Forensic intelligence and its uses, perceptions and representations by forensic practionners

• In Event: POL Panel 15. Perceptions and impacts of self-legitimacy and trust amongst criminal justice actors

Abstract

Traces have been in use in investigations for decades, with mostly an evaluative purpose. Its end-use was for tribunals. However, a community of scientists have been putting forward that traces can be used for more and prone the use of forensic data for intelligence purposes. Similar to state intelligence, forensic intelligence becomes actionable when disseminated to guide decision-making, requiring accuracy, timeliness and usefulness. Therefore, there is a need to understand the different stakeholders in order to implement a functional model in institutions.
This is the reason and focus of this study integrated into the project of Be-ForIntel of the National Institute of criminology and criminalistics, which aims to examine under what conditions and how forensics intelligence can be implemented in Belgium. This presentation will focus on the different outtakes from the interview of a dozen forensic experts addressing their representations and perceptions through their trust and understanding of the concept of forensic intelligence. For example, from exploratory research, a possible outtake is that representation of utility determines transmission of information. Finally, the current practices of these practitioners will be explored to understand the challenges they are facing and what solutions they see for them.

Authors

• Nathan Ballèvre, University of Lausanne, Ecole des sciences criminelles

• Bertrand Renard, National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology (NICC-INCC)

• Olivier Ribaux, University of Lausanne (Université de Lausanne)