# Process Automation and Blockchain in Intelligence and Investigation Units: An Approach
## 1 Introduction  
In recent years, issues related to the high crime rate and the performance of criminal organizations have been constantly making headlines around the world, where, being an emerging and important topic, mainly due to the economic and social impacts, crime prevention has increasingly become a worldwide concern. Many of the benefits of globalization and the rise of technology in society--such as, for example, agility and ease of communication and financial movement and mobility--has created opportunities for criminal groups to flourish, diversify, expand, and organize [1]. In a survey conducted in March 2018 [2], 2373 senior managers from large global organizations across 19 countries found about $1.45 trillion of total loss estimated as a result of financial criminal activities. Recent statistical studies [3] have also pointed out that, in 2018, there were an estimated 1,206,836 violent crimes in the United States alone. Figure 1 presents a statistical survey about the total violent crime reported in United States from 2013 to 2018 with data reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and presented by Statistita. These and several other studies point to concerns about the evolution and expansion of crime. Due to the diversity and volume of existing criminal practices, preventive, repressive (impedimentof continuity), control, or punitive action by government institutions are essential to minimize social damage. To this end, several government institutions in various countries are working to fight against crime by establishing nits or sectors that specialize in investigation and intelligence activities who act in different areas and expertise's, such as, for example, FBI or EUROPOL, which have units specialized in combating crimes such as corruption, criminal organizations, violent crimes, white-collar crime, financial crimes, and more [4; 5]. However, due to high crime rates, carrying out investigations and intelligence actions that prevent, suppress, or punish crime has also increased. Consequently, even with the excellent results obtained with the help of currently adopted solutions, over time the high volume of requests directed at these specialized units result in limitations and challenges regarding their treatment. One of the reasons is because a good part of the technological resources and team with the appropriate expertise is centralized in specialized units, in which stakeholders end up forwarding a high volume of requests due to limitations of knowledge, technological or specialized expertise's, and more. Thus, among the disadvantages usually found in centralized approaches [6], they can also lead to needs for prioritizing requests or even defining acceptance criteria. Therefore, there is an opportunity to adopt solutions that contribute to agile results, simplification, or optimization of processes, as well as the reduction of resources necessary to carry out operational activities. Moreover, practices that have been increasingly adopted in the market, in addition to concepts of process automation, can be used to contribute to these guidelines when using technology, systems, and data to improve the control and progress of workflows and, when possible, replacing manual activities with automated ones [7]. However, in the case of intelligence and investigation units, there is the question that they also work with classified information and specific activities with considerable complexity [8]. These issues generate a high concern with security and confidentiality [9] during internal operational processes, including the generation, storage, and/or sharing of information or assets between members of the same unit or even between different units or institutions. In the case of exposure, information leaks, or even digital assets like electronic documents that contain standards, methodologies, techniques, or strategies adopted, it can harm the performance not only of a specialized unit but also of the organization and others involved [10].