Stop asking for more budget, start asking the right question

Every security coordinator at a municipality knows the pattern. There's a problem — subversion, youth crime, organised criminality — and within no time the conversation turns to capacity. More people, more resources, a new system. Understandable, but rarely effective.

Not because the problems are overstated. But because a step is skipped that is decisive for everything that follows.

In many municipalities the conversation starts with capacity. How many FTEs are needed? What will it cost? Which tool is still missing? Meanwhile, a more fundamental question remains unanswered: what exactly is going on here, and what do we need to know in order to act? Without a sharply defined problem, everything stays vague. "Improve safety" or "tackle youth crime" sounds decisive, but gives no direction. And without direction, every investment becomes a gamble.

In the intelligence world, the process doesn't start with resources, but with a question. First it's established what information is needed to make a decision. Only then does the rest follow.

That forces sharpness. What is actually happening, where, and with what goal do we want to intervene? From those questions, information is gathered in a targeted way. Not everything that's available, but only what's relevant. Municipalities often have plenty of information, but it's scattered across systems and departments.

The next step is bringing that information together into insight. This is where it often goes wrong. Analysis demands structure and discipline: recognising patterns, testing assumptions, and daring to acknowledge what you don't know.

The endpoint isn't a report, but a choice. If the analysis doesn't lead to better-founded decisions, it has had little value.

Municipalities that first sharpen the question, then gather information in a targeted way, and only then analyse, see their perspective shift. The discussion becomes less about what's missing and more about what's already there and can be put to better use. Without a clear question, investment gets spread too thin. Initiatives pile up, information remains unused, and results are hard to measure. Not due to a lack of effort, but a lack of direction. A way of working that starts with a sharp question and ends with a well-founded decision forces choices. And it is precisely that which makes existing resources more effective.

The security challenges municipalities face today cannot be solved with yesterday's methods. Subversion, radicalisation and hybrid threats call for precision and analytical discipline. Not as an abstract ideal, but as everyday practice.

The way of working that goes with this isn't new. It has been used for decades in the intelligence world: start with a sharp question, gather information in a targeted way, analyse it, and steer on decision-making rather than activity.

The National Intelligence Academy (NIA) trains professionals in the public sector in precisely that way of working. From introductory courses to in-depth analyst training and programmes for leaders who want to steer their organisation differently. The NIA is the training institute of Proximities and offers courses, training and workshops for operational and managerial professionals in the public and private sector. For more information, please contact info@proximities.com.