Police Intelligence (Totality of Circumstances)

Police Intelligence: Totality of Circumstances is an essential resource and is designed for any individual who may encounter the field of criminal justice, whether the person is a police chief who oversees the department’s standard operating procedures, a police officer who enforces the law, a civilian who is expected to follow the law, a lawyer who may challenge an action in court, or a judge who will interpret the law. This book, in part, applies math and logic to laws and policies to objectively assess them. Laws and policies are written as English logical statements. English logical statements can be converted into mathematical logical statements, which can be objectively assessed via Boolean algebra. Specifically, truth tables, Venn diagrams, flowcharts, logic gates, and logic circuits can all be used to assess laws, policies, and proper police actions. For example, mathematically it is not a glass, blue, marble means almost the exact opposite of it is not glass, not blue, and not marble. In addition, one must consider existential and universal quantifiers, conditional statements, and subsets to correctly interpret laws and policies. Thus, it is important for individuals to understand how to mathematically assess English logical statements (e.g., the law) because if they do not, opponents in court may do it for them.

This book is important because collecting and understanding information and effectively communicating are vital skills in law enforcement. It discusses different reference points for assessing good behavior, different lenses of truth, limitations of information, and assumptions. Furthermore, it examines a variety of ways to collect and assess information, which include interrogation techniques, interviewing techniques, an interrogatory and a deposition, ciphering and deciphering messages, body language, handwriting analysis, job interview questions, and crime scene search patterns.

The chapters present a methodological reasoning process that is sorely lacking among police agencies— and one that is essential for developing critical thinking skills and carrying out orders within legal confines. Police Intelligence: Totality of Circumstances is an indispensable resource for helping students and officers to collect and assess information. Whether it is verbal or nonverbal information, ciphered messages, or using different bases for numeric communication, individuals in criminal justice should learn to think outside the box to collect and understand available information.