Here is the report into 6th January 2021 at Capitol Hill and the involvement of FBI Confidential Human Sources (confidential informants)
It is well worth an objective read from a lessons learned perspective.
I would make the following observations - Given that there were likely to be groups from every state, I would have like coverage from each state and coverage in each of the groups having only 26 sources there seems a bit light for my liking.
I would also hope that there is a written record in each source file of what tasks were given to each source prior to the event and what specific instructions given to the source with regard to any criminal involvement that they were likely to come across.
The fact that some entered the building I would argue that it was probably necessary to see what was happening and who was doing what. Ideally you would not want a source participating but given that life was endangered it is wholly appropriate they were there.
And as always the identity of these sources needs to be protected. If there identity is compromised then the risk of a huge lawsuit is likely.
Human sources are an extremely valuable resource in public order situations especially fluid ones. Often we fail to maximise their benefit because we are not sure how to proactively task them. This requires training officers and bringing them up to a ahigh level of skill.
And of course the very nature of this report emphasises the need for comprehensive record keeping and a structured, and agency-wide approach to tasking.
If you are interested in training to upskill your officers please get in touch. You won’t get better. And for a bit of light reading check out our publications.