Statement of Gary T Marx on February 25, 1981 Concerning FBI Undercover Guidelines (From FBI Undercover Guidelines - Oversight Hearings, P 33-56, 1981 - See NCJ-84676)

• NCJ Number: 84677
• Author(s): G T Marx
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 24 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Legislative/Regulatory Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Available on microfiche as NCJ-84676.

Annotation

Because police undercover practices can be so costly to social values and have such potential for abuse and unintended consequences, they should be used only under the most carefully specified and evaluated circumstances and as tactics of last resort.

Abstract

Problems associated with police undercover operations include (1) targets of an investigation becoming victims of police trickery or coercion, (2) informers using the undercover framework to commit criminal acts, (3) the police involved being under great risk and temptation, (4) possible damage to third parties, and (5) lack of knowledge about the intended effects and financial costs of such operations. Public guidelines for sensitive law enforcement activities, such as those issued by the Justice Department on informers, search warrants, racketeering enterprises, and undercover operations, are in principle an admirable policy device. Yet the impact of guidelines in practice depends on their implementation and their substance. There is a general need for guidelines to be more specific in defining the circumstances under which particular undercover tactics can and cannot be used. Further, every effort should be made to limit undercover operations so they will remain exceptional rather than routine strategies of social control. It is clear that any expanded use of undercover operations will enhance the creation of the social atmosphere of a totalitarian state, where radical intrusions into citizens' privacy limit the sense of freedom and nurture fear and suspicion.