Moral Issues in Intelligence-led Policing

"In seeking to examine the dilemmas and legal implications of proactive policing through an intelligence-led approach, the editors have collated some insightful chapters that raise important questions about risk and accountability in the crime prevention domain. As Western police services are increasingly interested in forecasting threats rather than reacting to events, the chapters in this book are a timely discussion of the challenges of reducing uncertainty while retaining democratic principles. Chapter authors are largely Scandinavian, lending a refreshing perspective to this interesting book."

- Jerry H. Ratcliffe, Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Director of the Center for Security and Crime Science, Temple University, USA

"Nordic criminology has long been appreciated internationally for its penetrating theoretical insights and solid research tradition. This book is a welcome contribution to the literature on intelligence-led policing by the leading lights of 21st century Scandinavian police research. Pre-crime, preventive and pro-active policing, surveillance and intelligence analysis are all part of a complex professional language usually only addressed in terms of efficacy. This book goes beyond questions concerning ‘what works in intelligence-led policing’. Instead, this book asks the ethical questions and gets at what matters in policing."

- James Sheptycki, Professor of Criminology, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University, Canada

"This rich collection of academic contributions on intelligence-led policing should be regarded as a timely arrival in the era of counter-terrorism, in which surveillance, undercover methods and predictive risk assessment are becoming widely accepted and applied to a growing range of crimes and public offences. By its very nature intelligence-led policing is covert and intrusive, which leaves no opportunity for citizens to consent. The reduction of due process guarantees should be a major source of concern: not only border police but all forms of law enforcement and social scrutiny now routinely work with predictive algorithms, in which each and every individual is framed, whether criminal or not. The authors are right to claim that this reconfiguration of powers, organizational rationales and technological innovations is potentially toxic and that it should spark a social debate about the relationship between police, politics and communities."

- Monica den Boer, Director of SeQure Research & Consultancy and Adjunct Professor at the Department of Criminology and Security Studies, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.

"Nordic criminology has long been appreciated internationally for its penetrating theoretical insights and solid research tradition. This book is a welcome contribution to the literature on intelligence-led policing by the leading lights of 21st century Scandinavian police research. Pre-crime, preventive and pro-active policing, surveillance and intelligence analysis are all part of a complex professional language usually only addressed in terms of efficacy. This book goes beyond questions concerning ‘what works in intelligence-led policing’. Instead, this book asks the ethical questions and gets at what matters in policing."

- James Sheptycki, Professor of Criminology, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, York University, Canada

"This rich collection of academic contributions on intelligence-led policing should be regarded as a timely arrival in the era of counter-terrorism, in which surveillance, undercover methods and predictive risk assessment are becoming widely accepted and applied to a growing range of crimes and public offences. By its very nature intelligence-led policing is covert and intrusive, which leaves no opportunity for citizens to consent. The reduction of due process guarantees should be a major source of concern: not only border police but all forms of law enforcement and social scrutiny now routinely work with predictive algorithms, in which each and every individual is framed, whether criminal or not. The authors are right to claim that this reconfiguration of powers, organizational rationales and technological innovations is potentially toxic and that it should spark a social debate about the relationship between police, politics and communities."

- Monica den Boer, Director of SeQure Research & Consultancy and Adjunct Professor at the Department of Criminology and Security Studies, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.