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{{Short description|Person who provides information}} |
{{Short description|Person who provides information}} |
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{{other uses|Informant (disambiguation)|The Informant (disambiguation)|Informer (disambiguation)|The Stool Pigeon (disambiguation)}} |
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{{About|a person who provides privileged information}} |
{{About|a person who provides privileged information}} |
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{{redirect-multi|2|Informer|Stool pigeon}} |
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[[File:Payment to an informant.jpg|thumb|right|240px|A representative from the [[United States Department of State |U.S. State Department]] congratulates and offers a partial payment to a fully disguised informant whose information led to the neutralization of a [[Terrorism in the Philippines |terrorist in the Philippines]]]] |
[[File:Payment to an informant.jpg|thumb|right|240px|A representative from the [[United States Department of State |U.S. State Department]] congratulates and offers a partial payment to a fully disguised informant whose information led to the neutralization of a [[Terrorism in the Philippines |terrorist in the Philippines]]]] |
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[[File:Two page totally confidential, direct and immediate letter from the Minister of Finance to the Minister of Foreign Affairs about creating a foreign information network for controlling smuggling.jpg|thumb|Two-page totally confidential, direct and immediate letter from the Iranian Minister of Finance to the Minister of Foreign Affairs ([[Hossein Fatemi]]) about creating a foreign information network for controlling smuggling, 15 December 1952]] |
[[File:Two page totally confidential, direct and immediate letter from the Minister of Finance to the Minister of Foreign Affairs about creating a foreign information network for controlling smuggling.jpg|thumb|Two-page totally confidential, direct and immediate letter from the Iranian Minister of Finance to the Minister of Foreign Affairs ([[Hossein Fatemi]]) about creating a foreign information network for controlling smuggling, 15 December 1952]] |
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{{wikt | informant | stool pigeon}} |
{{wikt | informant | stool pigeon}} |
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An '''informant''' (also called an '''informer''' or, as a [[slang]] term, a "'''snitch'''", "'''rat'''", "'''stool pigeon'''", "'''stoolie'''" or "'''grass'''", among other terms)<ref>{{cite web|title=informer|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/informer|website= Merriam-Webster Dictionary|publisher= [[Merriam-Webster]]|access-date= 6 June 2016|quote= '''2:''' one that informs against another; ''specifically'' : one who makes a practice especially for a financial reward of informing against others for violations of penal laws}}</ref> is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information intended to be intimate, concealed, or secret, about a person or organization to an agency, often a government or law enforcement agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informants are officially known as '''confidential human sources''' ('''CHS'''), or '''criminal informants''' ('''CI'''). It can also refer pejoratively to someone who supplies information without the consent of the involved parties.<ref name="lying">"The Weakest Link: The Dire Consequences of a Weak Link in the Informant Handling and Covert Operations Chain-of-Command" by M Levine. ''Law Enforcement Executive Forum'', 2009</ref> The term is commonly used in politics, industry, entertainment, and academia.<ref>"Pursuing strategic advantage through political means: A multivariate approach" by DA Schuler, K Rehbein, RD Cramer – ''Academy of Management Journal'', 2002</ref><ref>"Reading English for specialized purposes: Discourse analysis and the use of student informants" by A Cohen, H Glasman, PR Rosenbaum-Cohen, ''TESOL Quarterly'', 197</ref> |
An '''informant''' (also called an '''informer''' or, as a [[slang]] term, a "'''snitch'''", "'''rat'''", "'''canary'''", "'''stool pigeon'''", "'''stoolie'''" or "'''grass'''", among other terms)<ref>{{cite web|title=informer|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/informer|website= Merriam-Webster Dictionary|publisher= [[Merriam-Webster]]|access-date= 6 June 2016|quote= '''2:''' one that informs against another; ''specifically'' : one who makes a practice especially for a financial reward of informing against others for violations of penal laws}}</ref> is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information intended to be intimate, concealed, or secret, about a person or organization to an agency, often a government or law enforcement agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informants are officially known as '''confidential human sources''' ('''CHS'''), or '''criminal informants''' ('''CI'''). It can also refer pejoratively to someone who supplies information without the consent of the involved parties.