Intelligence Tasking

Tasking and coordination is an important function in the intelligence management process. In particular, tasking and coordination meetings provide the principal method by which leadership control is maintained over the intelligence process. In particular, the meetings:

• Provide a good view of the real nature of the problems.
• Tackle the strategic and tactical issues within the policing unit.
• Drive the control strategies, setting the agenda for intelligence, prevention, and enforcement priorities.
• Provide a mechanism for decision making which identifies priorities and the resources required.
• Commission action in the form of operations or activities.
  The overall objective of tasking and co-ordination is therefore to achieve maximum impact from the intelligence effort.
  

LEVELS OF IMPACT
There are basically three levels of impact:
a. Strategic: Provides assessment of the changing risk landscape for developing plans and allocating resources to meet the demands of emerging risks.
b. Operational: Actionable intelligence about long-term threats used to develop and implement preventive responses.
c. Tactical: Actionable intelligence about imminent threats disseminated to develop and implement preventive, and/or mitigating, response plans and activities.

LEVELS OF OPERATION
The Tasking & Coordination Groups (T & CGs) sit in strategic and tactical formats at level 1 (lowest level), level 2 (middle tier)) and level 3 (national or organizational).

Despite the different levels, care must be taken not to confine work to these levels in isolation. Issues at the next level must always be taken into account to ensure that opportunities are not missed, and that appropriate resources are applied.

STRATEGIC TASKING AND COORDINATION
Strategic tasking and coordination provide the strategic direction to the intelligence and resultant law enforcement effort.

• The role of strategic tasking and coordination is therefore to:
• Consider the strategic assessment.
• Set and amend the control strategy, where necessary.
• Establish priorities for prevention, intelligence, and enforcement opportunities.
• Sanction the intelligence required to fill the identified intelligence gaps
• Set the prioritization of resources.
  

The diagram below highlights the basic activity of the strategic tasking and coordination group and its relationship with the tactical tasking and coordination group.