The Minnesota State Legislature have introduced new legislation relating to the management of confidential informants.  Bill SF No. 304 is also known as ‘Matthews Law’ and is so called following the death of Matthew Klaus. At the time of his death Klaus was working as a confidential informant for the Rochester Police Department  He had a long history of drug addiction.  His parents pushed for the introduction of legislation in order to provide better protection for informants especially those with addiction problems. Their efforts are commendable. This legislation will help ensure that law enforcement agencies manage the risks to informants. Minnesota follows both North Dakota and Florida with introducing legislation. It is perhaps unfortunate that it seems to take the death of an informant but before people see the need for legislation to protect informants.

Much of the legislation focuses on the need for all law enforcement agencies in Minnesota to have a comprehensive policy for the management of informants to ensure that risks are identified and properly managed.  The legislation details many different aspects that need to be covered in the policy.  In previous blogs we have often written about the need for comprehensive policy and procedures when it comes to managing informants.  Writing good policies relating to confidential informant management is not easy. It requires a lot of time and knowledge of the subject and a comprehensive knowledge of the risks the policy is intended to mitigate. Most agencies are happy to throw together a few pages then wonder why it goes wrong. This legislation puts into law some of that which is required.

Another key element of this legislation is the requirement for in-service training. It is worth quoting the legislation so we can gain insight into the expectations of the legislators. Subdivision 4 states:

“The chief law enforcement officer of every state and local law enforcement agency shall provide in-service training in the recruitment, control, and use of confidential informants to every peace officer and part-time peace officer employed by the agency who the chief law enforcement officer determines is involved in working with confidential informants given the officer's responsibilities.”

There is a clear expectation that any officer who is likely to be dealing with  a confidential informant receives detailed training. This type of training cannot be delivered using eLearning  or covered in a day. It is just not possible to cover all that is required using this medium or in such a short period of time.

At HSM Training and Consultancy we can help any agency get ready for this legislation. We can provide comprehensive confidential informant management policies and we can provide training that will surpass the legislative requirements.   We provide the best informant management training available anywhere and our basic course covers all And we can point you in the right direction in order to get informant management software.

Get in touch and we can discuss how we can help.

Email infor@hsmtraining.com or call +44 7739370969.

For further reading on the topic checkout our book  “Human Sources: Managing Confidential” Sources. It is available from Amazon.