1. Training Course 1
Fundamentals of Confidential
Informant
Management
The aim of this training is to introduce law
enforcement officers to the fundamentals
principles involved in managing a
confidential informant
2. Instructions
• This training is provided through a series of PowerPoint
presentations.
• It is intended to provide officers with a basic understanding
of the concepts involved.
• Each lesson should be read in order and significant thought
should be given to each slide.
• These slides should not be regarded as providing a
substitute for professionally delivered training.
• Confidential informants should be managed in
accordance with legislation and the agency’s policies.
3. Course Content
• Lesson 1 – Definitions
• Lesson 2 – Roles and responsibilities
• Lesson 3 – Structures and records
• Lesson 4 – Civil Liberties and ethics
• Lesson 5 – Managing risk
• Lesson 6 – Intelligence led policing and
informants
• Lesson 7 – Maximizing information obtained
• Lesson 8 – High risk deployments
• Lesson 9 – Finance and rewards
5. Common language
• “If we allow certain key words in our vocabulary to remain
undefined we tend to project an “illusion of meaning” that
ultimately hinders and misdirects our thinking.”
S I Hayakawa, U S Senator
• “The first step in wisdom is to know the things themselves; this
notion consists in having a true idea of the objects; objects are
distinguished and known by classifying them methodically and
giving them appropriate names. Therefore, classification and
name-giving will be the foundation of our science.”
Carolus Linnaeus: Systema Naturae (1735) Translation - M. S. J.
Engel-Ledeboer and H. Engel (1964)
6. What is a ‘confidential informant’
• The term is:
• Recognized in US judicial system
• Defined in the legislation of some states
• Frequently quoted in case law
• But:
• It is used to refer to many different types of person
who provide information to law enforcement
• In different sets of circumstance
• For various purposes
• Is often misused and misunderstood
7. Management of Confidential
Informants
• If officers are to manage a confidential informant
in appropriate way they must be clear about:
• The standards of behavior expected
• The category of person to whom those standards apply
• The criteria that have to me met to fall within that
category
• The identity of the manager in the agency who has the
final word on the matter
• How a person is to be managed when they do not meet
the criteria to fall within the specified category.
8. Categories of confidential informant
• There are three categories that command an
adequate starting place all of which will fall within
the broader understanding of the established
term 'confidential informant‘:
1. Registered human source
2. Collaborating witness
3. Member of the public
• The terms do not change the legal standing of any
person and are used purely from a pragmatic
perspective to allow appropriate structures to be
put in place by an agency.
9. Registered Human Source
• The term refers to a person with whom the law
enforcement agency (LEA):
• enters into a relationship
• in order to provide information
• over an identified period of time
• under specified set of circumstances.
• The relationship is authorised by someone in a
management position within the LEA following an
agreed application process.
• All aspects of that relationship are documented.
10. Collaborating Witness
• This term refers to a person who is in custody, or
who is a co-accused and with whom a LEA:
• enters into a relationship
• with the intention that the person will give evidence
against another person.
• Such a person is often referred to as a 'jailhouse
informant’ or ‘jailhouse snitch.‘
• The key element here is the ‘intention’ to use the
person as a witness.
• Many states have legislation pertaining to such
people
11. Member of the Public
• This term refers to any other persons who does not
fall within either Category 1 or 2 and who
• passes information to a LEA
• has the expectation that their identity remains
confidential (i.e. No one outside the LEA will know
they have passed the information).
• This category is by its very nature a broad one
with people passing information under very varied
circumstances e.g. concerned citizens,
professionals, casual conversations with criminals,
community leaders, etc.
12. Interconnected
• There are many things that connect these three
categories of confidential:
• The agency has a duty to take reasonable steps to protect
the safety of all.
• A ‘member of the public’ may initially give one piece of
information but go on to become a ‘registered human
source.’
• There may be tasks a collaborating witness has to do that
are similar to an registered human source, prior to them
revealing their role as a witness.
• Agency structures must be constructed to allow
for these and other aspects of interconnectivity.
13. Differences
• There are significant differences in managing the
three categories including:
• Only properly trained officers should be involved in managing
a ‘registered human source’ or a ‘collaborating witness’ while
any member of the agency may take information from a
‘member of the public.’
• Evidential statements should be recorded after every
encounter with a ‘collaborating witness’.
• An agency is likely to have the resources to manage a very
limited number of registered human sources.
• The remainder of this lesson deals solely with
registered human sources
14. Explaining the term
There are three key elements to the term ‘registered
human source:
• Registered – The use of this word is intended to emphasize the
fact that the role the person has been recorded by the
agency and that that individual is being managed to an
agreed set of standards.
• Human – The use of word has two purposes .It distinguishes the
origin of the information collected from other methods of
collection and it is intended to stress the reality that such
individuals are driven by the same basic needs and desires as
others human beings.
• Source – This use of this word has two purposes. It is intended to
highlight that the person is a source of information and it is a
non derogatory term unlike such words commonly used such
as ‘snitch’ or ‘rat’
15. Cornerstones
There are three foundation stones to managing
confidential informants safely and effectively:
1.Comprehensive policies and procedures making it clear to all who
does what and when and under any given set of circumstances with
regard to a registered human source. Few agencies have adequate
policies or procedures to protect them.
2.A purpose built computerized informant management system. This is
needed to keep all informant records securely and to save time and
resources. Existing systems do not have adequate security or the
functionality needed.
3.Training is essential for every officer, regardless of rank, that has
responsibility for managing registered human sources. A failure to
provide adequate training for the officers is negligence.
16. Information and Intelligence
• A registered human source provides ‘information’.
• That information should be submitted to a central
location within the LEA for processing to
‘intelligence’.
• Only when it is processed into intelligence should
it be disseminated for ‘action’.
• Those collecting information from a registered
human source should not be allowed to act upon
it, without it going through a centralized location
for processing. This is one of the most important
safeguards to prevent corruption.
17. Some brief notes
• In the vast majority of instances the identity of a registered
human source should never enter the public domain.
• The ‘true identities’ of all registered human sources should
be kept in one secure location within a LEA.
• Agencies have a very clear duty to protect the life and
safety of any person they use as a registered human
source.
• Managing human sources is a high risk for an agency, the
officers the source and the public. Risks need to be
managed effectively.
• If managed correctly registered human sources can
provide huge amounts of valuable information that can be
used to protect life, prevent crime and bring perpetrators
to justice.
