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This article identifies an important contemporary shift in the governing logic of police crime control strategies in the United Kingdom. It is observed that organized crime has become more central to police work and that, with regard to this type of crime, police interventions are increasingly designed to “disrupt” ongoing criminal activity. Drawing on qualitative data from two separate studies conducted in the U.K., the article connects this shift to an increasing reliance on the use of intelligence data in police organizations. The article looks at how “intelligence” has been conceived, considers some of the limitations of the changes that are taking place, and examines the wider ethical and social implications that might follow from these shifts. It is concluded that, although there are a number of currents of change occurring in the contemporary U.K. police sector, the accenting of intelligence-led policing, and the accompanying shift to disruption as a tactical or strategic intervention, is one of the more dramatic changes. Finally, the article calls for further study of the consequences of this shift, especially because it may be associated with transnational effects.
Innes et al. (Sat,) studied this question.