NCJ Number
144057
Date Published
1991
Length
75 pages
Annotation
This monograph provides guidelines for law enforcement agencies to use in the management of confidential informants.
Abstract
The guidelines can be used to develop or revise written directives for using and managing informants. It also shows how to gain maximum benefits from using informants while maintaining the integrity of the agencies and investigators who rely on informant information. The monograph is organized around the confidential informant's employment: recruitment, selection, orientation, and training; direction and control; interviewing and debriefing; evaluation; and termination. Attention is given to forms, reports, records, and files that are the foundation of the information gathering and control procedures. Before analyzing the informant's employment cycle, the monograph considers several preliminary matters: additional information about unofficial sources, notes on who confidential informants are and what motivates them, and pitfalls that can create problems for the agency or the investigator who recruits an informant. The monograph also examines the responsibilities of the chief executive officers, investigations commander, investigative supervisor, and investigator. Appended material on confidential funds, a roles and responsibilities matrix, a confidential informant written directive, and an informant working agreement