Confidential Informants - Recognising their value.
All to often we see negative reporting about confidential informants , so kudos to KTTC Rochester, Minnesota for carrying this story about the good work being done with confidential informants and Rochester Police Department in combating drugs problems:
Rochester a high-intensity drug trafficking area HIDTA which for those of you who don’t know means it has big problems when it comes to the supply of drugs. Confidential informants are one of the most effective ways of combating organised crime of all types. What is nice to see in this reporting is that:
Confidential informants are portrayed in a positive light.
The risks that they take on a personal level are identified in a substantive way.
All too often we see confidential informants derided using slang terms and the risks they take dismissed as if their lives have little or no worth. The reality is that confidential informants talk to the police for a wide variety of motives, many of them for honourable reasons. And all confidential informants risk their physical and mental health. Law enforcement cannot be effective in protecting the public without the help of confidential informants. Its good to see a positive message going out about confidential informants. Obviously, all those involved in dealing with the drug problem in Rochester have got their act together and are working proactively to protect their citizens. Nice to see the professionalism and the team work evident in the comments from the District Attorney
And when it comes to KTTC - all to often the media want to create negative press about police using confidential informants, making it seem like a seedy underhand business. Thanks to them for looking deeper at a difficult and challenging aspect of policing. And thanks for taking of the blinders that are present for so many in the media.
Police departments need to publicise the risks that informants take and the benefit they are to society, when managed properly