Public safety intelligence activity: Advice in the fight against criminal organizations

The present work, as a research involving the intelligence activity in Public Security, the present work aimed, through a historical rescue, which dates back to the emergence of a criminal organization in the state of Pará - Brazil, to verify how the intelligence activity it is capable of advising the decision-making process of public security institutions, in order to generate a balance of forces favorable to the latter, in the fight against crime. It started from the hypothesis that the intelligence agencies would show themselves capable of gathering privileged information, according to legality and efficiency criteria, able to subsidize the decision-making process. Using an inductive method and a qualitative documentary analysis, it was identified that, in addition to subsidizing managers with appropriate knowledge, the agencies were responsible for the frustration of measures of direct confrontation with the State, preventing damage to public coffers, as well as unjust attacks on civil and military civil servants and the Pará society itself.

Intelligence and radicalization in French prisons: Sociological analysis bottom-up

In the context of the fight against Islamist radicalization in France, prison intelligence rapidly developed from 2015 through the gradual creation of a dedicated service and a specific corps of professionals. This professionalization of prison intelligence work has deeply transformed the prison administration. This article aims to describe and analyse these transformations on the basis of an ethnographic study conducted in radicalization assessment units, which are specific units set up to assess prisoners who have committed or are suspected of committing crimes linked to radical Islam. We shall describe how the guards, probation officers, psychologists and educators participating in assessing the prisoners adapt to the new, encroaching presence of the intelligence mission. We shall analyse the forms of collaboration and competition between this staff and the prison intelligence officers. Lastly, we will examine criticism of the intelligence activity in the radicalization assessment units voiced by various professionals. The interpenetration of the assessment work and the intelligence mission – which are formally distinct missions – produces a specific type of knowledge relating to radicalized prisoners: a reproduction of certain representations or ‘profiles’.

Kautilya's Views on Secret Activities of Intelligence in Arthasastra and Its Current Relevance

<em><span>Kautilya's Arthashastra is considered the best political and war discourse was ever written in prose. Dating from the 4th century, which contains views on elements of war tactics and covert activities. Political science contains law, combat techniques, attack strategy, defense strategy, including intelligence. Kautilya has outlined the principles of intelligence by emphasizing the importance of spies in securing and defending a country. This paper tries to study the intelligence aspects established by Kautilya and tries to solve modern age problems such as terrorism, internal conflict, armed insurrection, and ultimately guarantee one's safety. Intelligence activity was directly under the authority of the ruler with the formation of secret service organizations, through the recruitment of secret agents from all groups and the deployment of secret agents in two basic groups (samstha and samchār). The method of spreading secret agents in Arthasastra aims for early detection in one's own country, an enemy country, a friendly country, and a neutral country to find out the strengths and weaknesses of each element of the country.</span></em>

Yaacov Falkov, Meragelei haye’arot: pe’ilutam hamodi’init shel hapartizanim hasovyetim 1941–1945 (Forest Spies: The Intelligence Activity of the Soviet Partisans 1941–1945). Jerusalem: Magnes Press and Yad Vashem Press, 2017. 496 pp.

This chapter evaluates Yaacov Falkov's Forest Spies: The Intelligence Activity of the Soviet Partisans 1941–1945 (2017). This book is a thoughtful, wide-ranging, and politically unbiased study, based on the Falkov's analysis of archival documents, of an extremely important element of the Second World War: the Soviet partisan movement. Falkov examines various aspects of the emergence, formation, and development of this movement, beginning with the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June of 1941, and up to the last days of the war in Europe in the spring of 1945. Unlike previous studies written by Soviet, post-Soviet, and Western scholars, Falkov does not focus exclusively on the analysis of combat and sabotage activities on the part of partisans, though he does not neglect this important subject. He rather deals with the equally important issue of the partisan movement as a key source of intelligence on matters ranging from the mood of the population in the occupied territories of the USSR to operational details with regard to Nazi troops.

Thriving in the future: intentional followership development

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to highlight the significance of the role of followership by raising self-awareness of those in organisational hierarchies through the followership intelligence activity. As practitioners, we intentionally spotlight the importance of followership learning and link followership development to the future needs of a thriving organisation through the facilitation of our activity. Design/methodology/approach This paper outlines the proposed followership intelligence activity (FIA), which includes a progression of questions, group discussions and linkages to adult learning principles, experiential learning and followership theory. Findings Feedback from authors’ workshops and general observations indicate that once “learning” leaders understand the importance of followership and identify as both followers and leaders, they begin to build and promote work environments open to conversations about the behaviours and skills of exemplary followers. Practical implications People cannot change behaviour that they do not notice. However, when leaders begin to identify as both leaders and followers, their openness to learning, developing (self and others) and having followership conversations increases, which promotes both personal awareness and growth. As leaders model and create conversations about exemplary followership skills, they can promote and inspire these behaviours in others within the organisation. Originality/value The intention of embedding the FIA into our leadership development programme is to legitimise, honour and promote life-long learning of both leadership and followership. Both roles are vital for a thriving workplace, and they need to be performed with strength, accountability and pride.