Sources of Information

Sources of Information
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
► Describe the different sources of information and enhance
information collection
► Describe the importance of informant handling and management
to enhance the intelligence network in support of the collection
effort
► Apply the different method of collection of information to develop
intelligence capability
► Develop effective and efficient informants
► Discover the importance of the subject with regards to Values,
Professionalism, Administration, Governance and Leadership
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
A. SOURCES
1. A source is defined as a
person, thing, or activity from which information
is originally obtained. Sources may or may
not be under friendly control.
2. The sources of information to be

selected to fulfill a given intelligence is
an important consideration. For this reason, knowledge of what sources
of information are available is essential to planning the collection
effort.
3. The most common sources of information for intelligence

purposes are enemy activities, prisoners of war, local residents,
refugees, evacuees, displaced persons, civilian agencies, captured
enemy documents and material, imagery, maps, weather forecasts,
studies and reports. Other sources of information include informants,
intelligence reports and studies prepared by higher, lower, adjacent

units and other military services
and agencies.
B. AGENCIES
An agency is any individual or organization which exploits a source

to collect and/
or process information. The distinction is made between those agencies
which collect information and those which process intelligence.
C. SELECTION OF AGENCIES FOR COLLECTION TASKS
After the determination of the specific information required (SIR),

available agencies are selected to obtain the information. In making
this selection, the factors of capability, suitability, multiplicity, and
balance are considered.
1. Capability. An agency must be physically capable of providing

the desired information in
a timely manner.
2. Suitability. The collection tasked assigned to a unit must be

compatible with
its primary mission. Only the agencies best
suited to furnish the desired information are

used.
3. Multiplicity. Evaluation of information requires that it is compared

with information
received from other sources and agencies. Subject
to consideration of capability and suitability, more
than one agency is used to obtain

each item of required information.
4. Balance. Within the limits imposed by other consideration the

collection workload is balanced among agencies. Balance is a minor
consideration when compared with the importance of other factors.
INTRODUCTION
Organizations are great information processors. They gather,

analyze, synthesize and interpret information from their environment for
their own uses and for return to the
environment. They use this information to make choices or decision
about what the organization
will and will not do, and how
it will do it. In short, information

and the knowledge it represents are the
lifeblood of the organization. It links the
organization to its environment, and it is
considered the “OIL” that lubricates the internal operations. No
organization can exist for long
if it does not have valid and

reliable information on which to base its
decisions and operations.
DEFINITION
SOURCE - Is defined as any person, thing

and/or activity from which information is
originally obtained.
DEFINITION
Sources may or may not be under

friendly control. The source of information to
be selected to fulfill a given requirement
is an important consideration. For this reason,
a knowledge of what sources of information
are available is essential to planning the
collection effort.
DEFINITION
a. COMMON SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR INTELLIGENCE

PURPOSES
1) Enemy Activities – Knowledge of enemy intelligence

organization and/or those of criminal syndicates, their doctrines,
communications and their relationship with local civilian population
provide vital information for planning and deception,
DEFINITION
counterintelligence and security measures of the unit/command.
2) Prisoners of War – Prisoners of War

are valuable sources of information of immediate tactical value and
affects friendly psychological operations. Maximum information is
obtained through
DEFINITION
skillful handling of the prisoner from the

time of capture until interrogation is completed.
3) Local Residents – Civilian sources may provide information on

terrain in enemy-controlled areas and enemy installations and activities.
The populace is a lucrative source of information
DEFINITION
in stability operations as well as in

routine police investigative work.
a) Refugees
b) Evacuees
c) Displaced persons
d) Civilian agencies
DEFINITION
e) Captured enemy documents – Include any piece of recorded

information which has been in the possession of the enemy or
members of criminal syndicates and/or suspects and
subsequently comes to government possession.
DEFINITION
e) Imagery Maps & Charts – Maps are principal sources of terrain

information.
f) Weather Forecasts and Reports – To fulfill the requirements of

intelligence, all commanders require information on weather and
the intelligence derived from that info.
DEFINITION
e) Research Studies – Provides empirical data on particular events,

issue and/or social phenomenon based on people’s perception.
This is used mainly on policy-making in a particular organization.
DEFINITION
e) Newspaper Reports – May contain accounts of live-coverage

and exclusive one-on-
one interviews on particular events and/or person which are
documentary in nature.
e) Books and publications
f) Bystanders and the crime scene
g) Convicted criminals
DEFINITION
e) Drug dependent undergoing rehabilitation
f) Public Libraries
g) Informants
h) Intelligence Reports
i) Studies prepared by higher, lower & adjacent units of other

military services and government agencies
DEFINITION
e) Investigation Reports
f) National Census & Statistics Office Files
a. Of which it cannot be determined (e.g., money, oil paintings).

COLLECTION AGENCIES AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION
AGENCY – Any individual or organization which exploits a source to

collect and/or
process intelligence.
The distinction is made between those agencies which collect

information and those process intelligence.
2. COLLECTING AGENCY AS SOURCES OF INFORMATION
a) Troops/Beat Policeman – Combat, combat support and/or

operating units are specially
useful for collecting information on the enemy and/or members
of crime syndicates and
the Area of Operations.
b) Military/Base Police Units – Due to their characteristic

employment and nature of activities, this units may have access
to information of interest to intelligence and counterintelligence
agencies in the following police areas of responsibility such as
the following:
1) Physical characteristics of the friendly territory.

2) Enemy prisoner or war, civilian internees and/or arrested
criminal suspect.
3) Crimes and offenses in the areas of operations.
4) Operations of patrols, checkpoints, and information posts.

