John Buckley
Confidential Informant Training - From us, ...

I was asked yesterday has to what makes confidential informant (Human Source) training provided by HSM Training different from other providers. I wasn’t quite sure where to start. Then it dawned on me that it doesn’t actually start with us, it starts with the customer and what they need. And what they need is not always what they want.

human source management

The consequences of poor confidential informant management

Here is a story originating in San Francisco about cases being lost as a result of poor informant management

We have discussed similar cases over the years but these types of incident continue. This is not about individual officers. This is about agencies not having sufficient structures in place to minimise the risk of these things happening. Such systems take a bit of time and investment to set up and maintain but no where near the time and effort needed to clear the potential harm done by incidents such as this.

We could go on but where would be the point. If you want help ask us. If you don’t then accept the risk that something similar is occurring in your agency.

Rape of a Confidential Informant - Who was protecting the informant

Here is a story about Rapides Parish Sherriff’s office and the rape of a confidential informant. Have a read.

If I was to let loose about what I think I would probably say things I regret. And that would be wrong because I don’t know the full facts. What I do know is this:

The woman was an informant

She was raped.

The police put her in a position where that rape took place and did not protect her.

Informants destroy police careers

Here is a story of three careers destroyed because of the failure to manage a confidential informant safely. The FBI are the USA’s most prominent law enforcement agency. This case begs the question as to what happened to facilitate the mismanagement of this informant. Be under no illusion this is not just one officer acting badly - it is a failure of systems and processes.

Proactive Recruitment of Confidential Informants

An article discussing the proactive recruitment of confidential informants (Human sources, HUMINT) by low and county police departments in the USA.

Police Corruption and Informants - Simply no valid excuse.

There is simply no valid excuse in 2021, for officers mishandling confidential informants (HUMINT, confidential human sources, Covert human intelligence sources, CHIS). While there is always a risk that one officer becomes involved in corrupt behavior systems should be in place where such behavior is very difficult to carry out and if it is done it can be readily detected and easily proven.

Verinote - An App to help in managing confidential informants

This article discusses the use of the VeriNote app and its utility in confidential informant management. There are a lot of features about this product that make it ideal for officers involved in managing confidential sources (HUMINT, covert human intelligence sources, CHIS, and confidential human sources). Here we list some of the features that will make it very appealing to anyone involved in this type of work.

Confidential Informant Management - Police Chiefs, don't be afraid to ask for help

Here is a story from the Daily Raleigh News concerns alleged corruption involving a detective from the Raleigh Police Department in North Carolina and a confidential informant. This blog discusses the assistance that can be provided to Police Chiefs to avoid similar issues around corruption and confidential informant management.

HUMINT and Managing Confidential Informants - knowing the difference.

It is far from unusual to come across law enforcement agencies where the term HUMINT is used, or to come across law enforcement officers who talk about having attended HUMINT training or that they are involved in HUMINT activities. Here,we will discuss to concepts HUMINT and Human Source Management (aka informant management) and identify some of the differences in the two disciplines.

Confidential Informant Management - Structures

Confidential Informant Management - Structures

Managing confidential informants in a structured team of dedicated officers. This reduces the costs for the Police Chief and makes it a lot safer for informants and the public.

What makes a confidential informant credible?

‘What makes a confidential informant credible/’ may seem like an easy question to answer but it is not. First, we need to understand what credible actually means in legal terms. Second, we have to realise who is making the judgement about credibility. Third, we have to understand what information can be used to make an informed decision with regard to credibility.

When it comes to meaning if we look to the dictionary it gives: ‘Someone who's credible is honest and believable.’ This is little help because few people are honest all the time, and while we may be speaking the truth, the way we speak that truth means that we won’t be believed. Defining credible and credibility is not that simple.

Who must be convinced with regard to credibility: first the officer receiving the information but how many of those officers realise that how difficult it is for them to be objective about what they are being told. How many of them know anything about cognitive biases that distort are decision making? How many managers that are deploying resources based on information from an informant understand what makes information credible. And when it comes to a court deciding if an informant is credible… in many cases they merely take the word of an untrained officer.

Deciding if an informant’s information is credible requires the adoption of a systematic approach to processing the information with built in checks and balances to test it at every stage. And just because information from an informant is credible one time does not make the informant credible all the time.

This is just a teaser for how officers need to think about credibility when it comes to managing an informant. Ant this is why they need to be properly trained - not a one day seminar. Managing informants requires specialised training. If they have not had it and if the training does not cover this topic in detail one should always be doubtful about using any information they get from a confidential informant.

If you have any queries about this please get in touch. Or take a look at our publication: https://www.amazon.com/Managing-Intelligence-Guide-Enforcement-Professionals/dp/1466586427

Confidential Informant Management Inquiry costs 28 Million dollars - so far.

The cost of not managing informants properly. Law enforcement need to know the risks involved in managing informants.

With confidential informants - numbers matter.

Confidential informants - numbers matter. Risk management in managing confidential informants. Some information for Chiefs of Police

Auditing undercover operations - the benefits of getting it right

Auditing confidential informant funds. Article and commentary on an audit of undercover and informant funds

Sex with confidential informants: Ten things to know.

Sex with confidential informants: Ten things to know.

Having sex with confidential informants . This blog highlights some of the issues relating to police officers having sexual relationships with confidential informants and gives advice on how to counter the problem