NCJ Number
93460
Date Published
1983
Length
103 pages
Annotation
The manual provides a brief history of the origin and role of the police informant. It examines informant motives and controls, briefly reviews case law, and discusses informant management control forms.
Abstract
The importance of police management in providing personnel training in the development, payment, disclosure, and control of contributors (informants) is emphasized. (Contributors include both informants, who have generally been involved in crimes, and sources -- citizens who offer information to the police.) Highlights of such training include the various roles of contributors as well as their motivations, handling, and sharing between office personnel and personnel of other agencies. The training should demonstrate the principal benefits of using contributors, including the provision of information that 'opens' intelligence probes and ultimately starts investigative cases; the collecting of information more accurately, efficiently, and comprehensively; and the provision of informants as corroborative witnesses in prosecutions. Also discussed are definitions of various types of contributors, such as open source, confidential source, undercover police officer, informant, and controlled informant. Case histories illustrate the necessity of contributors. The section on source and informant management control forms included 12 forms, including contributor folder, initial discovery form, confidential questionnaire, true name record, and justification for payment. Chapter notes and 21 references are supplied.