federal officials opined that corruption was more likely to result from day-to-day contacts between police officers and informantsOther states have moved further toward addressing this problem; e.g., see recommendations from California for new restrictions on testimony by jailhouse informants.
In case any Congressional staff want to follow up on issues raised at today's hearing, these past Grits posts and the links therein might be a good place to start:
- Snitching undermines justice institutions
- Don't Snitch, Jack
- Natapoff: Snitching can be crime producing and corrupting
- Sample motion requesting informant reliability hearings
- Operation Trick or Treat turned out to be snitch's trick
- Disdain for snitching runs in both directions
- Tony Soprano's a snitch but it's the fed who sings
- Talking snitches in Atlanta
- If victim buttons are okay how about stop snitching t-shirts?
- Is Grits Pro-Snitch?
- Who's a Rat?
- Snitches contribute to crime, corruption
- Snitching among the clergy
- When you know the whole informant thing has gotten out of hand
- Here a snitch, there a snitch
- Snitching on Good Friday: Rethinking Judas
- It's Good Friday: A time to reflect on snitching
- Snitch reforms in other states cited
- Requiring corroboration for eyewitness testimony might have saved Ruben Cantu
- Dallas fake drug case shows why many distrust informants
- What can happen when you snitch?
- A snitch in time
- Failed 2005 Texas snitch reform
- Snitch rules protect apparently mendacious DEA agent
- Snitching keeps escort services in business
- A prison guard's aversion to snitches
- DEA snitch data lost
- FBI violates snitch rules
- Federal memo tells judges: Hide informant records
- Feds may seal snitch records
- Feds tolerated bank robber snitch for decades
- From Hearne to Ruby Ridge, snitches too often accuse innocents
- Wichita Falls snitch makes false accusation
- Self-serving snitch at center of John Dillinger capture
- Hip Hop, Snitches and Witnesses
- Anderson Cooper's 60 Minutes snitching segment looks pretty lightweight
- Antipathy toward snitching part of American culture, not just hip hop
- Most US workers don't snitch
- Dallas DA: Snitch and we'll protect you
- DAs: Cops can legally tolerate crimes by snitches
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2 comments:
Use of informants gives police incentives to protect their sources from prosecution - while sources engage in criminal activities. This is similar to the "good vs bad drugs" or the dangerous drugs mythology. Criminals are criminals and drugs are drugs. There should not be an arbitrary distinction.
Secondly, an informant has a competitive advantage over other criminals in that he/she can turn in rivals to police - using police instead of other gang members/colleagues to win territory and influence in criminal business. This is also similar to big tycoons using police to intimidate labor unions - a practice that was common in the nineteenth and even the early twentieth century. Reagan even used federal force to break up the flight controllers union. This amounts to an abuse of governmental power in private - although illegal. Of course, we choose sides in battles between criminals in other countries all the time. We bankrolled Islamic terrorists against Milosevic in Serbia only recently.
In my opinion everyone must browse on this.
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