Here is a an interesting article on some problems Illinois seem to be having around setting up a witness protection program. The first observation I would make is that the Gov. J.B. Pritzker seems to have come up with a realistic amount of money for such a program to be effective. Witness protection is not a one way bus ticket out of town. My second observation is programs of this type are never easy especially if you are starting from ground zero.
Confidential informant corruption
Here is one of those stories where you just thing WTF! Our regular readers will be familiar in regard to our advocacy around the need for police chiefs to build suitable structures to minimise the risk of corruption when managing confidential informants while maximising the benefits from them. This of course assumes that the Chief is not involved in the corruption. A recent story relating to Payne Springs Police Department raises concerns. The allegation is that the Chief and one of her officers were using a confidential informant to buy and sell drugs for their personal benefit.
There are things I understand about policing and things I don’t. - Using Software to Save money
An article that discusses the reluctance to embrace software effectively. “While delivering training to police officers I am often asked why they have to spend so much time transcribing interviews. It gets tiring because I don't have answers. These officers want to be out on the streets helping people.”
Saving police time. The Benefits of Emerging Technology
Confidential informant corruption. A common problem and a simple solution.
Here is an all to common story about an officer who is suspected of having inappropriate relationships with confidential informants. These relationships happen because officers believe they can have clandestine meetings without any contemporaneous record being kept of the meeting. The article discusses the use of a digital police notebook that provides a simple solution.
Digital notebooks for policing - ten reasons why
What studying many public inquires, into allegations of police incompetence and wrongdoing can tell us. about the reasons for failures. One of the common failings was the lack of systems and processes, another was individual’s keeping information in isolation. While fixing systems and processes can take a lot of effort technology can go a long way to integrating information within an agency. One solution is digitising officer’ officers’ notebooks and journals.
Rape of a Confidential Informant - Who was protecting the informant
Here is a story about Rapides Parish Sherriff’s office and the rape of a confidential informant. Have a read.
If I was to let loose about what I think I would probably say things I regret. And that would be wrong because I don’t know the full facts. What I do know is this:
The woman was an informant
She was raped.
The police put her in a position where that rape took place and did not protect her.
International Chiefs of Police Conference - Dallas 2022 - confidential informant consultancy
Our consultant Dr John Buckley will be visiting the International Chiefs of Police conference in Dallas from 14th to 18th October 2022 as a guess of Altia. If you are visiting and want to have a chat about any of the following topics please stop by.
Confidential informant management
Intelligence management
Anti corruption measures
Interpersonal skills for police officers
Training issues
Counter terrorism.
Confidential informant raped - police negligence
Here is a story from Rapides Parish, Louisiana, about the rape of a confidential informant.
What I find disturbing about this report are the remarks of some of the officers involved. The article provides commentary on police attitude to the informant.
Confidential informant compromise - Police Negligence.
Here is a story about the compromise of a list of informants names from Nevada’s Record Courier. A worker in the state’s information technology department, was able to open the file containing the names, addresses and even photos of the informants. If informants are being managed properly this should not be possible. It is negligence on the part of the agency managing the informants. We are putting people’s lives in great danger.
Undercover Training course - Allegations of things going badly wrong
Key advantages of Computerized Confidential Informant Management Records Software
The blog discusses the key benefits for law enforcement in using computerized confidential informant management software. The article highlights the risks that will be managed and some of the cost savings that can be made. The article will be of interest to Chiefs of Police and Sheriffs who are interested in maximising the intelligence gained from informants and at the same time minimizing risk
Informants destroy police careers
Here is a story of three careers destroyed because of the failure to manage a confidential informant safely. The FBI are the USA’s most prominent law enforcement agency. This case begs the question as to what happened to facilitate the mismanagement of this informant. Be under no illusion this is not just one officer acting badly - it is a failure of systems and processes.
Problems with confidential informants - We can fix them
A lot of agencies out there have problems with the management of confidential informants. Unfortunately, some of them do not know it yet. For others they are trying to clear up the mess. And one or two are trying to cover up the mess not caring that it will just manifest itself again in a different way at some stage later.
At HSM Training and Consultancy we believe we have the solutions regardless of what the problem is.
