Police Informants
Introduction
Confidential informants (CI) or else police informants are a critical aspect of many investigations conducted by law enforcement and are particularly essential in cases involving narcotics traffic as well as other forms of organized crimes. Informants in this regard can avail to law enforcement very precise that ordinarily would not have been provided by other sources or means of investigations. However, the reliance of informants to acquire vital information relating activities raises a number of moral as well as ethical issues. It is important to appreciate that informants are largely criminals themselves and therefore if they are not managed in the right manner, they can any efforts to fight crime by law enforcement useless, destroy the credibility of the police or any other enforcement agencies and in in some instances put the lives of officers at risk given the fact that the information provided by these informants is acquired at a fee (James, 2013).
A report by the HMIC( 1999) regarding police integrity, the agency notes that the use or else reliance on informants is perhaps the most profound risk aspect in regards to the workings of contemporary Police service (99). Towards this end, this essay will provide a critical discussion of the above statement and therefore confirm or reject the assertion that it is morally repugnant to obtain information from criminals by paying for the same.
Discussion: Police Informants
Informers are individuals engaged by enforcement agencies or officers with a view to supplying information regarding other persons and their criminal activities in a covert manner to authorities. This is often done with the informant expecting some kind of reward usually in monetary form from the police (Carson, Shawyer, Shalev, Pakes, & Milne, 2007). Towards this end, the information acquired from criminal informants is underlined by a specific nature writes Innes, (2003) – the information gathered should afford the police sufficient or else intelligence capable of resulting in successful investigation and prosecution of criminals. In other words, this information should assist the police in pursuing regulatory or enforcement investigations based on intelligence or else evidence that cannot be acquired through any other manner (James, 2013).
Apart from the successful application of entrapment defense, the intrinsic vulnerabilities to which various regulatory agencies as well as law enforcement are compounded by during the utilization of informers has for the longest time been recognized in addition to being documented (Newburn, Williamson, & Wright, 2012). This situation portends monumental harmful ramifications stemming from the dependence of on informers, which includes corruption among those charged with the responsibility of enforcing the law in different capacities coupled with institutional corrupt practices within law enforcement organizations (Lawrence, 2015).
Towards this end, concerns have been raised by both academic literature as well as the media regarding the overall management of the informers and the character of the association between the Police force and regulatory bodies (Reiner, 2010). Respective criminal biographies in this regard have adequately demonstrated the individual and social harm including but not limited to physical harm, to which the informers are exposed to. While this portrayal implies that informers are an integral part of police activities in regards to investigating crime, they equally present challenges to the police service and at times temptation for the law enforcers to engage in the very criminal activities they are charged to investigate (Walker, 2000).
The need for financial gain by petty offenders coupled with the leeway afforded by the police with respect to tolerating petty crimes in exchange for information presents a fundamental moral challenge to workings of police in this regard (Carson, Shawyer, Shalev, Pakes, & Milne, 2007). A key issue in this is the increasing collaboration between enforcement officers and informers in terms of sharing the financial reward given to informers, where the later are allowed to continue with their petty crimes and keep part of the money paid to them in exchange for part of the money.
The aforementioned scenario has resulted in increased cases of criminals targeting police informants programs only for financial gain while providing information that has no meaningful significance in the fight against crime and particular organized crimes. It is has presented an opportunity for criminals to benefit financially on the one hand, while continuing with their crime activities given the perceived benefits accrued to the police by the information they provide (Reiner, 2010).
In such instances, the police service cannot be any way or form be accused of benefiting materially or otherwise, as enforcement agencies are convinced that exchanging information for money is indeed a necessary and noble-cause corruption and therefore there is nothing morally impugn ant about the practice. Nonetheless, nothing could be further away from the truth in that it is the immoral setting within which the enforcement officers as well as informers reside and repose that creates the foundations upon which the importance of informers is predicated. In other words, the whole idea of police informers is hinged on corruption and therefore it is morally repugnant (Prenzler & Ransley, 2000).
The immoral nature inherent in police-informer relationship means that the public views the police service-and rightly so as morally deficient and therefore lacking in terms of integrity as well as honesty- the basic attributes that determine the level of trust in addition to confidence afforded by the public to police service (Naughton, 2007). Without this, the police service will continue losing its moral authority over the society thus limiting its role in fighting crime.
