deliver their intelligence products in time for them to be used effectively for the investigations or operations they support. One of the aspects of intelligence synchronization is that materials are not to be delivered too early where the products provided will be too old to be of value. Intelligence unit - A unit designated solely for the purpose of producing intelligence products. Investigator, law enforcement - A person, sworn or non-sworn, who is employed by a governmental entity and involved in criminal or civil investigations. Joint operation - An operation involving multiple agencies. Kilometer - 1,000 meters or approximately 6/10 of a mile. Knowledge - The assimilation of intelligence combined with an investigator's personal experiences and understanding that relate to the investigation of criminal activities. Law enforcement agency - A government agency responsible for the enforcement of federal, state, or local criminal laws or regulations.Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit (LEIU) - A professional law enforcement intelligence association. Members are law enforcement officers who are assigned to their respective agency's intelligence unit. Law enforcement organization protection - A process designed to protect law enforcement sworn officers, civilian employees, family members, facilities, intelligence files, and equipment from the harmful activities of the criminal element. Logistics - The process of obtaining, maintaining, storing, and distributing supplies and other materials. Measurement intelligence - Designed to collect measurements on items and compare those measurements to a known number or a number range. Some of the measurements include weight, temperatures, radio frequencies, and distances. The intelligence gained is used to provide indicators to assist investigators in focusing their efforts. Most measurement intelligence is covert in nature. Medical intelligence - A category of intelligence resulting from the collection, evaluation, analysis, and interpretation of Method of Operation (MO) - See Modus Operandi. Mission - A task assigned by a higher authority, together with the purpose of the task, that clearly indicates the action to be taken and the reason for the requested action. The term "mission" is generic for any type of law enforcement investigation or operation. Mission manager - The person, sworn or non-sworn, who is responsible regardless of the individual's rank or position for the successful completion of a law enforcement investigation or operation. Mission statement - The basis for a law enforcement operations plan and, if approved, for the implementation of an operations order. The elements of a mission statement include the who, what, when, where, and why of the mission, and sometimes how certain aspects of the mission are to be completed.Mission , unit - A statement of a law enforcement unit's goals, purpose, and objectives. Modus Operandi (MO) - The method of operation utilized by criminals in completing their criminal activities. This term is often referred to as the criminal's "MO." Need to know - The requirement that the intelligence requested by an authorized consumer is pertinent to the consumer's current assignment and required for a lawful reason.Negative intelligence - Intelligence that is known to have been acquired by a criminal element, but neutralized by law enforcement counterintelligence measures; usually refers to intelligence that surfaces shortly after an intelligence compromise. Neutralize - To render ineffective.No Later Than (NLT) - The time by which something must be accomplished or delivered. After that time, the intelligence, information, or items are usually of no or negligible value to the requestor or consumer. Open-source intelligence - Materials of potential intelligence value, which are readily available to the public usually at no cost. Operational intelligence - Intelligence that is utilized for the planning and conducting of law enforcement operations and investigations.Operational security - Processes to prevent unauthorized or unintentional disclosure of intelligence concerning law enforcement operational activities. Operational security intelligence - Any and all types of intelligence necessary to support the law enforcement internal security function. Operations plan - A plan for the conduct of a law enforcement investigation or operation; commonly referred to as an "Op Plan." Operations order - An operations plan that a mission manager has directed to be placed into action or is already placed into action. Overt - Performed without any attempt to conceal, as in the overt collection of open-source data.
