Tag Archives: US

California Assembly passes confidential informant legislation

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The California Assembly has passed bill SB 687 which would prevent criminal conviction based solely on the uncorroborated testimony of a jailhouse informant. The bill recognises the need for informants in the fight against organised crime, yet it also accepts the inherent pitfalls of confidential informants who may have hidden agendas in testifying against other suspected criminals.

SB 687, which is supported by San Francisco and Los Angeles County’s District Attorneys, aims to reduce the potential for wrongful convictions based on informants’ testimony.

The bill is now awaiting approval by the governor of California and it will have implications for law enforcement across the state. Law enforcement agencies will have to take more care in the collection and management of intelligence to ensure that evidence against suspected perpetrators of crime is sufficiently strong.

More at http://sfappeal.com/news/2011/07/jailhouse-informant-bill-passes-assembly.php

ACLU criticises use of confidential informants in New Jersey

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The American Civil Liberties Union has published a report criticising the way that confidential informants (CIs) are used in the state of New Jersey. The report finds that some law enforcement agencies do not have policies regarding the proper management of CIs, while many of those that do have proper policies have failed to ensure that officers are trained to ensure that policies are adhered to. The report suggests that there are too many opportunities for deliberate or accidental misuse of CIs, leading to potential for injustice to occur.

Just three months ago, ACLU published a similar report criticising the state of Mississippi’s  drug enforcement system, stating that the incentives for confidential informants need to be more carefully managed.

Such lack of confidence in the management of CIs should be a cause for great concern among law enforcement agencies. It is important that officers properly asses the risk and reliability of information provided by CIs before acting upon it. If law enforcement agencies want to ensure that this is achieved, it is vital that proper policies and procedures are in place and properly communicated to officers. Managers need to have oversight of all interaction with CIs.

In the United Kingdom, legislation and best practice has helped to ensure that CIs are managed in a safe and compliant way. Software, such as abmpegasus Source Management, helps to make sure that proper procedures are followed and that the use of CIs is fully assessed for risk and authorised accordingly.

ACLU’s report, “An Exploratory Study of the Use of Confidential Informants in New Jersey” can be found at http://www.aclu-nj.org/downloads/0611ACLUCIReport.pdf and “Numbers Game: The Vicious Cycle of Incarceration in Mississippi’s Criminal Justice System” can be found at http://www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/numbers-game-vicious-cycle-incarceration-mississippis-criminal-justice-system

http://media.nj.com/ledgerupdates_impact/other/report.pdf

Chinese authorities reluctant to let US investigate counterfeits

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The Chinese embassy in Washington is apparently refusing to give visas to US officials wanting to visit China to investigate counterfeit electronic parts, as reported by the Lincoln Tribune. US Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has hinted at the Chinese embassy’s reluctance to grant US access without an official Chinese escort. The US wants to investigate Chinese electronics manufacturers after it emerged that the U.S. Defense Department has unwittingly purchased counterfeit components for use in various crucial systems, including missile defense and flight control computers.

Legalising drugs probably wouldn’t reduce police corruption

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I have to conclude that Radley Balko’s article “War on Drugs Corrupting America’s Cops” fails to fully understand the reason behind corrupt behaviour in narcotics law enforcement. It is not the “war on drugs” causing police corruption – it is process failure and lack of accountability. If processes are properly followed and senior law enforcement officers have proper oversight of covert activity, there is little opportunity for corrupt behaviour to occur. Every example that Balko uses could probably have been avoided if systems were in place to properly record and monitor covert activity.

Removing drug prohibition does not solve the problem – accountability issues will still remain. The answer is to improve management oversight across all covert operations and make it harder for police officers to stray away from acceptable behaviour.

San Francisco Police to review use of confidential informants

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The tensions between the operational need for confidential informants and the requirement to maintain police integrity have made themselves clear in yesterday’s San Francisco Examiner article.

Police Captains clearly see confidential informants as an essential part of policing. However, police bosses have to balance this with the need to operate in a safe, legally compliant and transparent way. The Examiner article reveals that the way in which confidential informants are managed is currently being reviewed at San Francisco Police Department. By improving management processes and officer training, SFPD will hope to reduce opportunities for police misconduct whilst still allowing the agency to benefit from the invaluable intelligence that confidential informants provide.

Terrorist Informants – good or bad?

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Wadie E. Said’s article, “The Terrorist Informant“, on the use of confidential informants in the fight against terrorism concludes that “the use of informants in federal terrorist prosecutions has been an overall failure” and that “the government should cease its current practice of using informants to generate terrorism prosecutions”.

Whilst Said does put forward a coherent argument for his case, I can’t help but feel that his conclusion is too simplistic. The use of confidential informants is complicated and involves risks, but the rewards for protecting citizens from terrorist activity can be great. Indeed, the benefits of utilising informants can save lives.

It is not satisfactory to say that informants should not be used. By improving the way that informants are managed, including proper risk assessment and monitoring, many of the legally contentious issues of informants can be averted. Informants are a crucial component in today’s law enforcement toolbox and a critical part of intelligence-led policing.

Police seek to improve witness protection

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Newport News Police Department are apparently making positive changes to improve witness protection in the city. According to the Newport News Daily Press, the police department have introduced a Witness Protection Protocol which puts processes in place to provide protection to witnesses facing intimidation.

The protocol is intended to act as a less extreme local version of the US federal witness protection program which is run by the US Marshals Service. Funding for the protection will come from the police department’s $100,000 confidential funds which also gets used for rewarding confidential informants and undercover drug buys.

This is a good example of a law enforcement agency taking the initiative to try to get over the “no snitching” culture that is so damaging to cooperation with the police. If residents feel that police can act quickly and affectively to protect key witnesses, the fear of providing information will be diminished.

oops… police mistakenly name church pastor as marijuana dealer

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Shelby County Sheriff’s Office observed a man handing over marijuana to a confidential informant in May 2010. They then put the man’s photo and name on their ‘Most-Wanted’ website and, when he turned himself in the Sheriff’s Office sought to arrest him. Perfect case? Unfortunately not… The Sheriff’s Office has mistakenly identified the drug dealer as Kenneth Dukes, a baptist church minister. Dukes is now threatening to sue the Sheriff’s Office for the case of mistaken identity and the damage it casued to his reputation. Shelby County Sheriff’s Office responded by saying “The actual subject who sold the marijuana has a strong physical resemblance to Mr. Dukes”, according to the Shelby Count Reporter. Hopefully the office will try to get their facts right next time…