Here are details of an interesting judgement from New Mexico on the issue of probable cause in relation to a drugs warrant.
There are a couple of learning points here. First is the issue around the need for detail about what the informant saw. This really comes down to the officer knowing how to effectively debrief a source to get the details. They need to know how memory works and they need to know how to effectively access those memories. Then their supervisor needs to check that the subsequent intelligence report has been written up properly and given a grading as to its validity.
Second, I would be very concerned about the safety of the informant in this case. From the details provided in the court it would not be too difficult for the suspect to work out who the informant is. This is unacceptable. A person’s life is unnecessarily being put at risk.
There are many ways to establish probable cause . Relying on just an informant is lazy police work.
Officers need to know how intelligence works and they need to be able to educate the judge as to how intelligence reports combined with other activity establish probable cause. This can be done without exposing who the source is. It just takes training and effort and a functioning intelligence system.
Informants are not disposable. The obligation is on the officer to protect their identity. Exposing them leaves the agency open to a lawsuit.