<ref name="lying">"The Weakest Link: The Dire Consequences of a Weak Link in the Informant Handling and Covert Operations Chain-of-Command" by M Levine. ''Law Enforcement Executive Forum'', 2009</ref> The term is commonly used in politics, industry, entertainment, and academia.<ref>"Pursuing strategic advantage through political means: A multivariate approach" by DA Schuler, K Rehbein, RD Cramer – ''Academy of Management Journal'', 2002</ref><ref>"Reading English for specialized purposes: Discourse analysis and the use of student informants" by A Cohen, H Glasman, PR Rosenbaum-Cohen, ''TESOL Quarterly'', 197</ref> |
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In the [[United States]], a confidential informant or "CI" is "any individual who provides useful and credible information to a [[law enforcement agency]] regarding felonious criminal activities and from whom the agency expects or intends to obtain additional useful and credible information regarding such activities in the future".<ref> |
In the [[United States]], a confidential informant or "CI" is "any individual who provides useful and credible information to a [[law enforcement agency]] regarding felonious criminal activities and from whom the agency expects or intends to obtain additional useful and credible information regarding such activities in the future".<ref> |
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==Criminal informants== |
==Criminal informants== |
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Informants are extremely common in every-day police work, including homicide and narcotics investigations. Any citizen who provides crime |
Informants are extremely common in every-day police work, including homicide and narcotics investigations. Any citizen who provides crime-related information to law enforcement by definition is an informant.<ref>Palmiotto, J., Micheal. ''Criminal Investigation''. 4th ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2013. pp. 65–66</ref> |
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Law enforcement and intelligence agencies may face criticism regarding their conduct towards informants. Informants may be shown leniency for their own crimes in exchange for information, or simply turn out to be dishonest in their information, resulting in the time and money spent acquiring them being wasted. |
Law enforcement and intelligence agencies may face criticism regarding their conduct towards informants. Informants may be shown leniency for their own crimes in exchange for information, or simply turn out to be dishonest in their information, resulting in the time and money spent acquiring them being wasted. |
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A list of possible motivations includes: |
A list of possible motivations includes: |
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Self-Interest: |
* Self-Interest: |
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* Financial reward.<ref name="Lyman, D. 2010. p264">Lyman, D., Micheal. ''Criminal Investigation: The Art and the Science''. 6th ed. Columbia College of Missouri. Pearson, 2010. p. 264</ref> |
** Financial reward.<ref name="Lyman, D. 2010. p264">Lyman, D., Micheal. ''Criminal Investigation: The Art and the Science''. 6th ed. Columbia College of Missouri. Pearson, 2010. p. 264</ref> |
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* Pre-trial release from custody. |
** Pre-trial release from custody. |
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* Withdrawal or dismissal of criminal charges. |
** Withdrawal or dismissal of criminal charges. |
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* Reduction of sentence. |
** Reduction of sentence. |
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* Choice of location to serve sentence. |
** Choice of location to serve sentence. |
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* Elimination of rivals or unwanted criminal associates. |
** Elimination of rivals or unwanted criminal associates. |
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* Elimination of competitors engaged in criminal activities. |
** Elimination of competitors engaged in criminal activities. |
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* Diversion of suspicion from their own criminal activities. |
** Diversion of suspicion from their own criminal activities. |
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* Revenge.<ref name="Lyman, D. 2010. p264"/> |
** Revenge.<ref name="Lyman, D. 2010. p264"/> |
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* Desire to become a spy. |
** Desire to become a spy. |
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** Fear of harm from others. |
