Ethical Approaches for Police Officers when Working with Informants in the Development of Criminal Intelligence in the United Kingdom

The Detective, the Snout, and the Audit Commission: The Real Costs in Using Informants

“…However, as a number of commentators have noted, many officers see the decline in the clear-up rate and the move towards proactive policing as directly attributable to the effects of PACE (Maguire 1988;Cooper and Murphy 1997). Ironically, then, a consequence of increased regulation and oversight in one area may well be to shift police practice into areas which are less visible and less regulated, but equally require a thoroughgoing examination of the relationship between means and ends.…”

Countering terrorism through the use of informants: the Northern Ireland experience

“…The former he suggests are characterized by 'a certain moral reprehensibility and "cloak and dagger" quality', whereas an informant is 'anyone who actively contributes information to the police investigation'. This approach has been rejected by others including, Cooper and Murphy (1997) and Greer (1995); they argue that such a differentiation confuses a number of other roles already recognized within the criminal justice system, such as victim and witness.…”

“…Many definitions of an informant emphasize the existence of a criminal dimension in terms of the informant's behaviour and/or associates (Cooper & Murphy, 1997;Norris & Dunnighan, 2000). The National Criminal Intelligence Service characterizes a 'typical informer' as follows:…”

“…Such a view is echoed by Cooper and Murphy (1997, p. 3), who note that 'in an environment that cherishes cost effectiveness, the use of informants appears to be relatively inexpensive'.…”

Damned If You Don't, Damned If You Do: Crime Mapping and its Implications in the Real World

“…Is there a role for utilitarianism here? The principle of act utilitarianism has been applied previously in a law-enforcement situation in the area of recruiting informants (Cooper and Murphy, 1997), and there is some overlap in general arguments. Act utilitarianism suggests a course of action that produces the best results with regard to satisfaction for society as a whole.…”