{"id":63144,"date":"2021-06-01T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T12:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/?p=63144"},"modified":"2025-01-07T12:52:37","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T17:52:37","slug":"leveraging-intelligence-to-optimize-investigations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/leveraging-intelligence-to-optimize-investigations\/","title":{"rendered":"Leveraging Intelligence to Optimize Investigations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><small>Federal Police officers carry seized evidence at federal police headquarters on June 25, 2020 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Andre Coelho\/ Stringer)<\/small><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Transnational organized crime has taken advantage of the openness and opportunities offered by globalization so far, a phenomenon that has already been widely described.\u00a0Undeniably, the rapid technological advances combined with a society that often clamors for less strict and formal boundaries, as well as fast access to myriad legal and illegal products, have enabled worldwide illicit alliances that were almost unimaginable a few years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Due to that, it has been a consensus that law enforcement agencies must work more efficiently and effectively to tackle transnational organized crime; the traditional reactive investigative approach, based on the belief that high numbers of arrests and seizures would decrease criminality, has been proven wrong. Interagency and international cooperation have also been key factors on the path to addressing the imbroglio.<\/p>\n<p>Since the 1990s, one of the key concepts employed to combat the threats posed by global organized crime groups has been to adapt and incorporate intelligence aspects into law enforcement. According to the 2013 U.S.\u00a0<em>National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan<\/em>:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>All agencies\u2014from a 15-person police department to a 1,500-person sheriff\u2019s office\u2014should strive to implement an intelligence capability that is suitable for their agency\u2019s capacity and will support the safety and security of their communities and, collectively, the nation.<\/em><sup>1<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Intelligence-led policing, CompStat, and criminal intelligence analysis are a few well-known concepts and initiatives related to the very serious global issue of transnational organized crime. Nonetheless, these initiatives tend to have a greater impact as preventive and dissuasive measures, affecting the number of cases as a consequence of their effective implementation, as opposed to specific investigations.<\/p>\n<p>However, an original initiative based on an existing intelligence model has been successfully applied by the Brazilian Federal Police, focused on investigative outcomes\u2014the adaptation of the F3EAD method as a tool to optimize organized crime\u2013related investigations.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #009e72;\"><strong>F3EAD\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Origin and Main Characteristics<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Originally, F3EAD is a methodology utilized overseas by U.S. special operations forces, mainly after the 9\/11 terrorist attacks, \u201cto anticipate and predict enemy operations, identify, locate, and target enemy forces, and to perform intelligence exploitation and analysis of captured enemy personnel and material.\u201d<sup>2<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>The acronym F3EAD stands for\u00a0<em>find<\/em>,\u00a0<em>fix<\/em>,\u00a0<em>finish<\/em>,\u00a0<em>exploit<\/em>,\u00a0<em>analyze<\/em>, and\u00a0<em>disseminate<\/em>, and the method\u2019s biggest goal is to functionally merge intelligence (the Intelligence Cycle) and operations (the Targeting Process) to establish a rapid process that enables \u201ccommanders at all levels to plan and execute operations against the enemy faster than the enemy can react,\u201d therefore, penetrating the enemy\u2019s decision cycle and reaching entire networks.<sup>3<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Moreover, and very relevant for non-lethal operations and the Brazilian adaption, F3EAD allows \u201cthe inclusion of law enforcement personnel and their investigative, forensic, and information-sharing capabilities\u201d as team members, essential \u201cin the process of turning intelligence into evidence\u201d to prosecute (some of) the targets.<sup>4<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>In this regard, F3EAD is an evolution of the lethal-targeting operations, due to the need to focus more on the intelligence effort rather than the \u201cfinish\u201d aspect considering future field actions and detention and prosecution of alleged terrorists, accomplishing the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373\/2001, which focuses on the suppression of terrorism.