While this submission has thus far indicated that the use of money to gain information from informers is morally repugnant, it is important to consider the other face of the coin as not all police-informer relationship are predicated on corrupt practices. In this regard, the use of money to “buy” information should be considered from the wider perspective of securing the greater good as it were which is actually the essence of morality- to act in a manner that results in the greatest public good as defined by Kant theory regarding justification for what is morally right and what is not.
Towards this end, it must be appreciated that policing occurs within an institutional framework, which confirms the importance of information as well as evidence gathering in regards to the maintenance of a peaceful society (Barkan & Bryjak, 2011). This is in itself paradoxical in the sense that enabled by three distinct behaviors that might be considered morally repugnant as the leverage on money and in actual bribery to gain information critical to investigation or preventing further crimes. In other words, at face value, these conducts are morally harmful.
To begin with, the police employ coercion tactics, which restrict individual freedoms through searches, arrests as well as seizures based upon information “bought” from informers. Secondly they give money to informers to leverage deceptions as a means of investigating crime through the employment of covert officers aided by pain informers. Finally, through intelligence provided by informers, the conduct surveillance which essentially represents privacy invasion. From this, it is evident that any undertaking between the police service and informers in regards to the above mentioned tactics is morally repugnant in every sense (Norris & Wilson, 2006).
However, one must look as the wider picture in regards to creating a cohesive society (Prenzler & Ransley, 2000). It therefore possible to morally justify these actions and argue that it is not morally repugnant for the police service to use money as a means of acquiring vital intelligence as well as evidence from informers is the greater good is to secure the society from serious crimes (Shane, 2015). This justification is especially applicable in instances where the circumstances surrounding any of the aforementioned tactics, forms the foundations for availing sufficient protection for vulnerable persons. For instance, where a mother feels that her husband’s drug activities are a threat to her children and herself, it is morally justifiable for the police to pay her for any information she might have. The money might not be necessarily an enticement, but a way of helping her safeguard her children’s future in the event the spouse is incarcerated or in instances where the informer need to relocate for her personal safety and that of her children.
Given this backdrop, the individual being investigated through covert collection of information as provided by the informer is more exposed to the coercive tactic describe in preceding sections and therefore the police are in a position to act in a manner that protects the society irrespective of whether money was used to access the requisite information or not. In other words, regardless of the method employed in regards to acquiring actionable information from informers, law enforcement is are afforded a basis upon which they can now act through intelligence as well as evidence they did not hold prior to engaging the services of an informer (Elliston & Feldberg, 2005).
Further the individual being investigated through an informer is additionally exposed to deception and as such are unaware that they are being investigated by an individual close to them. This occurs through abuse of the trust s well as confidence afforded to the informer by the suspect under investigation. Towards this, it is important to take cognizance of the fact that while the moral damage caused by deception in addition betrayal on the credibility of policing activities far outweighs the moral repugnance portended by using money to gain critic information as well as evidence (Elliston & Feldberg, 2005).
Justification of the above premise can be derived from the moral responsibility defining police work in addition to seeking collective good, which is the essence of any policing activity (Walker, 2000). In other words, if the police are using money to acquire information from informers leads to the safeguarding of basic moral liberties and especially reasonable aggregate or else enforceable moral rights, then the practice is not morally repugnant as it results in the collective good as espoused by each individual within a society predicated on a mutual respect for fundamental rights.
This proposition is thus predicated on the “moral theory of policing” which gives the police service the leeway to determine occasions where it can leverage usually immoral as well as harmful techniques such as paying or more correctly bribing informers with monetary means with a view to creating a secure society and therefore achieve its principle mandate-protecting moral rights in a manner whose enforcement is justifiable from a moral as well as ethical perspective (Norris & Wilson, 2006).
The overriding theory in regards to morality of any policing activity and in this case using money to obtain information from informers confirms that indeed if the police services is to successfully realize its objective in terms of protect moral liberties and therefore achieve its purpose as an institution, they are morally justified to resort to methods otherwise regarded as morally as well as ethically repugnant on an occasional basis especially where there is course to believe a particular individual or else organization portends significant threats to the safety of the overall society (Villiers & Adlam, 2004). Unconventional crime in this regard requires unconventional means to tackle and therefore morality is just a relative term in regards to the realization of the wider/greater moral good regardless of the mechanics employed.
