Sometimes we read a story and shake our head in disbelief. Here is a story about a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officer gone bad.

Here a quote from the report:

““When my customer joined the DEA he was schooled in how to be corrupt, he was schooled in how to crack the regulation,” his legal professional, María Dominguez, stated in courtroom. “In this alternate universe it became less complicated and fewer suspect to take income and gifts” from felony informants who worked with the U.S. leading narcotics agency.”

There are many fine DEA officers working in very volatile areas, against prolific offenders. The risks involved are significant. Officers will regularly be exposed to the temptation form large sums of money. The risk is significantly greater when it comes to managing informants. Regular clandestine contact with criminals means that opportunities arise all to often.

The only safeguards against this are strict procedures, high levels of training and intrusive supervision. An agency should not expect officers to manage informants in high risk arenas without providing weeks of training and selecting officers who have the aptitude for the role.

Given the funding levels of the DEA it would be interesting to see how much of the budget relating to informant management is allocated to training officers properly.

Lessons need to be learned or the issue will recur again. An audit needs to be carried out not just relating to what happened in this specific case but to see if the informant management system that currently exists is fit for purpose. Our comments are not said in criticism, they are made as a fellow professional wanting to help.

We believe in protecting officers through providing them with the skills and knowledge they need. We provide training to all levels of any agency. We are here to help.