<sup>5<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>The 3Fs of the process\u2014find, fix, and finish\u2014are inherently the targeting method and include the following steps:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: square;\">\n<li>Defining a starting point related to a subject, facility, or situation<\/li>\n<li>Producing enough information related to the target in terms of location, routine, and modus operandi<\/li>\n<li>Neutralizing it via decisive operations, e.g., lethal actions, disruption processes, arrests, and searches<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Exploit is undoubtedly the most important phase of the process. Based upon fast, focused analyses of seized material and interviews or interrogations that produce actionable intelligence, exploitation launches new operational opportunities toward the whole illegal network and enables evidence production for a criminal suit. It is efficient exploitation that determines new starting points for the F3EAD cycle itself, perpetuating it, and it is through exploitation that dismantling the core of illegal groups becomes viable, as well as prosecution, not years ahead, but in a proper time frame.<\/p>\n<p>Analyze, as in the traditional Intelligence Cycle, means the necessary more in-depth examination of the produced material with the objective of a complete scenario comprehension, with dissemination as the next essential step toward sharing information throughout the decision-making chain.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #009e72;\"><strong>Brazilian Federal Police Combating Transnational Organized Crime<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_63148\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-63148\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-63148\" src=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-1222896573-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-1222896573-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-1222896573-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-1222896573-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-1222896573-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-1222896573-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-1222896573-272x182.jpg 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-63148\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An officer at federal police headquarters on June 25, 2020, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Andre Coelho\/Stringer)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>According to article 144 of the Brazilian Constitution, one of the main roles of the Federal Police is to investigate and crackdown on federal crimes, among them, international drug trafficking, corruption, money laundering, goods smuggling, crimes against the environment, international child sexual exploitation, and terrorism.<sup>5<\/sup><\/p>\n<p>Those crimes have often been perpetrated by structured associations of individuals or groups (criminal organizations), most of the time with international links and with the aim of maximizing profits and benefits. To achieve that while maintaining their power and, sometimes, territory, many of these criminal organizations frequently use violence and corruption, especially in specific countries, such as Brazil. Moreover, to avoid being caught, these criminal organizations utilize various evidence elimination and hiding tactics and techniques, including stooges, actions spread throughout multiple jurisdictions, encryption methods, the deep web, and so forth.<\/p>\n<p>These circumstances, among others, make the investigations of cases involving organized crime very complex and challenging; the use of special investigative techniques and extraordinary resources is more than necessary to address the situation.<\/p>\n<p>The Brazilian Federal Police, like other law enforcement agencies worldwide, perceived the extension of the problem by the early 2000s, and since then, the agency has developed specific investigative methods to face the various criminal structures present in Brazil.<\/p>\n<p>At the outset, one of the strategies was to adapt and incorporate the Intelligence Cycle into investigations, emphasizing the collection and analysis phases. To achieve that, intelligence structures like analysis branches were conceived and developed inside specialized offices (drug trafficking, corruption, etc.). Those branches, considering the collection relevancy, have also been responsible for concentrating on special investigative procedures such as communications interception and financial analysis in a task force mode.<\/p>\n<p>In a relatively short time, this increased the quality and efficiency of the evidence production and, consequently, of the investigations, enabling the Brazilian Federal Police to dismantle some important criminal groups. Moreover, it became possible to build a broader investigative framework, improving tactical and strategical assessments, thus contributing to governmental safety policies.<\/p>\n<p>The investigation concept led by these task forces was entitled Opera\u00e7\u00f5es Especiais de Pol\u00edcia Judici\u00e1ria (Judiciary Police Special Operations). The approach includes a temporary allocation and concentration of human resources that will be dedicated to solving one or a few complex criminal cases by applying intelligence techniques and procedures as well as special investigative measures.