Improving the safety and security of New Zealand
through inter-agency partnerships
Taskforce Operations
(Organised Crime)
2.5 Target development (Phase 1 continued)
1 Introduction
This document describes the Taskforce Operations process for OFCANZ, from which more detailed policies and procedures will be developed. Taskforces will start once
For the purposes of this document the following terminology applies:
|
Term |
Meaning |
|
District staff |
District staff other than service groups who may be needed to support taskforce operations. |
|
Focus Area |
An identified ‘problem area’ within the New Zealand organised crime landscape, that is prioritised and endorsed by ODESC for OFCANZ action. |
|
Operational Intelligence |
Operational Intelligence supports in planning crime reduction activity and deploying local resources to achieve operational objectives. It is used against Hotspots, joint operations, crime prevention campaigns, forming specialised squads, resource allocation and local prioritisation |
|
Operation Officer in Charge (O/C) |
A person assigned to lead a particular operation arising from the activities of a Taskforce. The O/C will report to the Taskforce Leader. |
|
Police NIC |
The Police National Intelligence Centre, being established along similar timeframes to OFCANZ, with the aim of providing whole of government intelligence to Police and OFCANZ. |
|
Police TCG |
The proposed Police National Tasking and Coordination Group that will be responsible for ensuring Police resources are assigned to priority operations. |
|
Service Groups |
Police (and other agency) groups that provide specialist support services eg, surveillance, electronic crime, interception, etc |
|
Strategic Assessment |
An assessment produced by the Police NIC that provides a high-level context to the organised crime environment within New Zealand. |
|
Strategic Intelligence |
Strategic intelligence aims to provide insight or understanding, and makes a contribution to broad strategies, policies, and resources. It is directed to the achievement of long term organisational objectives. It is used to influence operations and planning at every level, long-term resource decisions, and cross-cutting crime/crash prevention, legislative demands, national and international cooperation, and national/multi-agency liaison. |
|
Tactical Intelligence |
Tactical Intelligence supports frontline areas, investigations and other operational areas in taking case-specific action to achieve enforcement objectives. It is used to facilitate arrests, surveillance operations, targeting, evidence-gathering, problem-oriented policing and disruption of the immediate criminal environment. |
|
Taskforce |
A joint agency operation to combat a serious organised crime problem. A taskforce has an agreed objective, target, approaches, and timeframe. |
|
Taskforce Leader |
The person assigned to lead a particular Taskforce (and the operations arising from it) and to be responsible for one or more Focus Areas. |
|
Taskforce Operations Plan |
Document guiding an individual taskforce operation, with a specific objective, target, approach, and timeframe |
|
Terms of Reference |
Document guiding the intelligence gathering and refinement phase for individual focus areas. |
The following process steps start after ODESC has agreed on Focus Areas[1]. The three main phases in this area are:
· Phase 1: Target Development – driven by development of Terms of Reference covering the previously identified focus area(s). Some Taskforces may include this phase only – eg, where the desired outcome is the gathering of focussed intelligence
· Phase 2: Operations – driven by an Operations Plan(s) with a clearly defined objective, target, and approach (there may be multiple Operations arising from the Target Development phase)
· Phase 3: Completion - the winding up of operations and the Taskforce, including the completion of continuous improvement processes and the reporting of results
The taskforce phases are depicted in the diagram below.
Taskforce operations can take different forms, and may vary significantly in the number of staff, type of targets, and locations. Desired outcomes from Taskforce operations may include:
· Disruptive – aimed at disrupting a specific target or activity as opposed to seeking criminal prosecution.
· Investigative – general investigation with a variety of possible outcomes.
· Asset Recovery – focused on recovering assets or proceeds of crime in an effort to remove any profit motive.
OFCANZ will establish a small Taskforce Oversight Group (TOG) of no more than six members to ensure effort is being expended to the best advantage as Taskforces progress and new intelligence comes available, and to provide oversight and strategic guidance for OFCANZ taskforces.
The TOG membership will include the OFCANZ Director (chair), senior OFCANZ managers and selected representatives from key stakeholder agencies to ensure a 'whole-of-government' approach is being applied. Taskforce Leaders will report to the TOG.
The OFCANZ Operations Manager monitors taskforces against their objectives on a day-to-day basis, working closely with Taskforce Leaders. The Taskforce Leaders will provide regular progress reports through the Operations Manager to the TOG, and thereby to the OFCANZ Director.
As described in the OFCANZ Tasking Framework paper, the Police NIC provides whole of government strategic assessments of the organised crime landscape. OFCANZ then works with Police and agencies to confirm and prioritise specific focus areas, which are then approved by ODESC. OFCANZ Taskforce Leaders will be assigned to particular Focus Areas, supported in this by programme management staff in the OFCANZ Strategy and Liaison group.
To keep abreast of developments and to ensure a collaborative approach, Taskforce Leaders will maintain regular interaction with groups such as:
· Combined Law Agency Groups (CLAG).
· District Crime Managers monthly meeting.
· Police NIC through the National Targeting and Analysis Group (NTAG).
