Following the death of a confidential informant. Minnesota is discussing a new law regarding the management of confidential informants. It is hoped that the law will be similar to those passed in North Dakota (In memory of Andrew Sadek) and In Florida ( in memory of Rachel Hoffman) Unfortunately neither of these laws has made the changes that were hoped for. The police continue to manage informants with little if any informants. Agencies allow officers to take cavalier risks with the lives of informants driven most often only by results.
The law won’t work because police won’t change their attitudes to informants. The law in Florida states all officers managing informants must be trained. Most police agencies think an online course or a few hours in a seminar provides adequate training. They can draft law but unless there are consequences for the police, they will continue managing informants the way they always have. More deaths will follow. As will more corruption and questionable convictions.
Law enforcement needs to make changes in how informants are recruited and managed. the myth that any officer can manage an informant remains not only present but actively encouraged and unfortunately by some federal agencies who have the resources and really should no better.
Confidential informants should not be viewed as expendable. Too many police officers see them like this.
Confidential informants should be managed by properly selected, trained and equipped officers. Ask most officers if they would trust any police officer in their own agency to mage one of their loved ones and you will get a “hell no”.
Chiefs of police are happy to perpetuate the status quo and prosecutors really only care when it is affecting their results. Rarely have any of these any depth of knowledge about informant management.
If as a police officer you want to recruit and manage confidential informants well you need properly trained. This is not a one-day seminar with 40 other officers or an online course. It is weeks of in-depth practical and theory-based learning. It encompasses law, ethics, civil liberties, fieldcraft, interpersonal skills, psychology, risk management, proactive recruitment, and cognitive debriefing. If you want to play god with someone’s life you should at least be trained to do it.
At HSM training we teach how to manage confidential informants safely, effectively and ethically. We believe in training officers to be professional.
