Managing confidential informants requires paperwork and we all know cops hate paperwork. But here is a story to remind us of the dangers of not keeping good records. The fact that it is entitled The Cop Who Bent all the Rules should give a clear indication of its contents.

It seems that no matter how many times similar situations occur, law enforcement agencies continue to find themselves getting into this type of trouble. Whether this is caused by a lack of either knowledge or willful blindness is hard to say but in the case, it is the former here are the three key elements to manage confidential informants safely:

1. Procedures: The agency needs comprehensive procedures detailing everything that must be done in regards to the management of an informant and everything that is not allowed. The procedures must be in sufficient detail to avoid there being any room for ambiguity or interpretation. If there is leeway officers will exploit it. Comprehensive procedures will be in the region of 100 pages long. This amount is needed to cover all aspects.

2. Records. The agency must keep comprehensive records of every interaction with a confidential informant. If there is no record of the interaction, this should raise questions in regard to why the officer did not make one. There are numerous different records needed to manage informants. These need to be kept securely. The only real practical solution is ‘off the shelf’ purpose-built software.

3. Training. All officers involved with managing confidential informants need a lot of training. This includes any officer of any rank, who is involved to any degree, in supervising the management of confidential records. If they are making decisions they need to be trained in relation to the risks involved. For Handlers, training will take a number of weeks. If you don’t select and train your officers properly, a story like the one above is coming to your agency very soon.

At HSM Training and Consultancy we know the risks involved in managing confidential informants. On a daily basis, we look to learn lessons from the mistakes of others and share this knowledge with our customers in the law enforcement community. If you need a list of the records you should be keeping in relation to confidential informants, write to us at info@hsmtraining.com It is free. And if you want any help just ask we are here to help, a chat won’t cost you anything. You might be surprised at how easy things are to fix.