NCJ Number
198599
Journal
Substance Use & Misuse Volume: 37 Issue: 8-10 Dated: June - August 2002 Pages: 997-1034
Date Published
June 2002
Length
38 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses the program of criminal undercover agents' sources in the drug trade.
Abstract
Sources of information range from everyday interactions of officers of the law with the public, anonymous reports, and the use of paid and unpaid informants from the criminal underworld, to the law enforcement and security services' use of agents. This article is based on interviews with "handlers" of informants who are offenders and who supply information and evidence against other criminals. It explores the dilemmas that the informer and the handler face at each stage of the "operation" from recruitment to operation in the field, until the agent identifies the targets and becomes a State witness. During each stage of the operation the "agents" motivations, fears, sense of betrayal (being betrayed and betraying others), being a "snitch," and the need to protect identity as well as dependency upon the handler are the primary issues to be considered and resolved. The article also analyzes "borrowed identity," which is the main meaning and dynamic of the informant's actions. References