Here is a story from Indiana about the murder of two people who allegedly were confidential informants. While the criminal investigation is ongoing, there needs to be another investigation to identify how these two people were outed as informants, if indeed they were. If lessons are to be learned this investigation needs to be carried out by persons suitably trained and experienced from outside the law enforcement agency where the people were registered as informants. Something went wrong and what that something was needs to be identified. Internal investigations are rarely objective and there may be a vested interest in keeping everything under wraps. Lessons should be learned and shared with others. It will take a lot of courage for the Chief or Sherriff to request such an independent investigation. In the meantime we can expect the lawyers to be circling to try for some form of justice for the bereaved families.
For others not connected with this case tragedies such as these are an opportune time to take a breath and have a long hard look at their own systems to see if there may be holes in them. Most of the time, there is. They are just difficult to notice because we are so wrapped up in our day to day work.
If you need any guidance on auditing your systems please do not hesitate to ask. We have a lot of international experience and know where to find the issues. In the meantime you may want to take a look at our new book. Managing Risk in Undercover Operations It should help you see the type of risks you may not be managing.
