By Brandon Burley
Most departments in America don’t have a dedicated analyst, a real time crime center or even a full-time narcotics unit. That doesn’t mean the drugs stop flowing or the violence just disappears. If you’re working in a small or semi-rural agency, you’re probably doing a lot with a little — especially when it comes to intelligence. And if you’re chasing dope without an intel unit or outside support, you’re not alone.
Narcotics investigations in small or semi-rural departments require more than determination; they require intelligence. When there’s no analyst, no fusion center and no big-city resources to lean on, it falls to the local officer to gather, test and act on what they have. This article is for the majority of officers who do not have access to an intel unit or fusion center. It’s about how smaller agencies can turn everyday information — tips, observations and open sources — into actionable intelligence that gets results.
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The reality of semi-rural narcotics work
Most narcotics cases don’t start with a wiretap. They start with a name, a rumor, a traffic stop or a neighbor who’s had enough. Officers in small departments are generalists by necessity, balancing patrol with investigations and outreach. With a limited budget, almost no tech, stretched personnel and no centralized intel support, they have to build the case themselves from the ground up. You’re the analyst, the case agent and the one knocking on the door — all in the same shift.
Start with HUMINT, build with OSINT
The first information you gather is usually human intelligence (HUMINT). That might come from a neighbor, a confidential informant or even someone who approaches you at a gas station. Even if you’ve never called it that before, it’s HUMINT. Confidential informants (CIs) are a valuable tool, but they are not a shortcut. If you’ve handled CIs for any length of time, you know they come with bias, baggage and motivation. Most of them have something to gain.
That doesn’t make their information useless — it just means you need to verify it. If a CI gives you a location, verify the address through public records or utility data, when permitted by local law. If they give you a name, check jail logs, Facebook or prior CAD entries, always consistent with your agency’s policy on records access. If they mention a car, match it to an Instagram post or a Snapchat story — but only if that content is public and gathered without violating privacy laws. HUMINT is just the first step. Your job is to test it, verify it and turn it into something actionable. The stronger your verification loop, the more reliable your intelligence becomes over time — and your sources learn that you don’t guess, you confirm.
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When you’re checking social media like Instagram or Snapchat, you’re also gathering open-source intelligence (OSINT). This is public data, and it can work for you — but you need to stay within legal bounds. OSINT is legal and accessible when used in a way that aligns with your agency’s policy and state law. You’re not trying to be an analyst; you’re adapting.
Use Google Earth to scout locations. Search Facebook, Instagram and TikTok for tags, vehicles and associates. Check OfferUp, Craigslist and Letgo for stolen property or pill deals — if those listings are publicly accessible. Recover deleted posts using tools like the Wayback Machine — but only when the material is legally available. Tap into jail logs, obituaries or local crime groups to spot patterns. Reverse usernames and emails with tools like HaveIBeenPwned — as long as you’re using open, publicly sourced data. These tools fill in gaps, and the best part is they’re free, legal and easy to access — assuming you’re using them in a way that’s consistent with department guidance.
From leads to patterns
Once you’ve gathered HUMINT or OSINT, the real work begins: turning leads into intelligence. And here’s the key — information is not intelligence. Not yet. It only becomes intelligence when it’s processed, understood and actionable.
A CI tells you a suspect drives a black Charger. You spot that vehicle on Facebook. A neighbor’s doorbell camera confirms that same car stopping at the house. Public utility records link the home to a relative. A trash pull turns up mail in the suspect’s name. Now you’re not just sitting on leads — you’re building a pattern. You’re doing what a fusion center would do, just without the servers.
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Staying ethical and effective without infrastructure
Everything you do needs to stand up in court. Small-town cases face just as much scrutiny as big-city ones. That means you need to know the boundaries between public and private data. Don’t shortcut search warrants. Keep good notes. Document how you got every piece of data. If you can’t explain it clearly in your report or on the stand, it doesn’t belong in your file.
You’re going to hear a lot in narcotics work — some of it useful, some of it noise and some of it gray until you dig deeper. This is where some departments go wrong: they treat all information as intelligence. But intelligence is a product. It’s information you’ve verified, understood and applied toward a specific outcome.
Say you get a call about heavy traffic at a suspected flop house. That’s not intelligence. But if you review CAD history, match that to frequent calls for service, spot the same vehicles on nearby LPR data and verify one of them is connected to a known associate, now that becomes something useful. As with everything, make sure you are following applicable laws and agency policies when accessing or using LPR data.
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Or someone tells you a certain route is being used to run drugs. You match that route to a vehicle showing up on LPR data every other night and tie it to a prior arrest. That’s a pattern. That’s actionable. You still need probable cause to stop the car, but now you have reasonable articulable suspicion to extend the stop.
Maybe someone says a guy is suddenly flashing cash and new clothes. On its own, not enough. But if that same guy shows up in arrest reports, or if his timeline lines up with new dope flooding the area, he becomes part of your picture.
You can layer CAD and RMS history, property records, social media posts, doorbell or bus dashcam footage (school buses are gold for this) and CI tracking logs. Keep a working record of what was said, when it was said and what you confirmed. Not every tip is solid, but patterns build reliability. If it can’t survive scrutiny, it doesn’t belong in your case. But if it holds up, even a street rumor can lead to a rock-solid warrant.
You don’t need servers to think like a fusion center
You don’t need an intelligence division to think like a crime analyst. You don’t need high-end software to work a dope case. But you do need discipline, creativity and a strategy that uses what’s already around you.
Whether it’s a CI tip or a 2:14 a.m. Facebook post, real intelligence starts with knowing how to listen, where to look and how to put it together. Most officers don’t have access to a fusion center. That’s fine. The rest of us build one out of grit — not servers.
Tactical takeaway
When every lead counts, verify before you act. Cross-check street tips with open-source data — like social posts, jail logs or CAD history — to turn rumors into usable intelligence that can withstand scrutiny.
If your agency doesn’t have an analyst or fusion center, what strategies or tools have helped you fill that gap? Share below.
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