Here is an article from CBS 6 relating to the death of an informant in Virginia. Troy Howlett was working as an informant for the Hopewell Police Department at the time of his death. Howlett died of an overdose but concerns have been raised about the police department pushing him back into the drug world after his arrest.
Virginia HOUSE BILL NO. 1140 has been introduced with the intention of addressing some of the concerns raised. It reads: The Department, under the direction of the Board, which shall be the policy-making body for carrying out the duties and powers hereunder, shall have the power and duty to:
“73. Establish a model policy for the use of confidential informants in drug-related investigations. Provisions of such model policy shall include that (i) no individual currently on probation may serve as a confidential informant without notice to his probation or parole officer, (ii) no individual who has recently violated the terms of his probation or parole shall serve as a confidential informant, (iii) law-enforcement personnel shall obtain approval from the appropriate local attorney for the Commonwealth prior to working with a confidential informant, and (iv) such confidential informant shall not unlawfully use or possess any controlled substances;”
This is such a poorly informed piece of legislation it is hard to credit how anyone actually believes it will make any difference to how the police manage informants. It shows a lack of understanding about what effective informant management looks like and helps neither the criminal justice system nor protects potential informants.
Here are a few questions to ponder:
Why does it only apply to drug informants? Are other informants not entitled to protection?
What makes a local attorney for the Commonwealth qualified in regard to managing informants? What training will they receive in relation to how to manage informant operations? What knowledge do they have of the risks?
What systems with the attorneys have in place to protect the identity of the informants?
If the informant can’t possess drugs will this not greatly influence their ability to report on the topic? Will it not create a risk to them amongst their peers? It also begs the question: Are they permitted to commit offences other than drug related ones?
What is to be contained in the policy on managing informants? The vast majority of police departments have policies ( as did Hopewell) ? Who decides what is suitable as a policy? Currently, the vast majority skim over most of the important issues and obviously didn’t help in this case.
Why is there nothing about mandatory training for officers involved?
It is unfortunate when an opportunity arises to put in place good legislation to protect informants, the public and the criminal justice system it is missed because people don’t know what they are talking about,
Managing any informant is a high risk business. For everyone’s safety it should only be undertaken by those selected and trained to do so.
When it comes to writing legislation, seek expertise.