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* |
** Threatofarrest or charges. |
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* Threat of |
** Threat of incarceration. |
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* Threat of incarceration. |
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⚫ | ** Genuine desire to assist law enforcement and society.<ref name="Van Allen Criminal Investigation">{{cite book|last1=Allen|first1=Bill Van|title=Criminal investigation : in search of the truth|date=2011|publisher=Pearson Canada|location=Toronto|isbn=978-0-13-800011-0|page=217|edition=2nd}}</ref> |
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⚫ | |||
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⚫ | * Genuine desire to assist law enforcement and society.<ref name="Van Allen Criminal Investigation">{{cite book|last1=Allen|first1=Bill Van|title=Criminal investigation : in search of the truth|date=2011|publisher=Pearson Canada|location=Toronto|isbn=978-0-13-800011-0|page=217|edition=2nd}}</ref> |
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==Labor and social movements== |
==Labor and social movements== |
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[[Slang]] terms for informants include: |
[[Slang]] terms for informants include: |
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*blabbermouth<ref name="Thesaurus.com synonyms for snitch">{{cite web|url=http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/snitch|publisher=Thesaurus.com |title=snitch}}</ref> |
*blabbermouth<ref name="Thesaurus.com synonyms for snitch">{{cite web|url=http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/snitch|publisher=Thesaurus.com |title=snitch|date=September 2023 }}</ref> |
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*cheese eater<ref name="rat" /> |
*cheese eater<ref name="rat" /> |
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*canary – derives from the fact that canaries sing, and "singing" is underworld or street slang for providing information or talking to the police.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Orwant|first1=Jon|title=Games, Diversions & Perl Culture: Best of the Perl Journal|year=2003|publisher=O'Reilly Media|isbn=9781449397784|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1GkMNv7PM68C&q=canary+informant&pg=PT189}}</ref> |
*canary – derives from the fact that canaries sing, and "singing" is underworld or street slang for providing information or talking to the police.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Orwant|first1=Jon|title=Games, Diversions & Perl Culture: Best of the Perl Journal|year=2003|publisher=O'Reilly Media|isbn=9781449397784|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1GkMNv7PM68C&q=canary+informant&pg=PT189}}</ref> |
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*ear – someone who overhears something and tells the authorities. |
*ear – someone who overhears something and tells the authorities. |
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*fink – this may refer to the [[Pinkerton National Detective Agency|Pinkertons]] who were used as [[Plainclothes law enforcement|plain-clothes]] [[detective]]s and [[strike-breakers]].<ref>"The Origin of fink 'informer, hired strikebreaker'" by William Sayers. ''A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes, and Reviews''. Winter 2005 Cornell University</ref> |
*fink – this may refer to the [[Pinkerton National Detective Agency|Pinkertons]] who were used as [[Plainclothes law enforcement|plain-clothes]] [[detective]]s and [[strike-breakers]].<ref>"The Origin of fink 'informer, hired strikebreaker'" by William Sayers. ''A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes, and Reviews''. Winter 2005 Cornell University</ref> |
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*grass<ref>Criminal |
*grass<ref>{{cite book|title = Criminal Classes: OffendersatSchool|first =A|last = Devlin|date = 1995|publisher = Waterside Press|isbn = 9781906534493}}</ref> or [[Supergrass (informer)|supergrass]]<ref>"The Intelligence War in Northern Ireland" by K Maguire – ''International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence'', Volume 4, Issue 2 1990, pp. 145–165</ref> – [[rhyming slang]] for "grasshopper", meaning "copper" or "shopper",<ref>{{cite dictionary |title=grass |dictionary=Oxford English Dictionary|quote=A spy or informer, esp. for the police}}</ref> having additional associations with the popular song ''[[Whispering Grass]]'' and the phrase "snake in the grass".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6tpC-7A7y-cC|title=Supergrasses: a study in anti-terrorist law enforcement in Northern Ireland |year=1995|isbn=9780198257660 |last1=Greer |first1=Steven C. |publisher=Clarendon Press }}</ref> |
