Managing information and intelligence

What the unit covers

Managing information and intelligence is unit 1 of the ten mandatory units in the SFJ Awards Level 5 Diploma in Professional Policing Practice, the qualification a force may award on the Police Constable Entry Programme. The handbook gives it 97 guided learning hours and 18 credits, one of the lighter units in a 240 credit diploma.

The handbook sets three learning outcomes. The first is to understand how information and intelligence are managed in policing: why intelligence reports and briefings matter, what the National Intelligence Model and the Intelligence Cycle are and how they relate, the roles that support intelligence work, the issues that arise in gathering, handling and retaining material, how information is recorded and used to progress an operation, and how intelligence feeds the National Decision Model. The second is to understand data protection: the effect of data protection rules on police operations and on partnership and multi-agency working. The third is practical: to gather and submit intelligence on force systems, follow the processes for digital devices, develop intelligence for the tasking and coordination process, and analyse and evaluate it.

The handbook's statement of purpose is that learners "will develop the skills necessary to process, protect, and use intelligence effectively in accordance with professional standards". The same ground appears in the Police Constable apprenticeship standard (ST0304) as duty 2, following the processes for managing information and intelligence, and duty 13, analysing and evaluating intelligence to inform policing activities.

The law and procedure behind it

This summary follows the site's own pages linked under Read on this site, which carry the section and Code citations; the sources listed above are the training documents, not the Acts. Read the Act or Code before relying on any point here.

Two national systems sit under most of this unit. The Police National Computer holds records of convictions, pending prosecutions, wanted and missing persons, vehicles and property. The Police National Database is a separate intelligence platform holding intelligence reports, custody images, briefings and locally held soft intelligence across all forces; it was introduced after the Bichard Inquiry. Intelligence submitted to these systems is graded on the 5x5x5 framework, which rates the source, the intelligence itself, and a handling code that dictates how it may be shared.

Retention depends on the type of material and the outcome of the case. A conviction for a recordable offence allows DNA, fingerprints and the PNC record to be kept indefinitely; a simple caution for a non-qualifying offence permits retention for a limited period only. ANPR reads, including vehicles that generate no alert, are held in the National ANPR Data Centre for up to two years. Body-worn video is governed by the Data Protection Act 2018, the Surveillance Camera Code of Practice under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and College of Policing guidance.

Information gathered during an investigation also carries a disclosure duty. The Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 sets out the duties of investigator, prosecutor and defence in relation to unused material, and the prosecution must disclose anything that might reasonably undermine its case or assist the defence. Covert sources are regulated separately: directed and intrusive surveillance and the use of covert human intelligence sources fall under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, with the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 covering communications data and bulk powers.

Read on this site

Powers

• Directed and Intrusive Surveillance Authorisation

Rights

• Can Police Keep My Data and Records?
• Can Police Take My DNA?

Glossary

• PNC
• Police National Database
• Intelligence grading
• Covert human intelligence source (CHIS)
• Informant
• Surveillance
• ANPR
• Body-worn video
• Recorded crime
• Recordable offence
• Disclosure

Knowledge

• ANPR: Automatic Number Plate Recognition
• Body-Worn Cameras: Law, Policy, and Your Rights
• Key Cases on Disclosure and Evidence

Legislation

• Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996
• Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
• Investigatory Powers Act 2016
• Protection of Freedoms Act 2012

Aide-memoires

• CPIA four Rs

Where it sits in training

The College of Policing's 2026 guide to joining says every entry route starts with a period of off-the-job learning, after which training becomes mostly practical. Its key milestones are the initial off-the-job phase within five to six months, a tutored patrol phase within ten months, and full operational competence at around two years, when a recruit can be signed off as fully competent in operational duties. On the two-year Police Constable Entry Programme a force may accredit that learning with a Level 5 professional policing qualification, which is where this diploma fits.

The SFJ handbook structures all ten units around the national criteria for Independent Patrol Status and Full Operational Competence. A learner must show they have reached Independent Patrol Status before being assessed against the performance criteria in any unit, and must evidence each knowledge criterion at least once and each performance criterion at least twice in an Operational Competence Portfolio. Intelligence is also one of the specialist areas a PCDA or DHEP recruit may choose for the final year, and the apprenticeship standard lists intelligence officer among the typical job titles for the occupation.