<\/p>\n<p>One of the main original characteristics of the Opera\u00e7\u00f5es Especiais de Pol\u00edcia Judici\u00e1ria is to have a first covert phase, followed by an overt phase, and then an analytical phase.<\/p>\n<p>The first covert phase is characterized by evidence collection from special investigative procedures such as phone and email interception, bank account examination, and surveillance. Then, based upon the elements gathered, the next steps are requesting search, seizure, and arrest warrants for the maximum number of the targets and their assets and properties and executing the warrants as simultaneously as possible with overt teams on the streets. Afterward, all the materials produced, including seized documents and media, formal interviews, interrogations, and others, are analyzed in depth and integrated within the whole investigative context to generate a final investigative report that is formalized and sent to the judicial system. Furthermore, relevant intelligence reports are also produced and disseminated throughout the intelligence system.<\/p>\n<p>Special operations in this format very often take several months or even years to complete, due to the extension of both the first covert phase and the analysis phase, especially considering the volume of seized technology and digital material to be analyzed and the shortage of human resources.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, as previously stated, this investigative model had a great impact on the investigations of criminal organizations, becoming a guideline for complex cases. In addition, the Opera\u00e7\u00f5es Especiais de Pol\u00edcia Judici\u00e1ria concept spread from the Brazilian Federal Police to other law enforcement agencies in Brazil. Between 2008 and 2015, the Brazilian Federal Police deployed an annual average of 313 Opera\u00e7\u00f5es Especiais de Pol\u00edcia Judici\u00e1ria across the country.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, to the extent that the method had been applied in the following years by different agencies, as expected, criminal organizations reacted to it. Indeed, criminals stopped using phones and emails for interacting on relevant illegal communications. They started to utilize accessible encryption techniques, forged testimonies, moved from one jurisdiction to another, concealed the real\u00a0<em>capos<\/em>\u00a0(crime bosses), spread out the proceeds of crime, and took other such steps to hide their activities.<\/p>\n<p>In short, in order to keep their illegal activities operational and profitable, criminal organizations adopted tactics and procedures according to the way that law enforcement was operating. This effect has become more intense in the last five years.<\/p>\n<p>As a consequence, the original Opera\u00e7\u00f5es Especiais de Pol\u00edcia Judici\u00e1ria model has gradually decreased in terms of efficiency, although not to the point to be considered exhausted, because it is still applicable in an array of cases. But undoubtedly, a new approach became necessary to keep the Brazilian Federal Police efficiently tackling transnational organized crime.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #009e72;\"><strong>The Adaptation of the F3EAD Method<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Based on this necessary paradigm change, by 2015, a few high-ranking police officers, encouraged by the Federal Police National Academy and supported by the Combating Organized Crime Directorate, engaged in studies and research to explore new options.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2016, driven by studies conducted by Elzio Silva (a federal police commissioner), the Brazilian Federal Police has begun to apply an adaptation of the F3EAD method to select Opera\u00e7\u00f5es Especiais de Pol\u00edcia Judici\u00e1ria, specifically complex and sensitive corruption cases.<sup>7<\/sup> The main goals of adding in the adapted F3EAD were to reduce the length of the investigations and the criminal organizations\u2019 reaction capabilities, especially activities like suppressing evidence, threatening witnesses, and hiding illicit money. In order to achieve these objectives, the choice was made to rapidly exploit seized documents, media, and other items and interviews or interrogations, therefore creating and implementing new operational opportunities toward targets\u2019 whole networks, assets, and properties\u2014and to do so more quickly than the targets could react. Immediate and proper dissemination of the exploit phase outcomes is also essential.