In criminology, intelligence refers to the process of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information with the objective of tracking, preventing, and combating crimes. Criminal intelligence analysis (CIA) is a philosophy that sets out how to approach the investigation of crime and criminals by using intelligence and analysis. The intelligence process involves collecting and utilizing information, evaluating it to process it into intelligence, and then analyzing that intelligence to produce products to support informed decision-making. Criminal intelligence is developed by using surveillance, informants, interrogation, and research, or it may be just picked up on the "street" by individual police officers. Intelligence analysis is particularly useful to deal with organized crime. The key to stopping crimes is understanding criminal behavior, and intelligence allows law enforcement officers to know and choose the most appropriate criminal threats. Intelligence analysis is a continuous process of collecting and converting data into intelligence products to be integrated into operations. The intelligence process consists of several phases with continuous evaluation and feedback at each phase and at the end of the process.