Book Review: C. L. Johnson Police Use of Intelligence Networks for Reducing Crime El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly Publishing, LLC. ix, 251 pp. $70.00. ISBN 978-159332-381-3

• Author: Shila R. Hawk-Tourtelot
• Published date: 01 June 2011
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016811401323
• Date: 01 June 2011
• Subject Matter: Articles

Book Reviews

C. L. Johnson

Police Use of Intelligence Networks for Reducing Crime El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly Publishing, LLC. ix, 251 pp. $70.00.

ISBN 978-159332-381-3

Reviewed by: Shila R. Hawk-Tourtelot, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

DOI: 10.1177/0734016811401323

Charles Johnson’s Police Use of Intelligence Networks for Reducing Crime contributes to the

scholarly examination of policing in three ways: (a) provides details of the history of policing, the

technologies being used by police, and police operations; (b) evaluates intelligence-led policing; and

(c) features considerations for policing policy and practice. Written by a retired Community Correc-

tions Supervisor and recent (2007) PhD recipient, this book can be used in both professional and

academic understandings of the intelligence-led policing model. It should be noted that the book

does not include theoretically tested relationships but was ‘‘designed to offer a descriptive report

of findings of a program evaluation itself designed to identify the strengths and weakness of an infor-

mation sharing process’’ (p. 8).

Johnson examines the paradox between an intelligence-led policing model and cross-departmental

communications. Grown out of the community-oriented policing model, intelligence-led policing is a

proactive focus of information gathering strategies, such as the use of informants and surveillance to

target repeat offender. In pursuit of improving police mission goals, Johnson draws from such influ-

ential scholars as Egon Bittner, Peter Manning, and James Q. Wilson to provide an in-depth review of

the development and significance of this model. Johnson claims its success would increase police–

community relations, workforce resources, clearance rates, and the quality of police services, but

to date has limited empirical findings on its administration. To examine this, the author uses a program

evaluation report of the Washington Homicide Investigation Tracking System (H.I.T.S.) and

individual-level data of its participants. This descriptive analysis suggests the intelligence-led poli-

cing model may be complicated by the propensity of the police and their departments to be more

self-serving and secretive than trusting and sharing, thus ‘‘productivity and efficacy are hampered

by the very nature of agency design’’ (p. 3).

Johnson divides the book into five chapters and eight appendices (full survey instruments).

Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the purpose and significance of the study. Although Johnson fails

to clearly define intelligence-led policing until the second page of this chapter, the organization and

use of subtitles smoothly guides the reader from the gap in existing knowledge on the topic, to the

research question, then implications and a brief mention of limitations. This is an appropriate set-up

for the level of detail presented in the following chapters.

Chapter 2 is a retrospective analysis of the policing models that led to the current initiative.

Johnson starts with the command and control structure, moves to explaining the professionalism era,

then focuses on the transactions of community-oriented policing and problem-solving policing to

intelligence-led policing. Johnson does not describe intelligence-led policing as a new paradigm

or model but as a modified approach to the existing policing strategies.

Criminal Justice Review

36(2) 213-231

ª2011 Georgia State University

Reprints and permission:

sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav

http://cjr.sagepub.com