· Agencies and jurisdictions relevant to specific focus area.
· Other groups such as relevant to the focus area (eg banks, Netsafe, community groups etc).
OFCANZ will develop0 TOR which will flow from intelligence product and will define targets. The Terms of Reference are signed off by the Police Commissioner. At this point a core investigative team (including tactical intelligence analysts) and administrative support staff are assigned from OFCANZ. Agencies will be asked to assign resources, although the type of resources will depend on the focus of the taskforce.
2.5 Target development (Phase 1 continued)
The purpose of the Target Development phase is to gather more specific information about the focus area to identify potential targets or opportunities to disrupt criminal activities (e.g. any vulnerability in the organised crime entity or activity where the most benefit can be attained for the effort expended).
The Target Development phase is likely to involve the targeted use of specialist service groups that will collect further specific information concerning potential targets. Target development can be time consuming – sometimes taking up to 80% of the duration and effort involved in the overall investigation.
These specialist service groups are likely to primarily come from Police, in consultation with Districts (who manage most of the resource) or through the proposed Police National Tasking and Coordination (TCG) group that will be responsible for ensuring specialist Police resources are assigned to priority operations. Other agencies may be able to contribute depending on their capability and the area on which the taskforce is focussed. Such contributions may have been signalled during the Terms of Reference development or come about later through the direction a particular investigation has taken.
As the Target Development phase progresses and potential targets or opportunities for disruption are identified, detailed Operations Plans are prepared. Each Operations Plan will identify the objectives, target, approach, estimated resourcing (from OFCANZ, Police, and agencies), timing, risks and benefits associated with the operation. The plan will take into account other proposed operations or taskforces currently in progress, and other calls on agency and Police resources, to minimise conflicting pressures. A taskforce may spawn a number of operations in pursuit of its overall objective, or be simply a single operational activity. Each operation will have an assigned operational Officer in Charge (O/C) who will report to the Taskforce Leader.
Given that Taskforces may need to move quickly from the Target Development to Operational phases, the Operations Plans will be approved by the Operations Manager: OFCANZ, who is accountable for them to the Director: OFCANZ. Seeking and securing agreement from other agencies, where commitment of their resources is required, will form a key element of this part of the process.
It is important to note that not all Planning and Target Development activities will result in Taskforce operations, depending on what is identified during the Target Development phase.
Consideration must be given as to which group or organisation is best suited to address the problem in respect of any particular target identified, to avoid OFCANZ committing resources to operations that could otherwise be more appropriately run by a Police District or individual agency (eg, identification of some ancillary offending may need to be dealt with even though it is not the focus of the OFCANZ taskforce).
It is the responsibility of the TOG, to end the Target Development phase should no real benefit be identified. Should this occur, Police Districts or agencies may determine to continue (or commence) their own operational activity in pursuit of the potential targets (in consultation with OFCANZ), or it may be more practical / strategic for a District or agency to take over as the lead organisation, to ensure the best overall outcome.
Once an Operations Plan has been agreed, the Taskforce Leader and Operation O/C manage the actual operation to its conclusion. The actual process involved may vary considerably depending on the target and approach.
The Taskforce Completion phase may differ for each taskforce depending on the overall approach. Taskforces focussed on disruptive actions or recovery of assets, may require limited ongoing involvement beyond the OFCANZ core team.
Where a Taskforce operation outcome includes arrests, the Taskforce Leader and/or Operation O/C(s) will prepare documentation and coordinate resourcing with Police District management as currently occurs with Police inter-district operations.
It is anticipated that Police district staff will carry-out the bulk of arrests and oversee initial court appearances, after which prosecution and filing responsibilities return to OFCANZ. As part of the arrest process, Police district staff may act on other criminal matters identified. In some instances other agency staff with arrest and/or prosecutorial powers may undertake arrests and/or initial prosecutions pursuant to their legislative mandates. Consultation during the taskforce's operations will have identified and confirmed these opportunities before the termination phase.
The core OFCANZ Taskforce membership along with agency staff where applicable, then supports the prosecution and filing activities, with assistance from prosecutors, and taskforce support staff (eg, data entry, file briefers, etc). This phase of the work can involve considerable time and effort to bring the matter to a successful conclusion.
Information from the Taskforce target identification and operations phases is fed back through OFCANZ to the Police NIC and agencies. Some of this feedback will occur during the operations phases, while some may have to wait until termination or later.
The final element of this phase will be the termination of the Taskforce and the return of any supporting staff to parent agencies or home Police districts.
A process of review, feedback, and continuous improvement will be a priority for OFCANZ and important to further develop and refine policy, strategies and procedures to ensure that whole of Government outcomes are met.
The Taskforce Leader, in conjunction with the Operation(s) O/C(s) will ensure that lessons learnt from taskforce experiences are incorporated into future taskforce operations. The OFCANZ Strategy & Liaison group will also carry out post-operational analysis as to the success or otherwise of the taskforce against agreed measures. The overall results are collated, recorded and reported back through the OFCANZ Director to assisting agencies and ODESC.