Conclusion
Based on the findings if report published by the HMIC regarding police integrity, this submission has provided a critical discussion of the proposition that – the use or else reliance on informants is perhaps the most profound risk aspect in regards to the workings of contemporary Police service- by exploring both sides of the discourse regarding the assertion that it is morally repugnant to obtain information from criminals by paying for the same. The exercise has in this regard established that while on the one hand the use of money to gain information from informers is morally repugnant, it is important to consider the other face of the coin as not all police-informer relationship are predicated on corrupt practices. In this regard, the use of money to “buy” information should be considered from the wider perspective of securing the greater well as it were which is actually the essence of morality- to act in a manner that result in the greatest public good. Towards this end, “moral theory of policing” which gives the police service the leeway to determine occasions where it can leverage usually immoral as well as harmful techniques such as paying or more correctly bribing informers with monetary means with a view to creating a secure society and therefore achieve its principle mandate-protecting moral rights in a manner whose enforcement is justifiable from a moral as well as ethical perspective. The submission therefore concludes that it is not that it is morally repugnant to obtain information from criminals by paying for the same.
References
Barkan, S. E., & Bryjak, G. J. (2011). Fundamentals of Criminal Justice: A Sociological View. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Carson, D., Shawyer, A., Shalev, K., Pakes, F., & Milne, R. (2007). Applying Psychology to Criminal Justice. John Wiley & Sons.
Elliston, F., & Feldberg, M. (2005). Moral issues in police work. London: Rowman & Allanheld.
HMIC. (1999). Police Integrity: Securing and Maintaining Public Confidence. Retrieved from HMIC: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/media/police-integrity-19990601.pdf
Innes, M. (2003). Investigating Murder: Detective Work and the Police Response to Criminal Homicide. Oxford University Press.
James, A. (2013). Examining Intelligence-Led Policing: Developments in Research, Policy and Practice. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Lawrence, R. G. (2015). Inside a Police Informant’s Mind. London: CRC Press.
Naughton, M. (2007). Rethinking Miscarriages of Justice: Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.
Newburn, T., Williamson, T., & Wright, A. (2012). Handbook of Criminal Investigation. London: Routledge.
Norris, C., & Wilson, D. (2006). Surveillance, Crime and Social Control. Ashgate.
Prenzler, T., & Ransley, J. (2000). Police Reform: Building Integrity. Hawkins Press.
Reiner, R. (2010). The Politics of the Police. OUP Oxford.
Shane, J. (2015). Confidential Informants: A Closer Look at Police Policy. Springer.
Villiers, P., & Adlam, R. (2004). Policing a Safe, Just and Tolerant Society: An International Model. Waterside Press.
Walker, O. (2000). Miscarriages of Justice: A Review of Justice in Error. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Why we are the best
Best Quality Written Papers
Our writers are trained to read and research widely before writing a paper. This ensures that we have the best end product the gives clients the best grades in class.
Qualified and Experienced writers and editors
Once you place your order, we look for writers who match your requirements. All our writers are highly qualified, but we have to make sure the writers handling your papers understand the field very well.
Free Unlimited Revisions
We understand, at some point, the writer might miss a few points, either through error or omission. In such a case, your paper will be revised, free of charge until you get the best quality.
Timely Delivery and 100% Money-Back-Guarantee
Papers are finished before deadline to enable clients have enough time to peruse and read through and see if any amendments are required. If for one reason we cannot meet the deadline, we ask the client for extension, and if not possible, 100% of the money paid is refunded.
Original & Confidential
We have a team of experienced writers who do original papers, without plagiarizing. We also use several tools to make sure the papers are original. We also make sure that we keep client’s information confidential. No third party can access the details of clients.
24/7 Customer Care
You can reach our support team, any time, any day for all round support and assistance.
Try it now!
How it works?
Follow these simple steps to get your paper done
Place your order
Fill in the order form and provide all details of your assignment.
Proceed with the payment
Choose the payment system that suits you most.
Receive the final file
Once your paper is ready, we will email it to you.
Ask For Help
It does not only have to be a paper you do not understand that you seek help, but if you have a tight schedule and homework has to be done, we are here to help you.
Essays
Urgency, academic level or complicated papers should not be an issue to you. This is our specialty. Place your order, get in touch with the support team for any assistance, and let our team provide the best quality papers.
Admissions
Admission Essays
You want to apply to your dream college and you have no idea how to go about it? We will help you write an admission letter that will guarantee you admission to the college.
Reviews
Editing and revision papers
You might have done your paper, and you want it polished, or you failed and want it revised, our pool of professional editors will help you achieve the best.
Reviews
Article/Book Review Services
One of the most challenging academic works is article/book reviews. You no longer have to worry about this subject area. We have an able team that will give the best reviews for your work.