Finding and Bridging the Gaps

Between the phases of the investigative process, and intelligence-led programs like the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).

The Take on Gaps

"Gaps - where important information falls through the cracks" means situations or processes within a system where crucial details or data are overlooked, missed, or neglected, essentially slipping through unnoticed and not being adequately addressed.

In the film Apollo 13 (and the real life event) the mission’s survival hinges on addressing gaps in communication, resources, and planning. A critical moment highlighted in the clip below was when engineers on the ground scrambled to build a CO2 filter. The near disasaster serves as a reminder that overlooking details or small gaps can have significant consequences.

The criminal investigative process can be broken down into three phases: 1) Respond to the incident and collect information and evidence, 2) Analyze the initial information collected and extract actionable intelligence, and 3) Identify, arrest, and prosecute criminals.

For many crimes, such as those involving firearms there are complex and dissimilar tasks that must be properly executed and well-coordinated across the three phases of the process. These tasks are executed by people with varied skill sets and authorities from within law enforcement organizations, forensic laboratories, and prosecuting attorney offices at various levels of government (e.g. local, county, state, and federal). The people execute the processes and procedures their roles require, employing specialized tools and technology to help increase their efficiency and effectiveness.

A national crime gun intelligence program like NIBIN is hugely dependent upon cross-jurisdictional Teamwork, policy-driven Tactics, and the layering of data from disparate Technology systems for sustainable success.

Integrating the people, processes, and technology resources to effectively drive a program like NIBIN across each phase of the investigative sequence is an enormous challenge requiring continuous surveillance to find and bridge any Gaps that open within and between the investigative phases.

How Gaps Impact Investigations

I’ve delivered over one hundred 13 Critical Tasks Workshops, I could see recurring patterns that pointed to certain areas where “gaps” in communication, training, performance, and sustainability appear. For example, evidence-processing delays can result from Gaps that are physically separated workspaces. Gaps that interfere with or break service continuity can disrupt the timely and accurate handoffs of crucial information to operational enforcement elements. In summary, Gaps - where important information falls through the cracks can disrupt vital public protection operations.

Finding the Gaps

Gaps typically develop when combining people, process, and technology resources and between certain areas under each resource category.

For example:

“People Gaps” can generally be found in four areas: Stakeholders, Communications, Staffing, and Training.

“Process gaps” can generally be found in four areas: Institutionalization, Sustainable comprehensive processing, Actionable intelligence extraction, Tactical and strategic investigative capital.

“Technology gaps” can generally be found in four areas: Ballistic technology, other forensic technologies, Intelligence technologies, the leveraging of disparate data sets for sustainable crime solving.

The charts beginning on page 226 of the book The 13 Critical Tasks: An Inside-out Approach to Solving More Gun Crime list key questions to pose to the affected parties when conducting a gap analysis.