Different types of analyst?

Most police forces now have analysts to provide operational and organisational support. The inclusion of an analyst in a team has become a staple of numerous policing tasks, from criminal investigations and business insights to supporting partnership activity through to specialist crime support, such as child sexual exploitation (CSE). This chapter examines the number and type of analyst roles and asks if the diversity of analyst roles has diluted the analytical output. The chapter will draw on existing literature and examine the functions of existing analyst roles. It will also consider the College of Policing (CoP) description of the analyst role, the implementation of the Intelligence Professional Practice (IPP) and the wider expectations of the analyst role. Ultimately, it will provide exploratory coverage of the key analyst roles and propose that analytical specialisms do not necessarily mean an improved service, but rather analysts need to work more closely to improve insight; individually and organisationally. It will argue that analysts must embrace evidence-based policing and problem-oriented policing as essential ingredients along with placing a greater emphasis on partnership working, both internally with numerous partners, and externally to meet the changing demands of policing.