OFCANZ will provide a core of staff for taskforces, sufficient to ensure a taskforce is well supported throughout (minimising initial reliance on District and agency staff), and that any taskforce is completed to the standard and procedures required for OFCANZ operations.
The proposed OFCANZ roles include:
· Programme and Planning – involvement in the overall planning and logistics surrounding taskforces to ensure minimum call on specialist resources for concurrent taskforces.
· Intelligence Liaison and Coordination – coordination and communication of intelligence updates and planning processes in consultation with the Police NIC and agency intelligence staff.
· Taskforce Leader – sitting across multiple Focus Areas and managing various taskforce operations. Accountable for the successful management of inter-agency operational relationships, development of relevant Terms of Reference, planning and target development, leadership of taskforce operations and completion of them.
· Operation Officer in Charge - leading a specific and defined operation (often involving multi-agency staff) in support of the overall objectives of a particular taskforce. Responsible for the successful achievement of the operations plan objectives.
· Investigator - with a range of experiences, so as to better coordinate OFCANZ activities at all taskforce levels and hold specific roles within a taskforce and taskforce operation (e.g. Investigator, File Holder, Transcriber, Disclosure Officer). This role maybe supplemented by agency investigators as applicable to individual taskforces. Responsible for discharging discrete duties delegated by the O/C or Taskforce leader during a taskforce's lifecycle.
· Tactical Intelligence Analyst – to support investigations and other operational areas in taking case-specific action to achieve objectives
· Cyber Crime Specialist – manage telecommunications, industry, and international contacts to facilitate information gathering during the course of an investigation and to provide technical investigation skills
· Data Entry/Transcription/Admin – providing general administrative support to the taskforce participants, minimising administrative workload on Investigators, ensuring data entry is up to date for Intelligence purposes, and providing transcription services
· File Briefer – preparation of file briefs throughout taskforce phases, but primarily during Completion phase
OFCANZ will require support from specialist Police service groups and similar agency groups (where the capability exists). This may consist of personnel with skills in the following areas:
· Investigators – (agency and Police) to provide local knowledge and coordinate local resources.
· Intelligence Liaison and Coordination – (agency) coordination and communication of intelligence updates and planning processes in consultation with OFCANZ. These staff may be co-located within OFCANZ either permanently or for the duration of specific taskforces, as required.
· Crime Monitoring Centre (CMC).
· Technical Support Unit (TSU).
· Surveillance Teams.
· Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS).
· Undercover operatives (UC).
· Proceeds of Crime (POC) and civil forfeiture.
· Electronic Crime Laboratory (ECL).
· Photography / Scene of Crime Officers.
· Police National Intelligence Centre (NIC).
· Prosecutions / Legal advice.
OFCANZ and Police Districts are highly likely to be focussed on the same priorities, therefore, OFCANZ requests for District and regional resourcing to a taskforce is likely to benefit both parties.
Proposed initial OFCANZ staffing of 35 FTE (including Taskforce and supporting activities) is expected to be sufficient to run two major taskforces or 3-4 small taskforces, depending on the nature and breadth of any particular investigation. For example, a discrete money laundering investigation supporting an international investigation may only require involvement of only 1-2 OFCANZ staff, whereas a significant nation-wide drugs related investigation will require significantly more resource than could be provided by OFCANZ alone.
It is expected that OFCANZ core staffing will grow over a period of years, building to a level where 4 - 6 concurrent major taskforces can be supported.
Key processes required to support Taskforce Operations include:
· Terms of Reference template (OFCANZ);
· Police TCG process (Police);
· OFCANZ Operations Plan template (OFCANZ);
· Taskforce Oversight Group (TOG) process (OFCANZ); and
· Taskforce Evaluation report to ODESC (OFCANZ).
Other considerations identified as part of the Taskforce Operations consultation that will need to be addressed as the processes are further developed include:
· Ensuring that there is an ability in the wider system to respond quickly to emerging threats and targets (this may not involve OFCANZ resources in many instances), and that Taskforce Leaders have sufficient authority and latitude to run effective operations.
· Coordination with Police Districts, the Police NIC, and agencies, minimising unnecessary overlaps and duplication of effort, cooperating on operations, and ensuring continued effort (where required) on those operations that are not tasked to OFCANZ, but which have potential for delivering a significant impact against the organised crime environment.
· Staffing of taskforces – the development of the core team, managing secondments from Police and agencies and determining exactly how these arrangements will work.
· Staffing impacts on Police groups given the increased demands on service that will come from OFCANZ.
· Close working relationships with Police Districts and defining how OFCANZ will provide benefit to Police Districts.
· Interaction with Police Proceeds of Crime / Asset Recovery capability, which is waiting on the outcome of civil forfeiture legislation, and will be essential to OFCANZ operations.
· Content of the Terms of Reference and Operations Plans will need to include sufficient detail so as to enable agencies to make informed decisions around commitment of resources and timing of Taskforce operations.
John Beaglehole
OFCANZ Establishment Director
June 2008
[1] The Tasking Framework (Organised Crime) paper details the high-level process leading up to this point
