Given that the number of patrol officers there are out there and in regular contact with citizens it is a good idea that they have some knowledge about how to deal with a confidential informant. So here is a ten point primer that tells officers what they need to know.
Managing confidential informants is a specialised role and should only be attempted by officers who are properly trained. Patrol officers should never do it.
Managing confidential informants involves serious risks. If the thought of being responsible for some’s death doesn’t deter you, then you might want to consider that managing and informant may lead to you destroying your career. Don’t do it.
An officer may be the passive recipient of information from a member of the public with whom they are in contact. This person is not to be considered a confidential informant nor should they be told they are. There is however a likelihood that they have an expectation of confidentiality. Note the difference, the law is not simple.
Thank the person for providing the information. Obtain contact details but do not make any promise to anyone that you take information from. You are not in a position to keep any promise you have made and your management probably won’t back you up.
Where someone provides you with information take that information to the person in your agency that is responsible for intelligence management. Tell them who provided the information and the circumstances in which it was provided.
Keep a written record of what you have done. Unless you have an encrypted notebook don’t write the person’s name in it. Lose the notebook and potentially you lose a life.
If your agency has officers specially trained in managing informants assist them with talking to the member of the public again. Then, step back. (trained does not mean a two hour intranet course or a one day workshop)
If anyone tells you that sources are motivated by for example: money, revenge, to work of a charge, all that person is really telling you is that they have very limited understanding of managing informants and no understanding of human motivation. Stay clear.
If recruiting informants is a performance indicator for your agency, it raises a question on the professional knowledge of your agency. Hard to know what advice to give. It is your decision.
Many informants are cunning. Informant management and corruption are implicitly linked. we all like to think we are smarter than others. We aren’t - at best we are smarter than some on some topics.
It is 2020, we are passed the Seventies when Starsky and Hutch was our guide for informant management and Huggy Bear was the likeable informant. It may look easy and fun - it isn’t.
Protect the public, protect your agency, protect yourself. Don’t manage confidential informants.
Comments are always welcome.