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*narc – a member of a specialist anti-narcotic [[law enforcement]] agency or [[police intelligence]] force.<ref>''Chicano intravenous drug users: The collection and interpretation of data from hidden Populations'' by R Ramos. 1990</ref> |
*narc – a member of a specialist anti-narcotic [[law enforcement]] agency or [[police intelligence]] force.<ref>''Chicano intravenous drug users: The collection and interpretation of data from hidden Populations'' by R Ramos. 1990</ref> |
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*nark – this may have come from the [[Romani language|Romani]] term ''nak'' for "nose" or the [[French language|French]] term ''narquois'', which means "cunning", "deceitful", and/or "criminal".<ref>''Prison patter: a dictionary of prison words and slang'' by A Devlin. 1996</ref><ref>"Some ethical dilemmas in the handling of police informers" by C Dunnighan, C Norris – ''Public Money & Management'', 1998</ref> |
*nark – this may have come from the [[Romani language|Romani]] term ''nak'' for "nose" or the [[French language|French]] term ''narquois'', which means "cunning", "deceitful", and/or "criminal".<ref>''Prison patter: a dictionary of prison words and slang'' by A Devlin. 1996</ref><ref>"Some ethical dilemmas in the handling of police informers" by C Dunnighan, C Norris – ''Public Money & Management'', 1998</ref> |
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*nose<ref>{{cite dictionary | |
*nose<ref>{{cite dictionary |dictionary=Oxford English Dictionary |title=nose |quote=A spy or informer, esp. for the police}}</ref> |
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*[[pentito]] – [[Italian language|Italian]] term meaning "one who repents". Originally and most frequently used in reference to [[Organized crime in Italy|Mafia]] informants,<ref name="Nicaso-Danesi">{{cite book |author1-last=Nicaso |author1-first=Antonio |author2-last=Danesi |author2-first=Marcel |year=2013 |title=Made Men: Mafia Culture and the Power of Symbols, Rituals, and Myth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5fEQAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA86 |location=[[Lanham, Maryland]] |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |edition=1st |page=86 |isbn=978-1-4422-2227-4 |lccn=2013006239 |oclc=1030395983}}</ref> it has also been used to refer to informants for [[Terrorism in Italy|Italian paramilitary and terrorist organizations]]<ref>{{cite journal |author-last=Rossi |author-first=Federica |date=April 2021 |title=The failed amnesty of the 'years of lead' in Italy: Continuity and transformations between (de)politicization and punitiveness |editor-last=Treiber |editor-first=Kyle |journal=[[European Journal of Criminology]] |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=381–400 |location=[[Los Angeles]] and [[London]] |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] on behalf of the [[European Society of Criminology]] |doi=10.1177/14773708211008441 |doi-access=free |issn=1741-2609 |s2cid=234835036 |quote=The [[Years of Lead (Italy)|1970s in Italy]] were characterized by the persistence and prolongation of political and social unrest that many Western countries experienced during the late 1960s. The decade saw the multiplication of [[Far-left politics|far-left]] [[Terrorism in Italy|extra-parliamentary organizations]], the presence of a [[militant]] [[Far-right politics in Italy|far right movement]], and an upsurge in the use of [[Political violence|politically motivated violence]] and state repressive measures. [...] The early 1980s were characterized by the appearance of the first ''[[Pentito|pentiti]]'' (justice collaborators), waves of arrests and trials, and the incarceration of several hundreds of radical left activists, many of whom were sentenced to very long terms (22 years and over). According to available data, 4087 activists were detained at the beginning of the 1980s in prisons around the country, including a few hundred in maximum security facilities.}}</ref> (such as the [[Brigate Rosse|Red Brigades]]<ref name="Drake 2021">{{cite book |last=Drake |first=Richard |year=2021 |origyear=1989 |chapter=The Blast Furnace of Terrorism: 1979–1980 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xG0cEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT220 |title=The Revolutionary Mystique and Terrorism in Contemporary Italy |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |edition=2nd |page=220 |isbn=9780253057143 |lccn=2020050360}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author-last=Sullivan |author-first=Colleen |year=2011 |chapter=Dozier, James Lee (1931– ) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FAVqklkq2uUC&pg=PA162 |editor-last=Martin |editor-first=Gus |editor-link=C. Augustus Martin |title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism |location=[[Los Angeles]] and [[London]] |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] |edition=2nd |pages=162–163 |isbn=9781412980166 |lccn=2011009896}}</ref> and [[Prima Linea|Front Line]]),<ref name="Drake 2021"/> and people who delivered confidential informations to the authorities during the "[[Maxi Trial]]" and "[[Mani pulite]]" nationwide judiciary investigations.<ref name="Nicaso-Danesi"/> |
*[[pentito]] – [[Italian language|Italian]] term meaning "one who repents". Originally and most frequently used in reference to [[Organized crime in Italy|Mafia]] informants,<ref name="Nicaso-Danesi">{{cite book |author1-last=Nicaso |author1-first=Antonio |author2-last=Danesi |author2-first=Marcel |year=2013 |title=Made Men: Mafia Culture and the Power of Symbols, Rituals, and Myth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5fEQAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA86 |location=[[Lanham, Maryland]] |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |edition=1st |page=86 |isbn=978-1-4422-2227-4 |lccn=2013006239 |oclc=1030395983}}</ref> it has also been used to refer to informants for [[Terrorism in Italy|Italian paramilitary and terrorist organizations]]<ref>{{cite journal |author-last=Rossi |author-first=Federica |date=April 2021 |title=The failed amnesty of the 'years of lead' in Italy: Continuity and transformations between (de)politicization and punitiveness |editor-last=Treiber |editor-first=Kyle |journal=[[European Journal of Criminology]] |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=381–400 |location=[[Los Angeles]] and [[London]] |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] on behalf of the [[European Society of Criminology]] |doi=10.1177/14773708211008441 |doi-access=free |issn=1741-2609 |s2cid=234835036 |quote=The [[Years of Lead (Italy)|1970s in Italy]] were characterized by the persistence and prolongation of political and social unrest that many Western countries experienced during the late 1960s. The decade saw the multiplication of [[Far-left politics|far-left]] [[Terrorism in Italy|extra-parliamentary organizations]], the presence of a [[militant]] [[Far-right politics in Italy|far right movement]], and an upsurge in the use of [[Political violence|politically motivated violence]] and state repressive measures. [...] The early 1980s were characterized by the appearance of the first ''[[Pentito|pentiti]]'' (justice collaborators), waves of arrests and trials, and the incarceration of several hundreds of radical left activists, many of whom were sentenced to very long terms (22 years and over). According to available data, 4087 activists were detained at the beginning of the 1980s in prisons around the country, including a few hundred in maximum security facilities.}}</ref> (such as the [[Brigate Rosse|Red Brigades]]<ref name="Drake 2021">{{cite book |last=Drake |first=Richard |year=2021 |origyear=1989 |chapter=The Blast Furnace of Terrorism: 1979–1980 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xG0cEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT220 |title=The Revolutionary Mystique and Terrorism in Contemporary Italy |location=[[Bloomington, Indiana]] |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |edition=2nd |page=220 |isbn=9780253057143 |lccn=2020050360}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author-last=Sullivan |author-first=Colleen |year=2011 |chapter=Dozier, James Lee (1931– ) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FAVqklkq2uUC&pg=PA162 |editor-last=Martin |editor-first=Gus |editor-link=C. Augustus Martin |title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism |location=[[Los Angeles]] and [[London]] |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] |edition=2nd |pages=162–163 |isbn=9781412980166 |lccn=2011009896}}</ref> and [[Prima Linea|Front Line]]),<ref name="Drake 2021"/> and people who delivered confidential informations to the authorities during the "[[Maxi Trial]]" and "[[Mani pulite]]" nationwide judiciary investigations.<ref name="Nicaso-Danesi"/> |
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*pursuivant ''(archaic)''<ref>"Speaker and Structure in Donne's Satyre" by NM Bradbury. ''Studies in English Literature, 1500–1900'', 1985.</ref> |
*pursuivant ''(archaic)''<ref>"Speaker and Structure in Donne's Satyre" by NM Bradbury. ''Studies in English Literature, 1500–1900'', 1985.</ref> |
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*rat<ref name="rat"> |
*rat<ref name="rat">{{cite journal|title = The Role of the "Rat" in the Prison|first =HA|last = Wilmer|journal = Fed. Probation|date = 1965|volume = 29|url = https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/fedpro29&id=46&men_tab=srchresults}}</ref><ref>"Sociology of Confinement: Assimilation and the Prison 'Rat'" by EH Johnson. ''The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science''. 1961</ref> – informing is commonly referred to as "ratting" in [[American English]]. |
