Such stories demonstate the huge scale of counterfeit pharmaceutical operations. There is no control over the safety of counterfeit pharmaceuticals which means that many people are putting their health at risk by buying the fake and/or unlicensed items. This recent successful prosecution illustrates how various agencies are working hard to combat the problem but law enforcement freely admits that as soon as one rogue pharmacy is dismantled, another one appears somewhere else.

Any sign of corruption or malpractice among law enforcement is a serious problem. It reduces trust and cooperation leading to the proliferation of problems like the “Stop Snitching phenomenon”. If the new legislation in East St Louis is passed, the new Commission will have to think very carefully about how it can impose improved standards and practices. It is not enough simply to write new policies. Robust systems must be implemented to enable management oversight. abmpegasus helps to address some of these issues, giving management oversight of traditionally opaque areas of policing without compromising confidentiality and security.

Whatever the outcome of the court case, the whole debacle highlights the importance of comprehensive record keeping among narcotics units. Narcotics officers have often been subject to minimal management oversight, being left to manage their own informants and intelligence gathering operations. This approach provides too much opportunity for malpractice. It also fails to make the best use of intelligence that is collected by individual officers.

ABM has developed abmpegasus to address these issues. It improves record keeping to reduce the potential for corruption as well as helping to share crucial intelligence within the organisation and make better use of intelligence sources. abmpegasus helps to implement robust policies and procedures, protecting the law enforcement officers, informants, citizens and the reputation and effectiveness of the agency.

Investigative case management software can be a valuable tool in security convergence. A single system that can be accessed and used by multiple departments improves the sharing and management of information. Personnel in one geographical area, for example, can record incidents or intelligence for the security team, which may be located in another location, to respond to. All departments can see the progress that has been made and common standards and processes can be introduced across the organisation.

Communication is key to security convergence, and software like Intellicase can be an excellent facilitator for improved communication.

The case highlights two important aspects of police procedure. Firstly, policies and procedures need to be firmly implemented to ensure that officers do not make unauthorised or unaccountable contact with confidential informants. Secondly, confidential complaints by citizens need to be carefully stored to prevent officers’ free access to information that may include allegations against them.

Fraud in the private sector accounts for the majority of UK fraud at £45.5bn, while fraud in the public sector costs £20.3bn.

Due to the enormous figures involved, even a small dent fraud losses could save UK organisations significant sums of money. UK organisations – public and private sector – need to consider how they are currently tackling fraud and what can be done to improve their investigation and enforcement processes.

You can download the National Fraud Authority’s Annual Fraud Indicator at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/agencies-public-bodies/nfa/annual-fraud-indicator/

In the article, Enriquez explains his experience of conducting a controlled drug buy to incriminate a fellow gang member: “I was terrified. This was a violent guy and I was a 15-year-old kid.” Enriquez says that his involvement as a confidential informant led him to start taking drugs himself. He also claims that, after helping law enforcement, the police abandoned him. He was beaten and raped by other prisoners whilst in police custody and then deported to Nicaragua for a minor drugs charge where he remains to this day.

The article goes on to state that in 1997, Enriquez’s handler revealed his name in a deposition, stating, “His horror story is emblematic of a bigger problem that lawmakers in Florida and across the nation have only recently begun to recognize: Cops employ confidential informants — sometimes very young ones — to bust criminals. But there’s little oversight, and the result of police carelessness can be horrific.”

The Miami New Times cites two examples of young confidential informants who were killed in separate incidents whilst working for law enforcement – 23-year-old Rachel Hoffman and 17-year-old Chad McDonald.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of these cases, it is clear that the use of young confidential informants carries a high degree of risk. And, whilst the use of young informants may not be desirable, sometimes it is a necessary tool in the fight against organised crime. It is important, therefore, that juvenile CIs are managed properly.

Implementing effective strategies for risk assessment, governance, protection of identity and the management of financial transactions are crucial to protecting the human rights of young CIs. Informant management software, like abmpegasus, can help to ensure that all issues surrounding juvenile confidential informants are properly managed. The abmpegasus system, for example, includes a number of features specifically designed for dealing with juvenile CIs:

• Review dates – ensure that young CIs are subjected to more frequent regular reviews
• Escalated approval – ensure that the use of young CIs is authorised by a senior officer
• Warnings – automatically alert handlers to the juvenile status of young informants

In addition to these areas, abmpegasus also provides comprehensive functionality to manage all aspects of any confidential informant, ensuring that operations are properly assessed for risk, appropriately authorised and carefully managed.

In the case of Mark Kennedy (the undercover officer involved in the case against environmental protesters at the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station), there were various issues over the undercover officer’s management and subsequent disclosure of his involvement. abmpegasus Undercover includes functionality to prevent these issues. Go to www.abmsoftware.com/Products_abmpegasus_Undercover.html to read more.

Since these unfortunate events, the state of Florida has introduced “Rachel’s Law”, requiring law enforcement agencies to provide specialist training for confidential informant handlers and implement better safeguards.

Some law enforcement agencies have taken the example of Tallahassee very seriously, implementing robust management processes to reduce the risk associated with confidential informants. However, other agencies still need to take a more proactive approach towards ensuring that informants are used more carefully and intelligently. Rachel’s Law is a good step forward in improving US practices regarding informants, but there is still more progress to be made. Let’s hope that other states take some of these lessons on board and that every effort is made to enhance the requirements under Rachel’s Law to ensure that opportunities for risky practices are further removed.

This sounds like the plot of a car chase in a blockbuster movie. Unfortunately it was all the result of an undercover narcotics operation that went badly wrong in Texas last week.

As reported by KHOU, undercover officers from Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), Houston Police Department (HPD) and members of the Drugs Task Force were following a truck being driven by a confidential informant. The truck was loaded with at least 300lb of marijuana and the law enforcement officers were following it in order to arrest the drug dealers who would receive the delivery. However, whilst en route several other vehicles suddenly appeared, showering the truck with bullets and killing the confidential informant. A gun battle that followed, with officers firing back at the hijackers killing one of them, while another one was hit twice by a patrol vehicle. In the confusion a plain clothes HCSO deputy was allegedly shot in the leg by a HPD officer who didn’t recognise him. A patrol vehicle responding to the scene added to the chaos by colliding with a school bus, injuring the two drivers and two other people.

It is not clear whether the hijackers were intending to steal the drugs shipment or just assassinate the confidential informant. What is clear, however, is that the law enforcement operation certainly did not go to plan, despite law enforcement succeeding in arresting four men accused of storming the truck.

The whole case raises issues over confidential informant anonymity and protection, risk management and deconfliction. When dealing with narcotics and unpredictable drug dealers, mistakes can happen. I just hope that law enforcement went through proper procedures to assess the risk associated with this particular operation before they embarked upon it.