Open-source intelligence (OSINT) plays an important role in alerting authorities to public safety issues at local events. As part of event planning and event response, law enforcement must use open-source intelligence to help with proactive policing efforts to keep communities safe. OSINT should be part of event pre-planning, event management and response, and final debrief after the event. Without integrating OSINT into these operations, public safety leadership will miss critical pieces of intelligence that can be used to ensure the public’s safety. Proactive policing strategies must leverage OSINT at every step in the planning process.

Integrating this critical intelligence can be challenging for some agencies but must be part of the planning and response process. Law enforcement leaders must understand how this data can protect their community, their officers, and their reputation. Proactive policing strategies must leverage this intelligence as part of the pre-planning and response process.

This white paper gives law enforcement leaders critical insights into what OSINT can uncover online to keep public events safe. It provides leaders with ways in which their agencies can seamlessly integrate this data into existing event planning and response procedures to enhance safety and security measures.