In law enforcement, the ability to adapt quickly and learn from mistakes is crucial. This concept, often called “failing faster,” is not about accepting failure but about using it as a stepping stone to refine techniques, uncover patterns, and ultimately catch criminals more effectively. Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) plays a pivotal role in this approach, providing law enforcement agencies with the tools and insights to stay ahead of criminal activity.
Despite best efforts, crime solve rates in the United States remain relatively low. According to recent data, while 41 percent of aggravated assault investigations lead to an arrest, just 25 percent of arson cases are cleared, and less than 10 percent of vehicle thieves are caught.
Open source intelligence (OSINT) tools help improve clearance rates by empowering agencies to fail faster, resulting in better clarity and direction. Here’s how.
The Concept of Failing Faster in Law Enforcement
“Failing faster” in law enforcement means rapidly iterating on investigative methods, identifying what doesn’t work, and refining strategies. This approach is particularly valuable in a landscape where criminal tactics evolve rapidly. Law enforcement can redirect their efforts toward more promising leads by quickly identifying dead ends or ineffective strategies. OSINT enhances this process by providing a constant stream of real-time data and insights that can be analyzed and acted upon swiftly. At ShadowDragon, you can investigate and monitor on the go, accessing real-time information in the field, on a mobile device or anywhere with an internet connection. This heavily reduces investigative time with the speed of mission, lowers costs, and improves case solve rates. One user saw the time-to-solve rate dramatically drop by 60 percent.
Common Challenges in Crime Clearance
Several challenges combine to frustrate law enforcement efforts:
Staff Shortages
Understaffing remains the biggest issue for agencies. According to a Thomson Reuters survey, 92 percent of agencies said they suffered from understaffing to some degree.
Without enough officers and analysts, finding and catching criminals becomes significantly more difficult. Using an OSINT platform that assimilates data, uncovers hidden connections and provides access to real time information makes it easier and quicker to make progress in investigations. With sophisticated link analysis, graphing and structured methodology, understanding the patterns and cycles and gaining situational awareness, early detection and comprehensive analysis of events significantly aids investigations. OSINT tools monitor forums, paste sites, social media, and the dark web for mentions of new malware, hacking tools, or stolen or breach data. In a recent case, law enforcement agencies used OSINT to track down a group of cybercriminals selling stolen credit card information on the dark web. By monitoring these platforms and identifying the sellers’ aliases, investigators could apprehend the individuals and shut down their operations.
Horizon provides a strategic advantage by being applicable to various use cases. rom counter-terrorism to human trafficking or financial fraud to reputation management, the same tool can be used across different methodologies with a simple equip process.
Diverse Data Sources
The volume and diversity of data sources also poses a challenge . Historically, information was harder to obtain, now, the sheer number of data sources makes it challenging for officers to find what they’re looking for.
Horizon correlates vast amounts of data with easy-to-use mapping and analysis and simplifies monitoring organized crime groups’ activities by tracking their online presence, financial transactions, and communication networks. Recently, law enforcement used OSINT to infiltrate an organized crime syndicate by tracking the group’s communications and financial transactions. This intelligence led to a coordinated raid that dismantled the syndicate’s operations across multiple countries.
Manual Processes
The sheer amount of time and effort required to comb through hundreds or thousands of online social and commercial interactions makes large-scale data analysis prohibitively resource-intensive.
With OSINT, investigators can set up alerts and monitor for a missing person, as well as public safety, riot control, or organized crime. During a large-scale protest, OSINT was used to monitor real-time social media chatter and map out the movements of protest groups. This allowed law enforcement to preemptively deploy officers to potential hotspots, preventing violence and ensuring public safety. We recently examined the flag defamation and protests in Washington, DC, and Monitor’s impact.
Content + Context + Failure = Capture
By rapidly gathering and analyzing information, agencies can quickly pivot from ineffective strategies to more promising ones, ultimately improving their success rates in catching criminals. As OSINT tools continue to evolve, they will become even more integral to law enforcement’s ability to stay ahead of criminal activity, making our communities safer in the process.
The future of crime fighting lies in this ability to adapt and evolve rapidly—something OSINT is equipped to support.