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThis model proved to be very successful, bewildering and destabilizing the targets to the point that some of them started to turn themselves in. \u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Instead of an in-depth analysis like before, which would be time-consuming and focused only on the final investigative report, the main objective now is getting information about very specific points like evidence location, unknown targets, key witnesses, and targets\u2019 next moves and consequently acting upon this information by, for example, judicially requesting new searches, arrests, and interceptions, if and when necessary, and executing them as fast as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than immediately going back to the offices to complete the analysis, and therefore allowing the targets to reorganize themselves and prepare for prosecution, the objective was to give the investigation an operational pace that would precisely avoid that, thus penetrating the decision-making process of the criminal organizations\u2019 core.<\/p>\n<p>The more complete examination of the seized and produced evidence hasn\u2019t been abandoned, it has simply been postponed for a more suitable moment when the main targets have been neutralized in terms of influence and the assets and properties have been confiscated or at least located.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, this model proved to be very successful, bewildering and destabilizing the targets to the point that some of them started to turn themselves in. Furthermore, many of them agreed to sign rewarded collaboration agreements (plea deals), testifying against other associates and indicating hidden assets, properties, and evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Due to the various successive exploitation layers and moments, the operations have been deployed in \u201cwaves\u201d or phases, which also contributes to destabilizing the targets who never know when they are going to get caught.<\/p>\n<p>Thus, this model is an adaptation of the F3EAD methodology once it considers the main investigative outcomes and its needs to be executed according to Brazilian law.<\/p>\n<p>The first operation in which the adaptation was applied was named Ararath and occurred in the state of Mato Grosso. It started as a financial crime case and ended up including the investigation of many politicians for corruption and related crimes, including the governor and the mayor of Cuiab\u00e1 City, the capital of Mato Grosso.<\/p>\n<p>Since Ararath, there have been many other operations utilizing F3EAD. One of the largest was Lava Jato (Car Wash), which has become famous around the world as a remarkable anti-corruption case. Lava Jato, which is not yet over, has involved the investigation and conviction of various politicians in Brazil and abroad for several crimes. At the time of writing, more than 1,000 search warrants have been executed and approximately 220 rewarded collaboration agreements have been signed, producing evidence of corruption and money laundering schemes in dozens of countries.<\/p>\n<p>However, it is not only on corruption and related crimes that the F3EAD methodology can be applied. The Brazilian Federal Police have also utilized it effectively on drugs and wea-pons trafficking cases, terrorism, and electoral crimes, among others, thus allowing the agency to dismantle some powerful criminal organizations in Brazil and abroad through international cooperation.<\/p>\n<p>Between 2016 and 2020, the annual average of Opera\u00e7\u00f5es Especiais de Pol\u00edcia Judici\u00e1ria deployed by the Brazilian Federal Police has reached 622 across the country.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of effectiveness, by the end of 2018, Renata Comanduci Zocrato, a federal police officer, conducted research with all the federal investigators who were then applying the method. Among them, 87.5 percent agreed that the fast exploitation of seized material was beneficial for creating new operational opportunities and bringing more efficiency to the investigations. Moreover, 90 percent responded that the volume of residual material to be analyzed after the exploit phase has decreased considerably, contributing to a faster formal end to the cases and more rapid prosecutions.<sup>8<\/sup><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #009e72;\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Without a doubt, the adaptation and incorporation of intelligence tactics, techniques, and procedures by law enforcement agencies worldwide have contributed to their efforts combating transnational organized crime.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"pullout alignleft\"><strong>IACP Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theiacp.org\/sites\/default\/files\/2021-08\/Criminal%20Intelligence%2008.2021.pdf\">Criminal Intelligence Model Policy<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>theIACP.org<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/two-countries-partnering-for-strategic-success\/\">From the Attach\u00e9: Two Countries Partnering for Strategic Success<\/a>\u201d (column)<\/li>\n<li>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/hidden-impact-transnational-organized-crime-front-line-law-enforcement\/\">The Hidden Impact of Transnational Organized Crime on Front-Line Law Enforcement<\/a>\u201d (article)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><\/aside>\n<p>On the other hand, insofar as police create efficient protocols, programs, and projects, criminals tend to adjust to these tactics to keep their illegal businesses ongoing.