Gathering intelligence/Discreet enquiries
All law enforcing anti-corruption agencies rely heavily on intelligence, or “analyzed, assessed and graded information.” This comes from a range of sources, including from overt and covert sources, through specialist techniques (such as intercepts and surveillance), people, documents, archives, electronic data, and so on. The anti-corruption agency may have staff who do this, or they may rely on investigators. In both cases, information needs to be collected, recorded and stored in a structured way. Many countries now have data protection legislation that, if not exempt, governs what information is held, retained, shared and used. Data analysis often involves data-mining and data-matching software, and software that then plots the intelligence in ways that either informs the progress of the investigation or identifies information that, subject to legal requirements, will become evidence. Analytical tools can also plot intelligence in a structured way, including through association charts, flow charts, schedules and timelines, to provide pictorial representation that facilitates the investigation.
