Strategic vs Tactical Intelligence

In today’s society, we have come to give up some of our rights as Americans due to the tragic events of September 11, 2001. It makes you wonder sometimes how much different, if any, society or our rights might have actually even changed because of this. Our country has put so much funding towards creating new Federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security which is entirely devoted to monitoring potential terroristic threats, current or future, upon American soil. Which brings me to this, how has Strategic and Tactical Intelligence helped with staying “on top” of the enemy. Civil liberties activists point to a series of privacy and civil rights flaps associated with fusion centers. They say the public is kept in the dark about what databases analysts are searching, what information they are gathering and what drives their priorities (Dilanian, 2010). Homeland Security Department officials and fusion center officers say they pay close attention to civil and privacy rights. There are some differences between the two of them. Strategic Intelligence is a type of intelligence the “includes gaining or developing information related to threats of terrorism or crime and using this information to apprehend offenders, harden targets, and use strategies that will eliminate or mitigate the threat” (Schmalleger, 2010). In contrast to strategic intelligence, tactical intelligence deals with the here and now. It provides decision makers with the necessary information to watch for changes in the company 's current operating environment and helps them discover new opportunities. Tactical intelligence deals with real time, offering analysis of current competitive conditions within the particular marketplace or industry. Rather than planning, tactical intelligence addresses the action steps that must be taken to achieve the company 's strategic objectives. This level of intelligence focuses more on the resources available for achieving strategic goals with quality

References: Dilanian, K. (2010). Fusion Centers gather terrorism intelligence-and much more. LA Times , 1. Heberlein, T. (2002). Tactical Operations and Strategic Intelligence: Sensor Purpose and Placement. New York: Net Squared, Inc. Justice, U. S. (2008). Fusion Center Guidelines. USA: Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative. Schmalleger, F. W. (2010). Policing Today. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education. Sharfman, P. (2004). Information Sharing In Support of Strategic Intelligence. McLean: The MITRE Corporation.