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, a constant search for methods and good practices that can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of law enforcement is essential, as well as sharing those practices nationally and internationally to strengthen the police profession as a whole.<\/p>\n<p>The Brazilian Federal Police have experienced positive investigative outcomes by applying an adaptation of the F3EAD methodology in tackling complex and serious crime in Brazil. It has been assessed as a modern, flexible, and proactive approach that brings dynamics efficiency to investigations, destabilizing criminal groups.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><sup>1<\/sup>U.S. Department of Justice,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bja.ojp.gov\/sites\/g\/files\/xyckuh186\/files\/media\/document\/National_Criminal_Intelligence_Sharing_Plan_version_2.pdf\"><em>National\u00a0Criminal\u00a0Intelligence\u00a0Sharing\u00a0Plan<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0Version 2.0.\u00a0(Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Assistance, 2013).<\/p>\n<p><sup>2<\/sup>Charles\u00a0Faint\u00a0and Michael\u00a0Harris,\u00a0\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/smallwarsjournal.com\/2024\/12\/10\/corruption-as-an-enabler-in-the-hybrid-influence-toolbox\/\">F3EAD: Ops\/Intel Fusion\u00a0\u2018Feeds\u2019\u00a0the SOF Targeting\u00a0Process<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0<em>Small Wars Journal<\/em>, January 31, 2012.<\/p>\n<p><sup>3<\/sup>Faint and Harris, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/smallwarsjournal.com\/2024\/12\/10\/corruption-as-an-enabler-in-the-hybrid-influence-toolbox\/\">F3EAD<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><sup>4<\/sup>Faint and Harris, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/smallwarsjournal.com\/2024\/12\/10\/corruption-as-an-enabler-in-the-hybrid-influence-toolbox\/\">F3EAD<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><sup>5<\/sup>United Nations\u00a0Security\u00a0Council,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/unscr.com\/en\/resolutions\/1373\">Resolution 1373<\/a>\u00a0(2001).<\/p>\n<p><sup>6<\/sup>Brazil Const. art. 144, \u00a71.<\/p>\n<p><sup>7<\/sup>Elzio Vicente da\u00a0Silva,\u00a0<em>Opera\u00e7\u00f5es Especiais de Pol\u00edcia Judici\u00e1ria\u00a0<\/em>(Barueri, SP: Novo\u00a0S\u00e9culo\u00a0Editora, 2017).<\/p>\n<p><sup>8<\/sup>Renata Comanduci\u00a0Zocrato,\u00a0Ap<em>lica\u00e7\u00e3o do M\u00e9todo F3EAD Adaptado nas Investiga\u00e7\u00f5es Policiais:\u00a0Avalia\u00e7\u00e3o da\u00a0Efetividade<\/em>\u00a0(Graduation on Police Science,\u00a0BFP National Academy, 2018).<\/p>\n<aside class=\"pullout pullout--wide alignleft\"><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-63150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mertens_BW.jpg\" alt=\"Fabio Mertens, Commissioner, Federal Police, Brazil\" width=\"150\" height=\"184\" \/><\/p>\n<p><big><strong>F\u00e1bio Mertens<\/strong> has been a Brazilian Federal Police (BFP) officer since 2002, and is currently the counterterrorism coordinator at BFP\u00b4s Headquarters, Intelligence Directorate. He previously spent 12 years combating transnational organized crime, drug smuggling, and money laundering.<\/big><\/aside>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Please cite as<\/p>\n<p>Fabio Mertens, \u201cLeveraging Intelligence to Optimize Investigations: Brazil\u2019s Adaptation of F3EAD to Combat Transnational Organized Crime,\u201d <em>Police Chief<\/em> 88, no. 6 (June 2021): 44\u201348.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Transnational organized crime has taken advantage of the openness and opportunities offered by globalization so far, a phenomenon that has already been widely described. Undeniably, the rapid technological advances combined with a society that often clamors for less strict and formal boundaries, as well as fast access to myriad legal and illegal products, have enabled worldwide illicit alliances that were almost unimaginable a few years ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4042,"featured_media":63147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[134,126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-policing","category-topics"],"acf":{"subtitle":"Brazil\u2019s Adaptation of F3EAD to Combat Transnational Organized Crime","post_author":"Fabio Mertens, Commissioner, Federal Police, Brazil","main_category":"Global Policing","legacy_article_id":"","legacy_issue_id":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.4 (Yoast SEO v24.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Leveraging Intelligence to Optimize Investigations - Police Chief Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.policechiefmagazine.org\/leveraging-intelligence-to-optimize-investigations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leveraging Intelligence to Optimize Investigations\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Transnational organized crime has taken advantage of the openness and opportunities offered by globalization so far, a phenomenon that has already been widely described. 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