Course summary

Understanding data is becoming increasingly important for us all. This is especially true for the intelligence analyst working for a police intelligence unit or business analytics department. The world constantly presents data in data frames or spreadsheets – our daily activities are invariably logged by a time, date, geolocation. The work boundaries of the traditional police intelligence analyst and digital forensic investigator are becoming blurred - today’s analysts need to be cyber aware, understanding how communication records and web search histories can be extracted and analysed. This course covers these areas and the theories that provide a better sense of the causes of crime and the prevention measures to stabilise and reverse these trends. Analysts shouldn’t be phased by data simply because of its size, complexity or format. You develop the skills to work effectively with large datasets, allowing you to make more informed decisions in relation to criminal investigations. Key features include writing code to quickly clean up data and packaging it so it is suitable for analysis and visualisation. You explore strategies employed in forensic investigation and develop your own area of interest in a research project where you maximise your skillsets, from academic writing to data analytics. You could expect to apply for roles including crime intelligence researcher, crime intelligence analyst, business intelligence analyst, data analyst, data modeller and researcher. Opportunities exist within the business sector, law enforcement, probation service and local government. Visit Teesside University’s website to apply to start in September or January. You may wish to study our two year advanced practice route which enhances your qualification by adding a vocational or research-based internship.