Priority Intelligence Requirement (PIR) - Ranking utilized for intelligence collection requests in the collection of materials for intelligence reports. "Priority Intelligence Requirement" is the highest ranking and can normally only be assigned by the mission manager of that mission. This term is replacing "Essential Elements of Information," which is still utilized in some agencies. Process - A series of procedures designed to achieve a particular result. Production - The process involving the preparation of intelligence reports after completion of intelligence analysis. Pseudonym - An assumed name used to protect the identity of a person. Quirk - A peculiarity or idiosyncrasy of a criminal that causes the individual to perform an act that would normally be unexpected, and there is usually no logical reason for the action. The result is that the act does not fit into what law enforcement would usually come to expect as the criminal's normal course of action. Raw information - A term to identify "data" and "items" which were collected, but not evaluated, processed, or analyzed. Reasonable suspicion - The level of suspicion that exists when sufficient facts are presented to a trained officer, agent, analyst, or other qualified person, which would cause the individual to have reason to believe that there is a high likelihood that an individual or organization is involved in a definable criminal activity or criminal enterprise. Reconnaissance - Visual, photographic, or electronic observation of the selected characteristics of a geographic area. Request for intelligence - Materials requested by a mission manager or the manager's staff, which are required to develop mission-related plans and make decisions. Requested intelligence - Intelligence provided to an authorized consumer at the consumer's request; sometimes referred to as "pull intelligence." This term is used, many times, with the utilization of a Standing Collection Order for a certain type of intelligence material.Required questions - Questions that are identified when reviewing an apparent question. The required questions usually relate to officer safety issues associated with the answer to an apparent question and, on occasion, with the answers to the implied questions. It is the responsibility of the intelligence unit to identify officer safety issues that may relate when answering an apparent question. Right to know - A determination based on the statutory authority of an agency combined with the official capacity of that agency to receive or possess requested intelligence materials. Risk - The voluntary exposure to harm or loss, however avoidable it might be under the circumstances. Routine Intelligence Requirement (RIR) - A ranking assigned to the request for intelligence. The rank of "Routine Intelligence Requirement" is below the rank of "Priority Intelligence Requirement." This term is replacing "Other Elements of Intelligence." Sabotage - An act conducted by a criminal entity with intent to injure, interfere with, or obstruct a governmental agency's operations.Safe House - A secret location arranged for and maintained by an intelligence unit to hide personnel and/or conduct other clandestine activities. Screen - A expedited process, using a set of predetermined questions to establish the level and type of criminal knowledge possessed by each candidate, to allow determination if the person should be considered for a more in-depth interview by intelligence agents or other law enforcement personnel. Scenario - A theory developed which provides an anticipated sequence of events. Scientific intelligence - See "Technical intelligence." Secret - A security classification utilized by the U.S. Government applied to material, which, if disclosed in an unauthorized manner, could reasonably be expected to cause "serious damage" to the national security of the United States . Sanitized intelligence - The process of removing all indicators from an intelligence product to prevent the reader from Security clearance - A program, which grants access to persons employed by the government as well as contractors with government contracts who require access to classified documents in their assignments. Within the U.S. Government system, there are three basic levels of security clearance: confidential, secret, and top secret. Other often-used clearances are the "code word" or "specialized compartmented clearances," which refer to controlled access programs for certain projects. These clearances are over and above the three basic types of clearances. Security risk - A person or device suspected of being a threat to a governmental agency. Sedition - The willful making or conveying of reports or statements with the intent to interfere with the operations or success of a law enforcement agency's personnel or to promote the success of criminals who the agency is taking action against; the willful causing of insubordination, disloyalty, or refusal of duty in the agency. Situation assessment - An assessment that is the result of combining topography, weather, and criminal-element intelligence to produce a comprehensive overview of a situation for an investigations or operations manager. Sleeper - A person, criminal or law enforcement, placed in a special location who does not engage in any activities in support of the individual's parent agency until instructed to do so. Source - A person who supplies data or items for intelligence purposes to a law enforcement agency without the expectation of anything in return. This act is usually conducted out of concern for the community in which the individual resides or civic concern. Source document - The original document from which data was extracted for intelligence purposes. This document could be the transcription of an interview, newspaper article, traffic-violation citation, surveillance report, hand-drawn map, etc. Specific material requirements - The question or questions that need to be answered or items that need to be collected to confirm or deny the existence of each identified and selected criminal activity indicator. Each specific material requirement identified for collection becomes a collection tasking. Normally each specific material requirement will have multiple collection taskings that are required to satisfy that requirement. SPOT - A French-owned and operated commercial satellite program that obtains and sells satellite imagery of the entire world. Sterilize - The process of removing from items utilized in clandestine operations any markings that could identify them as being the property of a law enforcement intelligence agency. Strategic intelligence - Intelligence required for the formation of policy and law enforcement agency planning at the agency executive and administrative levels; usually very general or broad in nature and normally not time-sensitive. Subversion - Action designed to undermine a law enforcement agency's efforts. The action can be economic, psychological, or by other means for the ultimate benefit of the criminal element and their activities.
