Australian law enforcement bodies are missing the opportunity to prevent crime, by not fully utilising forensic intelligence.
A study by Charles Darwin University (CDU) and three of the country’s policing organisations found there was a lack of understanding of forensic intelligence (FORINT) in many police forces.
CDU Professor and Northern Territory Police (NTP) Chief Forensic Science Officer Joannah Lee said FORINT had the potential to provide critical insights at all stages of an investigation, including proactively, to disrupt criminal activity and enhance public safety.
Dr Lee said forensics had well-recognised application in the courtroom, but the science had much more to give.
“FORINT is a means of maximising the utility of forensic science in policing,” she said.
“It can be used to target systemic crime problems or criminal actors in a way that complements traditional intelligence approaches.”
Australian Federal Police (AFP) Forensics Coordinator Michael Taylor said the operational advantages of FORINT had been well evidenced, with successes in crime prevention and disruption across the country.
“Early implementation of FORINT in Australia was piloted in the Australian Capital Territory, where 80 percent of property crime is attributable to serial offenders,” Dr Taylor said.
“The FORINT unit targeted offenders via systematic cross-case collection, holistic analysis of biometrics, and shoe-marks and behavioural factors alongside case data and open-source information,” he said.
“Following this, burglary reports were halved, and this FORINT project is now delivered business-as-usual by the AFP.”
Dr Lee said the study revealed numerous roadblocks to the effective application of FORINT in Australia and New Zealand, including across culture, organisation and operating environment, information management, and education and training.
“For example, the separation of forensic science from its intelligence functions led to real and/or perceived tension between intelligence and prosecutorial outcomes.”
She said unifying disparate information management systems enhanced the ability of law enforcement to systematically exploit forensic opportunities to target criminal entities operating within and across borders.
“Collaboration and sharing are key. Breaking-down siloes is a necessary prerequisite to allow cross-case, cross-domain analyses.”
Dr Lee said risks associated with implementing FORINT, including privacy, confidentiality, bias and misinterpretation, were not exclusive to the discipline.
“These issues are outweighed by the risks of not implementing FORINT – such as failure to reveal threats, missed opportunities and poor resource efficiency.”
Read the full study: Forensic intelligence in Australia and New Zealand: Status and future directions.
