INFORMANT MANAGEMENT

Occasional allegations of unethical, immoral, and possibly illegal arrangements between investigators and informants underline the need for effective police management of the informant. Additionally, it must be remembered that the individual investigator is an agent of the Government and does not "own" the informant.

Traditionally, the identity of an informant was known only by the individual investigator with whom he or she worked. But if the investigator happened to be assigned to other cases, then the value of the informant was lost.

The identity of the informant should be maintained in one central file. Identity should be kept confidentail, and complete security of this file should be maintained. Only the investigator's superior should have access to this central file, and only on a need-to-know basis. This file should contain all the information known about the informant.

Each dossier should contain the results of a discreet inquiry into the informant's background, including occupation, associates, income, and criminal record, if applicable. Pertinent background data, such as general attitude toward assisting the police, known idiosyncrasies, and suggested time and place of contacts should be included.

Within the file, a record of all transactions with the informant should be maintained, including a resume' of cases worked on and an up-to-date evaluation of the informant's reliability. A constant effort should be made to keep the file current. This will help ensure that a valuable informant is not lost to the investigating unit.

The informant should be assigned a code name or number, and that name should appear in all reports. A cross-reference file is useful, but it should be maintained with the same degree of security as the master file. The informant's name should never appear outside the master file.

An informant locator file can be maintained apart from the master file if it eases operations and does not merely create work. This file should be indexed by different classifications such as the informant's associates, connections, operation, and area in which operated. It also should be available to other investigators.

Through the use of this locator file, it can be determined if an informant is available in a particular field of inquiry. When an investigator locates an informant in the locator file, a request is made for contacting arrangements. In this way, greater use is made of an informant's knowledge without compromising his or her identity.

If it is known that a person is informing for another investigator, it is unwise to mention that to the informant in a casual encounter. Security is the paramount consideration in the continued use of a person furnishing information.

An informant program should be expertly handled to preserve the integrity of the investigating unit and to ensure the safety of the informant. The program should be developed and operated to effect maximum use of the informant for the benefit of the entire agency. It should be strongly supervised and based upon legal and ethical prescriptions.

INFORMANT CONTROL

An individual member of the investigative unit and one alternate should be assigned to each informant. Ideally, the investigator who first developed the informant should be assigned to him or her. All contacts with this informant should be made by the assigned investigator, even when it is the investigator's only role in the case. The alternate investigator can become acquainted with the informant by occasionally accompanying the investigator assigned to the informant when contacting the informant. The alternate investigator will facilitate the necessary contacts at some future time if the regularly assigned investigator is not available.

The value of having one investigator call upon the informant is to avoid repetitive demands on the informant's time and to circumvent personality conflicts. One investigator making all of the contacts, being fully aware of the pitfalls that may be encountered, will expeditiously and economically keep relations on an even keel, and will actually attain much more cooperation than could otherwise be gained.

One of the principal responsibilities as a control investigator is to evaluate the informant and estimate reliability. The information received should be tested for consistency by checking against the information obtained from other sources. The motives and interests of the informant should always be considered in the evaluation.

INVESTIGATOR COMPROMISE BY INFORMANTS

Informants come from all walks of life and are often opportunity motivated. The investigator must never allow an informant to compromise his or her integrity or the integrity of the investigation with claims of sexual misconduct. Meetings with informants of the opposite sex should be conducted in a public setting or at least within sight and sound of other people. If the nature of the investigation and/or the confidentiality of the informant dictates, meetings may be more clandestine. In this event, the meeting should be attended by two investigators. This procedure should be followed anytime the investigator believes an informant may make claims of misconduct.

JUVENILE INFORMANTS

Society has placed juveniles in a special category. The civilian criminal justice system provides for juvenile courts, special recordkeeping procedures, youth detention centers, and the like. It follows, therefore, that juvenile informants require special handling.

Common sense, coupled with a strict adherence to the requirements of military law, guides the investigator in dealing with juvenile informants to ensure they are not abused or taken advantage of.