Federal use of confidential informants : analysis and guidelines / Annie Morrison, editor.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Morrison, Annie, editor.

Series:

Government procedures and operations.

Government Procedures and Operations

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Informers--United States.

Informers.

Informers--Legal status, laws, etc--United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (144 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York : Nova Publishers, 2016.

Summary:

Federal law enforcement components used more than 16,000 confidential informants in fiscal year 2013 as part of criminal investigations. Informants can be critical to an investigation, but without appropriate oversight, problems can occur that undermine the credibility of the informant's role in an investigation. The Attorney General's Guidelines sets forth procedures on the management of informants, including vetting potential informants and overseeing informants' illegal activities that components authorize to support an investigation. This book reviews the extent to which the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) components' policies address the Guidelines for vetting informants and overseeing their illegal activities; and selected components have monitoring processes to ensure compliance with the Guidelines.

Contents:

FEDERAL USE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANTS ANALYSIS AND GUIDELINES ; FEDERAL USE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANTS ANALYSIS AND GUIDELINES ; Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data; CONTENTS ; PREFACE ; Chapter 1 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANTS: UPDATES TO POLICY AND ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE WOULD IMPROVE OVERSIGHT BY DOJ AND DHS AGENCIES* ; WHY GAO DID THIS STUDY ; WHAT GAO RECOMMENDS ; WHAT GAO FOUND ; ABBREVIATIONS ; BACKGROUND ; Confidential Informants ; The Attorney General's Guidelines; Requirements for Vetting Informants ; Requirements for Overseeing Informants' Illegal Activities

FIVE AGENCIES' POLICIES DO NOT INCLUDE ALL REQUIREMENTS IN THE GUIDELINES Agencies' Policies Are Generally Consistent with the Guidelines on How to Vet Informants ; Five Agencies' Policies Are Not Fully Consistent with the Guidelines on How to Oversee Informants' Illegal Activities ; SELECTED DOJ AND DHS AGENCIES MONITOR COMPLIANCE WITH THEIR INFORMANT POLICIES BUT NOT THE GUIDELINES' PROVISIONS MISSING FROM THESE POLICIES; Selected DOJ and DHS Component Agencies have Monitoring Processes to Assess Compliance with their Agencies' Respective Informant Policies ; Ongoing Monitoring Processes

Separate Evaluations DEA, ICE, and USSS Do Not Have Reasonable Assurance that They Are Following the Guidelines for Overseeing Informants' Illegal Activities ; CONCLUSION ; RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EXECUTIVE ACTION; AGENCY COMMENTS AND OUR EVALUATION ; APPENDIX I: SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY; APPENDIX II: ATTORNEY GENERAL'S GUIDELINES PROVISIONS REGARDING VETTING INFORMANTS ; APPENDIX III: ATTORNEY GENERAL'S GUIDELINES PROVISIONS REGARDING OVERSEEING INFORMANTS' ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES ; APPENDIX IV: SELECTED RESULTS FROM GAO'S ASSESSMENT OF AGENCIES' INFORMANT POLICIES ; End Notes

Chapter 2 THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S GUIDELINES REGARDING THE USE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANTS*PREAMBLE ; I. GENERAL PROVISIONS ; A. Purpose and Scope ; B. Definitions; C. Prohibition on Commitments of Immunity by Federal Law Enforcement Agencies ; D. Revealing a Confidential Informant's True Identity ; E. Duty of Candor ; F. Maintaining Confidentiality ; G. Exceptions and Dispute Resolution ; H. Rights of Third Parties ; I. Compliance ; II. REGISTERING A CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANT ; A. Suitability Determination ; 1. Initial Suitability Determination ; 2. Continuing Suitability Review

3. Review of Long-Term Confidential Informants' B. Registration ; C. Instructions ; D. Special Approval Requirements ; 1. High Level Confidential Informants ; 2. Individuals Under the Obligation of a Legal Privilege of Confidentiality or Affiliated with the Media ; 3. Federal Prisoners, Probationers, Parolees, Detainees, and Supervised Releasees ; 4. Current or Former Participants in the Witness Security Program ; 5. State or Local Prisoners, Probationers, Parolees, or Supervised Releasees ; 6. Fugitives ; III. RESPONSIBILITIES REGARDING REGISTERED CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANTS

A. General Provisions

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed September 7, 2016).

ISBN:

1-63484-867-5