Forensic intelligence and the analytical process

A review was undertaken of the developments made with integrating forensic evidence into the analytical process to support police investigations. Evidence such as DNA, fingerprints, fibers, accelerants, tyre marks, and so forth, can support to differing degrees the various working theories or hypotheses about the nature of the alleged crime, the persons of interest and the modus operandi. Investigators however, either forensic or detective, bring various biases to evidence capture and analysis, biases which are better understood in the intelligence community. Structured analytical techniques have a long history in intelligence analysis, for example analysis of competing hypotheses, which serves several purposes: information sharing, clarity of communication, and to highlight the common forms of bias brought to bear in an investigation. We illustrate the representation of links based on traces and intelligence, and how these can be stored in databases permitting better "reasoning" with evidence. We also present some recommendations for integration of forensic intelligence into the investigative analytic process and review information systems in this area. This article is categorized under: Fundamental Concepts of Data and Knowledge > Human Centricity and User Interaction Application Areas > Society and Culture Fundamental Concepts of Data and Knowledge > Knowledge Representation