Below is story from Virginia USA a an officer who has been sentenced to two years in prison in connection to inappropriate relationships with female informants.
Unfortunately, this is an all to common story. This is not about ‘one bad cop’ . It is about failures on the part of police management to create confidential informant systems and processes where this type of behavior is all but impossible:
There should always be two officers present when meeting with a informant.
There should always be an officer of the same sex as the informant present.
ALL officers involved in the management of informants should receive comprehensive training in how to mange a confidential informant. A minimum of 70 hours training is required to equip officers with the necessary skills.
ALL contact with an informant should be documented. This includes phone calls and text messages.
All such contact reports should be comprehensive in nature including date, time and nature of the contact and details of all persons present.
Contacts with an informant should be audio recorded.
Permission should be sought from a supervisor prior to any contact with a source.
Contacts with an informant should only be made on official phones. No private phones should be used.
Any officer making contact with an informant outside of agreed procedures should be removed from post.
All informant records should be stored on a designated IT system where they can be regularly reviewed by supervisors.
If these steps are not being taken the agency is not protecting the officer or the informant. Trouble is waiting just around the corner with the lawyer and the lawsuit.