5) Operation of confinement facilities.
6) Liaison with other civil and military/police law enforcement
agencies.
7) Physical security of key facilities and installations,

including special ammunition escort.
8) Assistance in the rear area of operation.
9) Circulation control to include traffic control.
10) Resource Management.
c) Civil Affairs Units – They acquire much information on the

physical and non-physical characteristics of the area through
contact with civilian population, the government, economy, and
the institutions in the area. Information of intelligence interests
acquired by civil affairs units through the units
through day-to-day operations should be collected discreetly so

as not to jeopardize
the primary mission of the civil affairs
units in the area.
d) Psychological Operating Units – Acquire information of use to

support commands. This information is generally in the area of
psychological, political, sociological and economic intelligence
dealing with enemy, neutral, friendly groups and/or criminal
syndicates.
e) Military/Police Intelligence Personnel – Some military/police

intelligence personnel are also collection agents. Typical of
these
are the intelligence interrogators, imagery interpreters,
documents analysis, CI personnel; area intelligence specialist,
and strategic intelligence ands analysis personnel.
f) Technical Intelligence Units – Operate in the field to perform

the following functions:
1) Collect, identify and examine captured enemy material.
2) Make preliminary tests and reports on the capabilities,

limitations, use, and effectiveness if enemy materiel.
3) Arrange for evacuation of selected enemy materiel and

recommend disposition of enemy materiel of no intelligence
value.
4) Prepare intelligence questions for intelligence

interrogations.
5) Evaluate effectiveness of our own and allied weapons and

ammunition against enemy materiel.
6) Investigate intelligence targets to evaluate enemy scientific

and technical achievements in research, development,
production, and storage so that further
detailed analysis may be made by appropriate personnel.
7) Collect, evaluate, and interpret information affecting the

health and welfare of man in the actual or possible areas of
operations which are
immediately or potentially significant for military planning.
7) Conduct technical services such as wire/wireless,

audio/visual or photographic undertakings.
g) Engineer Topographic Units – Engineer topographic and

intelligence units collect, evaluate and disseminate terrain data,
produce terrain studies, and provide consultant service in military
geology and hydrology in support programs of the intelligence
officer of the unit.
h) Special and Other Staff Officers – This

staff having troops under their control can obtain information of
intelligence value in the conduct of their normal duties and
furnish
the intelligence officer with such information and intelligence.
These are: Field Artillery Officer, Commander, Cops on the
Block,
Engineer Officer, Surgeon, Provost Marshall, Commo-Electronic

Officer, Aviation officer, Staff Weather Officer and other that
provide information to intelligence officer of intelligence value.
i) Other agencies operating behind lines which may include

Deep Penetrating Agents and/or persons in Undercover
assignment; Airborne units working behind enemy lines.
SUMMARY
The participant can be able to:
a. Define of Source of Information; and
b. Explain Sources of Information and Collection Agencies

End of Presentation

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Sources of Information

2. The sources of information to be

3. The most common sources of information for intelligence

intelligence reports and studies prepared by higher, lower, adjacent

An agency is any individual or organization which exploits a source

C. SELECTION OF AGENCIES FOR COLLECTION TASKS

After the determination of the specific information required (SIR),

1. Capability. An agency must be physically capable of providing

2. Suitability. The collection tasked assigned to a unit must be

suited to furnish the desired information are

3. Multiplicity. Evaluation of information requires that it is compared

than one agency is used to obtain

4. Balance. Within the limits imposed by other consideration the

Organizations are great information processors. They gather,

it will do it. In short, information

if it does not have valid and

SOURCE - Is defined as any person, thing

Sources may or may not be under

a. COMMON SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR INTELLIGENCE

1) Enemy Activities – Knowledge of enemy intelligence

counterintelligence and security measures of the unit/command.

2) Prisoners of War – Prisoners of War

skillful handling of the prisoner from the

3) Local Residents – Civilian sources may provide information on

in stability operations as well as in

e) Captured enemy documents – Include any piece of recorded

e) Imagery Maps & Charts – Maps are principal sources of terrain

f) Weather Forecasts and Reports – To fulfill the requirements of

e) Research Studies – Provides empirical data on particular events,

e) Newspaper Reports – May contain accounts of live-coverage

e) Books and publications

f) Bystanders and the crime scene

e) Drug dependent undergoing rehabilitation

i) Studies prepared by higher, lower & adjacent units of other

f) National Census & Statistics Office Files

a. Of which it cannot be determined (e.g., money, oil paintings).

AGENCY – Any individual or organization which exploits a source to

The distinction is made between those agencies which collect

2. COLLECTING AGENCY AS SOURCES OF INFORMATION

a) Troops/Beat Policeman – Combat, combat support and/or

b) Military/Base Police Units – Due to their characteristic

1) Physical characteristics of the friendly territory.

4) Operations of patrols, checkpoints, and information posts.

7) Physical security of key facilities and installations,

c) Civil Affairs Units – They acquire much information on the

through day-to-day operations should be collected discreetly so

d) Psychological Operating Units – Acquire information of use to

e) Military/Police Intelligence Personnel – Some military/police

f) Technical Intelligence Units – Operate in the field to perform

1) Collect, identify and examine captured enemy material.

2) Make preliminary tests and reports on the capabilities,

3) Arrange for evacuation of selected enemy materiel and

4) Prepare intelligence questions for intelligence

5) Evaluate effectiveness of our own and allied weapons and

6) Investigate intelligence targets to evaluate enemy scientific

detailed analysis may be made by appropriate personnel.

7) Collect, evaluate, and interpret information affecting the

immediately or potentially significant for military planning.

7) Conduct technical services such as wire/wireless,

g) Engineer Topographic Units – Engineer topographic and

h) Special and Other Staff Officers – This

Engineer Officer, Surgeon, Provost Marshall, Commo-Electronic

i) Other agencies operating behind lines which may include

The participant can be able to: