Police Informers and Professional Ethics

Abstract

The use of informers is morally problematic for police institutions, for investigation managers, and for those individuals either who act as informers or who have daily responsibility for handling informers. This paper examines the moral issues concerning informers at each of these levels. Recourse to informers can be accommodated within Miller and Blackler's moral theory of policing. Within this context, criteria for the morally justifiable deployment of informers are proposed and supplemented with further proposed criteria for morally justifiable informer participation in crime. Morally justifiable recruitment of informers is also considered. Despite directly serving the purpose of policing, informers do not incur police professional obligations.

Ranger perceptions of the role of local communities in providing actionable information on wildlife crime

“…The use of community‐based information, both paid informants and information that is volunteered, is a widespread element of criminal investigations within law enforcement and intelligence communities (Billingsley, Nemitz, & Bean, 2013). However, offering incentives for reporting information, such as money, or prosecutorial or judicial leniency, is controversial as it can lead to officer misconduct, and may encourage people to report crimes that never occurred or lie about the details for their own benefit (e.g., Boydell, 2017; Dunnighan & Norris, 1999; Harfield, 2012; Turcotte, 2008). Moreover, motivations for reporting crimes can also include revenge or a desire to put competitors out of action, as well as a sense of civic duty, and a desire to work alongside law enforcement (Dabney & Tewksbury, 2016).…”

Suspects' consistency in statements concerning two events when different question formats are used

“…However, in many forensic and security contexts, investigators may interrogate suspects about more than one event. This may be especially the case with police informants who often offer multiple pieces of information, some of which may be unreliable (Harfield, ; Stabile, ). Informants may provide inaccurate information to receive rewards (e.g., money, legal status, or permanent residence permit), seek revenge from a competitor, or escape incarceration (Harfield, ; McGarrell, Freilich, & Chermak, ; Miller, ).…”

“…This may be especially the case with police informants who often offer multiple pieces of information, some of which may be unreliable (Harfield, ; Stabile, ). Informants may provide inaccurate information to receive rewards (e.g., money, legal status, or permanent residence permit), seek revenge from a competitor, or escape incarceration (Harfield, ; McGarrell, Freilich, & Chermak, ; Miller, ). In terrorist cases, informants may lie to investigators about the details of a planned terrorist attack or about a terrorist's identity (Greer, ; Stabile, ).…”

Expanding Predictive Policing, Enhancing Infiltration Strategies

“…Whether a clandestine group provides mainly collective incentives such as political reforms, minority rights, or other changes that are beyond calculations of individual gain to guarantee and attract followers, or whether a group limits its incentive structure to selective benefits that only accrue to the individual, such as money or power status, influences what will be an attractive reward in exchange for information. The provision of selective or collective incentives might also play a role in the moral situation in which the informant finds him or herself in [22]. Moreover, what is being offered to attract informants has repercussions on the clandestine group in question.…”

“…Moreover, what is being offered to attract informants has repercussions on the clandestine group in question. Ascribing a purely greedy nature to criminal groups such as Mexican drug cartels might often be overly simplistic: -…understanding Mexico's drug violence means understanding how [participating] men… see their behavior as following an acceptable moral code, a code which espouses values (machismo, independence, achievement) which would not be out of place in industries besides the drug trade [22].‖ Investigating organizational make-up, means, and motivation helps to answer who, when, and what to offer (as information benefits).…”