Intelligence Officer - Role and Responsibilities

Role and Responsibilities

The actual role carried out by an intelligence officer varies depending on the remit of his/her parent organization. Officers of foreign intelligence agencies (e.g. the United States' Central Intelligence Agency, the United Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) and Australia's Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) may spend much of their careers abroad. Officers of domestic intelligence agencies (such as the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation, the UK's Security Service (MI5) and Australia's Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) are responsible for counter-terrorism, counter-espionage, counter-proliferation and the detection and prevention of serious organized crime within their own countries (although, in Britain, the Serious Organised Crime Agency has been set up to take care of serious organized crime).

Responsibilities which are common to most intelligence officers include compiling and analyzing intelligence to determine the identities, intentions, capabilities and activities of hostile individuals or groups, and planning or enacting the necessary steps to disrupt or prevent such activities.