In common with the police and other partner agencies across the law enforcement community, we are an intelligence-led organisation. This means that we make full use of relevant information to inform our decision-making at every level in our fight against serious and complex fraud and corruption.
Intelligence often begins life as raw information provided by members of the public, commercial institutions and public bodies. Once received, we record, analyse, develop and evaluate it before our Intelligence team ultimately uses for a variety of purposes.
This process may involve comparing the raw information with other material that we already hold or applying different analytical tools and techniques. We will often use additional information collected from a variety of sources to develop a particular piece of intelligence.
Within the SFO, intelligence may be used to support an on-going investigation or to better inform strategic decisions. It may also be used as the basis for beginning a criminal investigation. We also share intelligence from time to time with other law enforcement or regulatory bodies such as the police or the Financial Services Authority.
