From UK Police Intelligence to academia: Support versus specialist - Interview with Nadia Tuominen (S2E2)

SummaryListen to Nadia Tuominen's path from crime science student to intelligence analyst in London’s Metropolitan Police, where she learned mostly on the job in a changing organization. She explains how austerity and lack of development pushed her to leave for sports integrity in tennis, then into the financial sector to work on economic crime. A later shift into academia and training lets her “close the circle” by teaching police officers and practitioners, creating qualifications she wishes had existed earlier. Across her journey, she emphasizes intelligence as a reasoning process, the importance of frameworks, elevating analysts from “support staff” to specialists, and helping people think better rather than just learn tools. Nadia emphasizes the need for analysts to be proactive, build relationships, and continuously develop their skills to adapt to the changing landscape of intelligence work.Key takeawaysIntelligence is a reasoning process for decision-making, not magic or perfect prediction.Definitions of intelligence should fit each organization’s mission and context, rather than chasing one universal formula.Frameworks like the UK National Intelligence Model, though imperfect, become clearly valuable once you work in less-structured private-sector environments.Analysts should be treated as specialists, not generic “support staff,” to improve respect, pay, and decision quality.Training should focus on how analysts think (cognition, self-awareness, bias) as much as on tools and structured techniques.Biases are unavoidable and not inherently bad; the aim is to understand and manage them, not pretend they can be removed.Many law enforcement analysts lack formal, portable qualifications, so building accessible, practice-based education helps careers and professionalizes the field.Resources and references mentionedNIM https://library.college.police.uk/docs/npia/NIM-Code-of-Practice.pdfICD 203 https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICD/ICD-203.pdfIntelligence Architecture Mind Map - https://github.com/Errum/IntelArchitectureMapPsychology of intelligence Analysis - https://www.cia.gov/resources/csi/static/Pyschology-of-Intelligence-Analysis.pdfAnalyst & Decision-Maker Conference - https://i2group.com/events/analyst-decision-maker-conference-2026Chapters02:59 Journey into Intelligence and Law Enforcement05:56 Training and Development in Intelligence Analysis09:12 Transitioning from Law Enforcement to Sports Integrity12:07 Understanding Intelligence Frameworks14:51 Exploring Financial Crime and Economic Crime17:49 The Role of Academia in Intelligence Analysis20:51 Training and Cognitive Function in Intelligence23:59 Defining Intelligence: Perspectives and Processes27:10 The Importance of Forward-Looking Intelligence29:57 Analysts as Specialists, Not Support Staff37:13 The Role of Analysts in Decision Making38:25 Understanding AI and Its Implications40:30 Critical Thinking in AI Usage42:35 Explainability and Trust in AI44:22 Evaluating AI vs Human Intelligence46:24 The Importance of Input in AI48:28Training and Experience in Intelligence Analysis55:33 Measuring the Value of Intelligence01:01:05 The Dialogue of Intelligence01:04:17 The Future of AI in Intelligence01:12:10 Preparing for a Career in Intelligence