(a) Agencies should adopt written rules and policies that govern the use, approval, reward, and oversight of informants and undercover agents. These rules and policies should take into account: (1) the degree of tolerable risk to the safety of informants, undercover agents, and the public; (2) the permissible level of intrusiveness involved in the use…

An agency’s initial decision to use, and to continue to use, a particular informant should be based on careful review of: (a) safety concerns, regarding the public and the informant, in light of ongoing and potential criminal activities; (b) the intrusiveness of the use of the informant; (c) the value of the information sought or…

The decision to use evidence provided by an informant should be made on a continuing basis, after careful scrutiny of such information. Such scrutiny should be documented, and should include an assessment of: (a) the reliability of the information provided, determined by the nature of information in question, the type of crime, the specificity of…

(a) At a minimum, agencies should ensure documentation of: (1) the informant’s name, age, demographic information, and prior criminal history; (2) all current and previous arrangements with the informant, including any incentives offered; (3) all statements made by the informant, including the substance thereof and the time and place they were made; (4) information regarding…

(a) Agencies should establish clear boundaries regarding the involvement of informants in criminal activity, including the extent to which it is permissible. Such involvement should be restricted to acts that are of substantial value to agency efforts to achieve public safety, and should be based on advance, written authorization. (b) Any involvement of informants in…

Agencies should conduct oversight to ensure that any benefits offered or provided to informants, including financial compensation, are proportional to the public’s interest in securing reliable information.

In light of the range of interests implicated by their use, agencies should take great care in relying on undercover officers during investigations. In particular, agencies should: (a) ensure that the use of undercover officers does not unduly risk the undercover officers’ safety or the safety of others; (b) carefully regulate undercover officers’ participation in…