What could be worse than a person willing to betray his/her own friends, family or even country; and in return he’ll be paid huge amounts of money. A lot of juries may tend to answer “nobody” and may even ignore information supplemented by a rat, or an informant working undercover in court.

“Rats” is the term known to the crooks on the street. This may either be confidential informants or plainly informants. They are considered to be one of the most valuable assets to law enforcement and police. The value of the informant in court is not directly proportional to his value as a normal citizen. This is because of the fact that the deeper the informant is involved in a situation particularly in a crime incident; his testimony will be more valuable in court.

Utilizing informants working undercover is considered as a vital part of a lot of law enforcement division in the United States. It would be very difficult to conduct an investigation if law enforcement groups did not take advantage of the service of these individuals working undercover. For an informant, executing his task is such putting your life to risk. To a police, an individual working undercover with thorough knowledge of criminal activities makes him a valuable piece. However, with these involvements in different criminal concerns weakens his credibility. The reliability of the informant is dependent on his involvement with the criminal activities. However, in court, his knowledge on all the criminal activities manifesting makes him more reliable.

How do investigators balance an informant’s reliability in relation to his credibility? Investigators evade this dilemma by utilizing the so-called totality of circumstances test. This kind of test refers to anthology of facts and situations in relation to a case and is promulgated to aid and support any information supplemented by the individual working undercover. If all the facts and information are well-supported by the informant, it can be concluded that the situation is highly reliable. The criminal investigator may also work hand in hand to strengthen the credibility of the informant by stating on the witness stand that he utilized the services of an informant in the past to acquire information that led to conviction and criminal arrest.

As for the informant, his safety is always at stake. However, for the law enforcement, field officers don’t need to put their lives on risks by working undercover when they have an insider to work for them. The safety of the officers is not at risk unless he works undercover.

Related posts:

1. Confidential Agent: Working Undercover