NCJ Number
84553
Date Published
1982
Length
11 pages
Annotation
The Reagan Administration maintains that the weakening of legitimate undercover investigations would cripple the detection and successful prosecution of such secretive crimes as public corruption and drug trafficking, but such operations require clear written guidelines.
Abstract
Criminal activities which involve unaware victims (taxpayers affected by the corruption of public officials) and cooperating victims (drug trafficking) are not likely to be reported, so law enforcement agencies must take the initiative in ferreting out such crime through undercover investigations; however, undercover operations present certain dangers. The techniques are sensitive and by definition involve subterfuge. There is potential for undue invasion of privacy and for illegal activity committed by law enforcement agents themselves. For this reason, the Department of Justice and the FBI have built controls into the system. Undercover operations must be approved by a separate review committee composed of FBI specialists, members of the FBI's Division of Legal Counsel, and Department of Justice officials. The written guidelines for the approval of a proposed operation provide that (1) the corrupt nature of the activity be reasonably clear to the target, (2) there are reasonable indications the operation will reveal illegal activity, and (3) the character of the illegal transaction justifies the inducements offered.