What is a consultant and what does he or she do? Consultants are people with expertise on one of any number of subjects who advise, inform, and teach companies or individuals on matters related to their subject of expertise. Examples of the vast variety of subject matter that consultants deal with are matters of finance, technology, software development, presentation skills, business planning, accounting, product deployment, leadership, change management, efficiency improvement, investment strategy, process improvement, marketing and sales, special projects, and mission development. Companies do not directly hire consultants as employees of the company, but rather bring consultants in for special purposes for specific lengths of time. It’s important for law enforcements to hire people who do police consulting in order to help their firm learn about the most up to date technology available for the force and to get expert advice on topics like counterterrorism and intelligence and/or counterintelligence.
Information Technology and Cyber Techniques
If you are wondering if you are in need of police consulting consider what a consultant might teach you and your team about current technologies and cyber technical skills. If your information technology system needs help with its development, consultants can offer you specific training to create a current and relevant system for your team. Consultants can help install effective engineering methods, investigative techniques and encryption technologies into your system. They can help protect you against hacktivists, terrorists, and other organized crime. By hiring a consultant for your IT department who will teach cyber-based techniques to your team, your branch of law enforcement will be able to keep up with the ever-changing, fast-paced digital world.
Counterterrorism and Intelligence/Counterintelligence
In regards to counterterrorism police consulting will offer clients knowledge on current information sharing challenges and the threats that can emerge from the sharing process. Spontaneous explosive devices, weapons of mass destruction, and radicalization are examples of such threats and must be addressed when building counterterrorism through technology systems. When it comes to intelligence and counterintelligence consultants can offer you even more technological and analytical capabilities that will push your intelligence process from being merely a collection of requirements to intelligence that can be acted upon. Hire analyst consultants who will perform analyses, research, operational activities, and case investigations for your intelligence and counterintelligence teams. Before you a hire a consultant be sure to first identify the areas of your agency or department that need to be developed, rearranged, manipulated, or reengineered. By doing so you will know which types of consultants to hire, and your consultants will know how to best address your needs.