Intelligence-Led Policing (Details)

Name of province/ territory:

Newfoundland and Labrador

City/ Region:

Newfoundland and Labrador

Description of Initiative:

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) is committed to the continued implementation of intelligence-led policing as a business model and managerial philosophy, which requires an organizational philosophy shift from primarily reactive to primarily proactive.

The RNC has achieved these changes through: an executive and management commitment to embracing constructive change; ongoing education across the organization; and the creation of support services (mobile support and enhanced crime analysis capability).

Intelligence-led policing is intended to maximize police efficiency. It emphasizes strategies aimed at crime reduction and prevention, specifically through initiatives that disrupt prolific and serious offenders operating in our communities. This approach to policing has been adopted as an example of best practice in many police organizations around the world.

Initiative Key Objectives:

This initiative has several objectives:

  • provide intelligence-led policing education;
  • provide an enhanced response to domestic violence;
  • enforce judicial release conditions;
  • improve internal communication; and
  • operationalize the provincial threat assessment on organized crime.

Section Responsible for Implementation:

The lead section is the Intelligence and Organized Crime Section; however, this approach to policing involves many other sections and divisions of the RNC.

Key Contact:

William J. Janes
billjj@rnc.gov.nl.ca

Groups/ Agencies/ Key Partners Involved:

  • community groups
  • other police services
  • other government departments/agencies
  • academic institutes (research and evaluation)

Level of Involvement (consultative - information sharing) and/or cooperative - direct involvement):

Probation Services, Parole Services and provincial Crown attorneys serve as consultative partners to support the achievement of the objective related to the enforcement of judicial release conditions. Regarding the objective related to domestic violence, other groups consulted included various women’s groups, relevant academics and the Victim Services Program.

Amount of Time Initiative has been in Place:

Launch was in fall 2011 and implementation is ongoing.

Reason for Undertaking the Initiative:

The police-to-population ratio for the RNC is significantly lower than the national average (176 per 100,000 vs. 201 per 100,000). This requires the RNC to seek ways to improve efficiencies and effectiveness.

Resources Required to Implement this Initiative:

There were no set-up costs associated with the implementation of this initiative. Officer-hours were redeployed to this initiative through the creation of internal efficiencies.

Method of Implementation:

This initiative was launched as a goal under the organization’s 2011-14 corporate plan. It has been phased in, starting with an educational component. Progress has been made and is ongoing towards the acheivement of each of the objectives listed above.

Key Outcomes of the Initiative:

The RNC redeployed five existing police resources to a team focused on intelligence-led policing in order to achieve the objectives outline above. The focus of these officers is to map patterns in order to implement appropriate measures to prevent crime.

Specific achievements to date include the implementation of:

  • an educational process to create an understanding of intelligence-led policing throughout the organization;
  • an assessment process for domestic violence cases in order to identify high-risk cases;
  • training of officers in the use of Emergency Protection Orders;
  • collaboration with other justice professionals to enhance the enforcement of judicial release conditions;
  • processes to enhance internal communications (for example, introduction of enhanced internal protocols to notify patrol officers of missing persons and provide them with high-risk intelligence when responding to calls for service); and
  • a working group, inclusive of other relevant enforcement agencies, to develop a plan to operationalize a provincial threat assessment on organized crime.

Availability of a Communication Strategy:

No

Key Messages used to Publicize the Initiative:

While no formal communications strategy has been developed, the RNC has committed to this initiative in its three-year corporate plan and reports on progress annually. The progress is discussed in the annual report, which is a public document available on the RNC’s website.

Forms of Evaluation by which the Initiative will be Assessed:

  • internal
  • quantitative

Evaluation Completed or Community Feedback Received:

No

Summary of the Outcomes:

N/A

Summary of the Performance Measure Data Collected:

N/A

Economics of Policing Pillars:

Further Details:

Efficiencies have been achieved by redeploying existing police resources to this task. Intelligence-led policing enables police to identify individuals at high risk and geographic areas of high risk. With this knowledge, police resources are utilized more effectively and efficiently to proactively respond to criminal activity.

Intellgence-led policing is a new model of policing and switches the philosophy from a primarily reactive approach to a primarily proactive approach to addressing crime.

Through the process of enhancing the enforcement of judicial release conditions, stakeholders within the justice system are working together in a way that was not previously possible. Prolific offenders make up 5% of the population committing crimes; however, they are responsbile for 95% of the crimes committed. Working with other stakeholders, such as probation officers and parole officers, enhances the model for holding these individuals accountable when on judicial release conditions and acts as a deterrent to continued criminal activity.

Additional Comments or Suggestions:

N/A

Record Entry Date:

2013-08-01

Date modified: