Confidential Informants (Human Sources, Covert Human Intelligence Sources, CHIS,) cannot be managed safely unless there exists within the agency structures that provide central oversight of all informants. For each informant, there must be a centrally administered file containing all records. Ideally, this should be done on a secure computerized system. Regardless, here are ten records that should be present in every informant file. If they are not present the informant is not being managed properly:
Personal details. A form containing all personal details of the source including name, address, Date of birth, employment, contact numbers and the names of immediate family members. This section of the file should be held in a sealed envelope so that it is more difficult to see the true identity of the source.
Application. An application to formally register and use the informant should be submitted by the officer managing the informant, through a supervisor to an appropriate rank who has sufficient authority to say on behalf of the agency: ‘It is ok to use this person as a registered informant.’ Applications should detail the nature of the investigation, and how the use of that informant will help. It should also address civil liberties and detail the risks associated with the management of that source.
Authorization. The authorization will include any parameters set by the authorizing officer and include the date and time of commencement of the authorization and the date and time of termination. The maximum duration should be one year after which it must be reviewed.
Review. At a specified time, there should be a mandatory review of the authorization to ensure the informant is achieving what was expected. This may be one month, three months or six months. Too often informants are kept ‘on the books’ simply because no one takes them ‘off the books.’
Cancellation. Cancellation is the formal notification that for whatever reason the informant is no longer being used by the agency, as an informant. In most cases, the informant should be told.
Policy decision log. All decisions relating to the management of an informant should be recorded in a way that all those involved in their management can see. All decisions made are recorded here.
Finance management. All financial transactions relating to the informant should be recorded. This includes an application for rewards of any kind and the date and time any payments were made.
Contact report. A contact report contains details of everything that occurs during contact with an informant, including where and how the interaction took place, who was present and everything pertaining to the informant’s welfare. This includes all telephone contacts. There is a new report for each contact. Submitted after every contact.
Information submission. This contains an unsanitized account of all the information that the informant has provided in relation to criminality. This document should be protected from disclosure. Submitted after every contact.
Intelligence report. After each meeting with the informant, the information submission should be broken down into a number of intelligence reports each dealing with separate subjects. These are sanitized to protect the identity of the informant. Each piece of intelligence should have a unique number. Submitted after every contact.
Only the personal details form, should contain the true identity of the informant. All other documents should have a unique reference number allocated for that source and potentially a code name. Completing these forms is a core part of training for an officer of any rank who is managing confidential informants. or Chiefs of police, take a look at your informant files and check if they are up to scratch. These essential records are here to protect you, your officers and the public.
If you want more details of how to set up an effective informant management system and a more detailed explanation of what is contained in an informant file, get in touch. Don’t assume your agency is doing it well. We are here to fix it for you. We guarantee we will save you money.
