Leanne Grant

“The role of an Assistant Criminal Intelligence Analyst and Criminal Intelligence Analysts are valuable in a variety of ways, from identifying and linking an emerging crime series and highlighting it to the relevant departments, to assisting on crimes in the investigative stage with Cycomms and phone analysis or providing sequences of events. Although I focus on rape and serious sexual offences, various other crime types are reviewed as well such as vehicle crime, burglary, robbery etc.

“As an analyst my role is varied. It can involve reviewing previous rape and sexual offences to pick up on any emerging series, trends, hotspots, suspects or victims.

“I may review upcoming prison releases or collate and present organised crime and county lines disruption data for review to a panel of high ranking officers and staff. I also create analytical products for various departments to review any emerging series to assist with tactical or strategic decisions.

“There isn’t really a typical day! My day is always varied, depending on which meeting I am preparing for, what analytical products I have been set, but also what live crimes are coming in.

“If I wasn’t a good multi-tasker or good at juggling multiple jobs before – I am now! Prioritising workload is huge in this role as well as the ability to adapt your workload as and when jobs come in that take priority and you need to drop everything else to complete it.

“I initially joined Northamptonshire Police on the Accelerated Detective Pathway but while on Response it was apparent that my three and one year old at the time just wanted their mummy. My three-year-old said to me one day ‘Mummy, do you love work more than me?’, which naturally led me to look at other opportunities more suited to my family at that time– I was gutted!

“However, I knew I wanted to stay within the police force and with my analytical mind and desire to be ‘professionally inquisitive’ - or nosy! - I saw the Assistant Criminal Intelligence Analyst role pop up, went for it and thankfully was successful.

“I thoroughly enjoy crime pattern analysis and assisting departments by raising an emerging series of note, that can at times stop offending before it can escalate. This is especially true in rape and serious sexual offences crimes. I have the opportunity to delve into volumes of crimes to assist with highlighting any emerging series or trends, that if left unnoticed, could escalate and become a higher threat and risk to the public.

“I find myself fully invested in finding what I believe to be crimes of note, linking them through a location, suspect description, or MO, then raising it to the relevant department. At times, this has then turned into a confirmed series, but knowing you’ve played a very small part in highlighting the issue early on, allowing departments to allocate the necessary resources to eliminate that risk is very rewarding.

“Being the only assistant criminal intelligence analyst for the west of the county can be demanding, however I am supported by my counterpart on the North as well as the other analysts and seniors above me.

“To date, my two greatest achievements have been picking up on a stranger sexual assault series which resulted in a fast-paced CID investigation under Operation Jasper where the suspect was charged with more than 10 sexual assaults.

“Another case involved me picking up on a stranger exposure series which resulted in Operation Jacquard being set up. Both these operations concluded with two successful arrests of the suspects, thus identifying two sexual predators we were previously unaware of.

“Operation Jacquard was a particularly great achievement for me. The suspect was unknown and over the span of 15 months, we believe had committed 14 indecent exposure offences that we were aware of. These were escalating with victims becoming younger and the volume of offending increasing. I provided an analytical product to detectives and our intelligence and neighbourhoods teams and by analysing his offending pattern, could provide information that helped direct patrols to the correct area in the correct time frame, which ultimately resulted in a PCSO spotting our offender and after a bit of a scuffle, successfully detaining him.

“I am fully aware I am just one small cog in a giant wheel, and it is ‘just my job’, but to have high ranking officers and staff from varying departments commend you on your findings and work feels very surreal. It’s a strange realisation that your work can really matter, and you are having an impact in assisting the detention of criminals or raising awareness for an emerging crime series. The general experience of the reaction of others in response to work you have completed, or the positive impact you have on a specific crime or operation is an amazing feeling.

“There are difficult parts of this role, like spinning all the plates of your workload, then trying to switch off and jump back into mum mode when I get home! My role as an assistant analyst involves lots of eggs in a lot of baskets! While managing an ever-changing workload, it can at times be difficult reading about rape and serious sexual offence crimes especially involving children as it really resonates with me because of my young family – that being said, it’s another driving force to keep raising crimes of note to help stop any new emerging issues and direct officers to detain sexual predators.”

Intelligence Officer George Swinfield, who nominated Leanne, said: “Leanne’s professionalism and unfailing dedication to reach positive outcomes in the apprehension of offenders, displays her strength of character which is a credit to Northamptonshire Police.

“The pride Leanne takes in her work is easily evidenced in Operation Jacquard. She consistently works above and beyond, so you can bet any of her recommendations will be well researched and be backed up with a sound rationale and statistical evidence.

“Leanne remains a greatly valued and approachable member of our department who will always make time for her colleagues, both in a personal and professional standing.

“It is often the case that the important work completed in the intelligence department cannot be talked about in detail and goes unseen and unsung. But I would like her to be formally recognised for the significant and consistent contribution she provides to Northamptonshire Police.”

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