Confidential informants, human sources, humint, confidential human intelligence sources, CHIS, choose your terminology but the problems in managing people giving information to the police are well known and rarely change. There are ways to manage them these people that protect the person, protect the public, protect the agency, protect the officer, and protect the rule of law. Unfortunately,   for some agencies, adopting the necessary measures just seems like something that is too difficult to do .

We have previously highlighted the need for adequate structures to manage confidential informants but just in case you have missed some of our previous commentary here is another story brought to us by the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. It concerns allegations that an officer faked the intelligence that was used to obtain a search warrant, claiming that the information had come from a reliable confidential informant.  When it got to court everything fell apart, leaving serious questions about the officers conduct and a man having spent seven months in prison. The judge ruled that the warrant lacked probable cause and raised questions about the reliability of the informant.

Without the need to delve deeper into this specific case, what is apparent is the fact that the agency concerned could not prove to the court the existence of the informant and that the information they provided was ‘reliable’. Without these probable cause cannot be established. What agencies fail to grasp is that every case like this one undermines the use of confidential informants for every other agency.  Often agencies try to dismiss such problems as one isolated case, or one incompetent/bad officer. In reality, it is a systemic failure.

In the book Human Sources – Managing Confidential Informants we outline how a law enforcement agency can build systems and structures where these, and similar problems, cannot happen. We have researched this and looked at what works and what won’t work. Regardless of the size of agency we can provide solutions. We know the structures you need, the IT you need, and can deliver the training your officers need. The alternative is cross your fingers and hope that you get away with it.

And just to make it worth the time you spent reading this here are two simple tips that would have save Minneapolis Police Department a lot of grief with regard to this case.

1. If an agency does not know who an informant is, and does not have a record of all contact with that informant, then the information they provide should never be used.  Informants belong to the agency not to an individual officer.

2. Do not allow the same officer to collect information from a confidential informant, and then be responsible for leading the investigation based on that information. There must be independent assessment of the information prior to it being used. 

And a simple message to every Police Chief – we have walked the walk. We know the harm poor informant management can cause. We are here to help you and your officers. Give us a call. + 44 7739370969

If you are a police chief we will send you a copy of the book for free.