Socio-psychological Profile of a Person Who Confidentially Provides Assistance to the Operational Unit

Abstract

The article presents the analysis of the specific socio-psychological characteristics of the people who confidentially assist the operational units of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, with the aim of knowing the typical socio-psychological profile of the confidential informant. To this end, a survey was conducted among 84 officers who performed operational and service tasks with these people. The study evaluated the sociodemographic (gender, age, education) and psychological (temperament, reasons for cooperation, nature of the relationships between them and the operational personnel, attitude of the confidential informants towards the tasks) characteristics, and the operational and investigative characteristics (qualities of intelligence, quality of the operational information provided, duration of assistance to the operational unit, etc.). The synthesis and interpretation of the results of the survey gave the possibility to know the socio-psychological profile of the volunteer assistant of the operational unit of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, and to compare the individual specific characteristics of the relevant confidential informant with those from other law enforcement agencies in foreign countries who cooperate with Ukraine. It is concluded that the knowledge of the socio-psychological profile of informants by the operational officials is of great importance to provide confidential assistance to the operational units. The differences between the activities of the corruption claimants, whose characteristics were provided by foreign scientists, and of confidential informants, who provide assistance to the operating units, are mainly explained by the fact that informants cooperate in a confidential format (not publicly) and their activities are related to a wider range of issues.

Reframing the whistleblower in research: Truth‐tellers as whistleblowers in changing cultural contexts

“…Criminal informants, however, are people who want immunity or bargaining power regarding their involvement in crimes. Whistleblowers are not criminal informants, but a parallel may be drawn to civilian informants (Khalymon, Polovnikov, & Volynets, 2019), although they are not conceptually identical. An informant is a broad term for anyone providing information in an array of areas.…”

The effect of individual differences on the cognitive processes of a witness during interrogation

“…In this regard, it is worth noting the research that determines the limits of interrogation techniques traditionally used in police practice and obtaining evidence (Manzanero and Palomo, 2020). In addition, such traditional interrogation techniques should be used with caution in the interrogation of persons possessing knowledge of the tactics of operative investigative measures (Khalymon et al, 2020).…”

Professional and psychological qualities of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine special agents engaged into confidential cooperation

“…In particular, there is a number of works in which the psychological aspects of the selection, service career and direct activity of special agents of the criminal investigation department and other police officers are being investigated (KONDRATIEV, BARANENKO, 2002). There are attempts to investigate the socio-psychological characteristics of individuals who confidentially contribute to SBGSU's operational units in order to form a typical social and psychological profile of a confidential informant (KHALYMON, POLOVNIKOV, VOLYNETS, 2019).…”