Sweeper - The slang term for a person who conducts Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) to locate listening devices, which is also referred to as "debugging." Tactical intelligence - Intelligence required for planning and conducting operations at the street level; usually very time-sensitive and very specific in nature.Target - A person, location, item, activity, or event against which intelligence or operational activities are directed. Target development - The acquisition of data or items relating to possible criminal targets obtained from all available sources, which will be collated and analyzed and, if successfully developed, the resulting target will be placed on a target list. Target of opportunity - A person, location, item, activity, or event that possesses target value and becomes available without any planning or warning on the part of law enforcement. Targeting - The process of selecting criminal targets and matching them to the appropriate law enforcement activity based on current operational requirements, legal restrictions, and a law enforcement agency's capabilities. Task - A function or work assignment that is assigned to a subordinate unit. Tasking - See "Collection tasking." Technical intelligence - Intelligence pertaining to technological and scientific developments, identifying the performance and operational capabilities and vulnerabilities of equipment, which has or may have in the future practical application for a criminal element in performing their criminal activities. Temporary intelligence file - An intelligence file that meets the intelligence evaluation criteria, but lacks one or more of the required file "identifiers." Normally intelligence can be held for a predetermined period of time, while the missing identifiers are sought. If the identifiers are not supplied during the waiting period, the temporary intelligence file is usually purged. While temporary intelligence files are held, the access to the materials is usually restricted to only the intelligence unit holding the materials.Terrorism - The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence against individuals or property to coerce or intimidate governments or societies; often times conducted to achieve political, religious, or ideological objectives. Threat - A person, group, or device capable of causing harm. Top Secret - A security classification utilized by the U.S. Government applied to intelligence, which, "if disclosed in an unauthorized manner, could reasonably be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to national security." Topography - The physical features of a place or region. Tradecraft - Techniques and skills utilized in the collection of data or items for intelligence purposes. Turn - A slang term meaning to convert a person who is collecting data or items for the criminal element into an informant for law enforcement. Another term with the same meaning is to "flip" a person. Unrequested intelligence - Intelligence supplied to an authorized consumer on a proactive basis; sometimes referred to as "push intelligence."USA Patriot Act - Law passed after 11 Sep 2001 expanding law enforcement's surveillance and domestic intelligence power. The name is an acronym for "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism." Validation - A process involved in data collection where the collection manager validates the need and authority relating to a request for the collection of data or items. Vetting - The process involved in examining the background of a person to determine if the individual is safe to utilize in an intelligence environment. top of pageWarning (as used in "Indicators and Warnings") - Cautionary notifications forecasting the existence of some type of threat or danger to an operational aspect of a mission and/or to the safety of law enforcement personnel, equipment, intelligence, or facilities. Warning intelligence - Intelligence designed to provide advanced notice to law enforcement management regarding a specific geographic area or function, which may have an increased likelihood of problems based on indicators. Watch list - A list of names, addresses, phone numbers, vehicles, etc., which are of interest to law enforcement for known or suspected criminal activities. Working intelligence file - Material that has been received, but has not been indexed for filing. The material is usually in the process of being reviewed and developed and has not been certified to meet the criteria for a temporary or permanent intelligence file. For material to be maintained in a "working file," the material must have been authorized for collection by the intelligence unit SOP.top of page X Y Z |
Clear - Refers to the transmission of voice or data that is not encrypted.
Confidential - A security classification utilized by the United States Government. It is applied to materials that "if disclosed in an unauthorized manner, could reasonably be expected to cause damage to the national security."
Date-time chart - An analytical chart displaying multiple events, which are organized (ordered) according to their date and time of occurrence. This type of charting is also referred to as a time line.
the location of origin identified for intelligence purposes. Some items not designed as transmitters may inadvertently emit electromagnetic emissions, which may also be detected and identified for intelligence purposes.
Imagery intelligence - Intelligence derived from the exploitation of the collection of visual photography, infrared photography, and sensors and, more recently, lasers. 
tasking.
medical, biological, and environmental data. Much of the intelligence relating to new, illegal drugs is developed from emergency room treatment data.
Permanent intelligence file - A file containing intelligence that satisfies all the current intelligence file collection and retention criteria and has been reviewed and approved for the retention period established.
discerning the intelligence sources and methods used to develop the product.
Surveillance - The systematic, covert observation or monitoring of persons, places, items, or events by visual, photographic, or electronic means for the purpose of developing data for intelligence.
