Expert Reveals Blind Spots in Law Enforcement Data

What happens when law enforcement agencies have more data than they can handle, but still can’t find the answers they need?

That’s the challenge facing agencies today, says intelligence and law enforcement expert Shane Britten. 

In Cognyte’s latest webinar, From Covert Ops to Crime Stoppers: Navigating Data in Law Enforcement, Britten, a former director at Australia’s national security agency and current CEO of Crime Stoppers International, highlighted the multiple hurdles law enforcement faces in their current investigations.  

Watch the full webinar with Shane Britten to learn how law enforcement agencies can overcome operational blind spots with data-driven decision intelligence. 

Key Challenges with Today’s Law Enforcement Data  

Despite having access to more information than ever before, from crime reports to open-source intelligence and financial records, Britten explained that agencies face operational roadblocks including: 

• Data overload that buries investigators in noise rather than insight 

• Siloed systems and teams that prevent them from understanding the full picture 

• Outdated investigative methods that don’t match how criminals operate today 

• Cross-border criminal networks that exploit gaps in jurisdiction and in collaboration between agencies 

To show what’s possible when technology meets human expertise, the session featured a live demo of NEXYTE, Cognyte’s decision intelligence platform. Designed for law enforcement, national security, and financial crime teams, NEXYTE fuses data from multiple sources and applies AI-powered analytics to help agencies move from data to action.  

Here are some of our biggest takeaways from the webinar: 

Everything is Connected, But Agencies Work in Silos 

While multiple obstacles facing today’s investigators were explored, one challenge stood out as both the most widespread and the most problematic: data fragmentation. 

Agencies aren’t just overwhelmed by information volume; they’re paralyzed by its disconnected nature. Data is spread across different systems, formats, departments and even jurisdictions. 

“We’re not dealing with crimes in isolation anymore. We’re not dealing where a terrorist is just a terrorist. Terrorists are also criminals. They’re also family members. They’re also members of our community. All of these things are connected.”

Investigators still work in silos, chasing leads without seeing the full picture. 

“An ISIS detainee once told me that 70% of their funding came from selling fake cigarettes. That money was then used to buy weapons and conduct attacks,” Britten shared. 

Connecting data is critical, but it must be done securely. The right tools should reveal shared targets across agencies without compromising privacy or jurisdictional boundaries. 

Why AI Alone Isn’t Enough to Solve the Law Enforcement Data Puzzle  

AI can help agencies process complex data and spot patterns that humans might miss — like activities, associates, backgrounds, and beliefs (AABB). But as Britten warned, AI alone isn’t enough. Without context and real-time relevance, insights can quickly become more noise. 

AI-powered tools must do more than generate insights. They must deliver those insights when and where investigators need them most, in the context of ongoing investigations. 

Why Decision Intelligence Matters: Making Sense of Law Enforcement Data  

While AI can process and link data faster than any human team, the real value comes when those insights actually help investigators make better decisions.  

Britten described decision intelligence as the missing link between data and action. The volume and complexity of modern data demands more than just better search tools or smarter algorithms, he said. Investigators need decision-making environments that combine: 

• AI-powered analytics 

• All-source data fusion 

• Real-time context and relevance 

“It’s not just about having access to data, it’s about knowing what to do with it — and having the tools to act when it matters most,” Britten explained. 

Instead of forcing investigators to jump between disconnected systems, decision intelligence brings the right data, in the right context, into one unified view. It helps agencies move beyond finding more dots to actually connecting them in meaningful, operationally relevant ways. 

This was demonstrated with a live walkthrough of Cognyte’s decision intelligence platform, NEXYTE. 

A Live Look at NEXYTE in Action: Law Enforcement Data Analysis

The live demo walked through a real investigative scenario, from an Interpol Red Notice to uncovering connections to shell companies, social media profiles, bank accounts, and more.

With AI-powered capabilities like facial recognition, object detection in videos and speech-to-text transcription, NEXYTE lets investigators pull insights from structured and unstructured data in seconds—all from one screen.

Coming soon: natural language search across all intelligence sources.

If your agency is ready to move beyond fragmented data and operational blind spots, replay the Shane Britten webinar in full to see what’s holding law enforcement back — and how decision intelligence can help. 

Or, if you’re ready to see it in action: 

Request a personalized NEXYTE demo