ABSTRACT
The traditional intelligence cycle is a simple, easy to remember visual representation, in the words of the CIA, of ‘the process by which information is acquired, converted into intelligence, and made available to policymakers’ (CIA 1983: 17) originally aimed at helping the understanding of all those involved, be they producers or consumers of intelligence, but in recent years also widely used in the commercial world and as a public information tool (Wark 2003: 1-14). In the words of the FBI website, ‘the intelligence cycle is the process of developing unrefined data into polished intelligence for the use of policymakers’ (FBI 2012). Policy-makers in this context should be interpreted widely to include all those in government or in public service, including the armed services and the police, for whom intelligence can help improve the quality of decision-making.
