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.
Confidential Informant is reliable - Can you prove it?
Confidential informants, human sources, humint, confidential human intelligence sources, CHIS, choose your terminology but the problems in managing people giving information to the police are well known and rarely change. There are ways to manage them these people that protect the person, protect the public, protect the agency, protect the officer, and protect the rule of law. Unfortunately, for some agencies, adopting the necessary measures just seems like something that is too difficult to do .
Using Information from Confidential Informants - Lawsuit
There is little point in collecting information from a confidential informant if the police can’t use it. How to use it in a way that is lawful and defendable is problematic for some agencies. The consequences of getting wrong are well documented and have resulted in deaths and lawsuits. This article discusses one such lawsuit and provides details of how to build a system to make sure everything is done lawfully and ethically. The article also addresses what needs to be done to ensure that informant information is used properly in obtaining warrants.
Confidential informant legislation. New law in Minnesota for informant management.
Protecting confidential informant identities -breaches risk lives.
Careless or negligence - managing confidential informants
Technology and the fight against informant corruption.
Confidential Informant corruption. Patterns of behavior and Prevention
Here are two stories about alleged corruption involving confidential informants, one in Pennsylvania and one in Kentucky Both questions beg the question as to who was supervising these officers? This article explores patterns of behavior in informant management that lead to corruption and suggests ways to prevent it. Will be of interest to anyone involved in a drugs task force.
Dozens of cases dismissed because of confidential informant corruption.
A story from the Chicago Tribune relating to the impact of the misuse of confidential informants. (CHIS, HUMINT, Confidential Human Sources) Two officers were convicted of offences relating to the misuse of informants and now questions have been raised over many of the cases they have been involved in. this article details how to make sure this does not happen in other police departments and gives an indication of the costs involved.
Confidential informant lawsuit - $13 million.
This article discusses a lawsuit against a USA law enforcement agency concerning the alleged wrongful death of a police confidential informant. The family of Troy Howlett are suing the police department and others for $13 million. We discuss what constitutes negligence in the management of informants.
Confidential Informants - A gateway to corruption
This article discusses alleged police corruption in the management of confidential informants. (CHIS, Human Sources, HUMINT) It asks a number pf pertinent questions and discussed how a police department may leave an officer vulnerable to corruption. As the article shows informant management is a a high risk business. Officers are at significant risk of being led into a corrupt relationship if they are not trained and supervised properly.
Confidential Informant Management Software - Preventing Corruption and Saving Money
An article about the benefits of using software in the management of confidential informants (human sources, CHIS, HUMINT) The article lists the advantages and the cost savings that can be made. It provides examples of informant software options available and details some of the things a Chief of Police should look for in buying a system. Corruption relating to confidential informants is a big problem. Software solutions go a long way towards managing all the risks present for police officers engaged in this activity.
Lost Police Notebooks - Using technology for smarter policing
What makes a confidential informant manager trustworthy - HUMINT Skills
Here are a number of traits that anyone involved in managing confidential informants (Human source, HUMINT, Covert Human Intelligence Source, CHIS) should have. A source should always find that the officer responsible for their safety(the Handler) is trustworthy. If someone is going to be a competent source Handler then these are the elements supervisor’s should look for.