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*snitch<ref name="snitch">"Reflections on the role of statutory immunity in the criminal justice system" by WJ Bauer – ''Journal of Criminal Law. & Criminology'', 1976</ref> – informing is commonly referred to as "snitching", term originally used within the [[African Americans|African-American community]] and more recently associated with [[hip hop music]], [[Hardcore hip hop|hardcore rap]], and [[Trap music|trap]], alongside their [[List of hip hop genres|derivative subgenres]] and [[subculture]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Natapoff |first=Alexandra |year=2009 |chapter=The Role of Rap and Hip Hop |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gkMx-o6dNK8C&pg=PA135 |title=Snitching: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice |location=[[New York City|New York]] and [[London]] |publisher=[[New York University Press]] |pages=135–138 |isbn=9780814758588}}</ref> |
*snitch<ref name="snitch">"Reflections on the role of statutory immunity in the criminal justice system" by WJ Bauer – ''Journal of Criminal Law. & Criminology'', 1976</ref> – informing is commonly referred to as "snitching", term originally used within the [[African Americans|African-American community]] and more recently associated with [[hip hop music]], [[Hardcore hip hop|hardcore rap]], and [[Trap music|trap]], alongside their [[List of hip hop genres|derivative subgenres]] and [[subculture]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Natapoff |first=Alexandra |year=2009 |chapter=The Role of Rap and Hip Hop |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gkMx-o6dNK8C&pg=PA135 |title=Snitching: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice |location=[[New York City|New York]] and [[London]] |publisher=[[New York University Press]] |pages=135–138 |isbn=9780814758588}}</ref> |
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*snout<ref>{{cite dictionary | |
*snout<ref>{{cite dictionary |dictionary=Oxford English Dictionary |title=snout |quote=A police informer}}</ref> |
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*spotter<ref>"Instigated Crime" by S Shaw – ''Alta. LQ'', 1938</ref> |
*spotter<ref>"Instigated Crime" by S Shaw – ''Alta. LQ'', 1938</ref> |
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*squealer<ref name="snitch"/> |
*squealer<ref name="snitch"/> |
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*[[turncoat]]<ref name="Thesaurus.com synonyms for snitch"/> |
*[[turncoat]]<ref name="Thesaurus.com synonyms for snitch"/> |
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*weasel<ref name="Thesaurus.com synonyms for snitch"/> |
*weasel<ref name="Thesaurus.com synonyms for snitch"/> |
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*X9 - A slang term in [[Brazil]], possibly inspired by the comic strip [[Secret Agent X-9]].<ref name="abril">{{cite web|url=https://super.abril.com.br/coluna/oraculo/de-onde-surgiu-o-termo-x-9|language=pt|title=De onde surgiu o termo X-9?|publisher=Super Interessante Magazine|date=21 December 2016|access-date=11 August 2023}}</ref> |
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The term "stool pigeon" originates from the antiquated practice of tying a [[passenger pigeon]] to a stool. The bird would flap its wings in a futile attempt to escape. The sound of the wings flapping would attract other pigeons to the stool where a large number of birds could be easily killed or captured.{{ |
The term "stool pigeon" originates from the antiquated practice of tying a [[passenger pigeon]] to a stool. The bird would flap its wings in a futile attempt to escape. The sound of the wings flapping would attract other pigeons to the stool where a large number of birds could be easily killed or captured.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fuller |first=E. |author-link=Errol Fuller |title=The Passenger Pigeon |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |year=2014 |location=Princeton and Oxford |isbn=978-0-691-16295-9 |pages=72–88}}</ref> |
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==List of notable individuals == |
==List of notable individuals == |
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<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦---> |
<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order by LAST NAME ♦♦♦---> |
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*[[Tim Allen]], actor, who was arrested with cocaine and provided the names of other dealers in exchange for a sentence of three to seven years rather than a possible life imprisonment |
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*[[Nicky Barnes]], head of [[The Council (drug syndicate)|The Council]], which he would later testify against |
*[[Nicky Barnes]], head of [[The Council (drug syndicate)|The Council]], which he would later testify against |
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*[[Whitey Bulger]], Boston Irish mob boss |
*[[Whitey Bulger]], Boston Irish mob boss |
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*[[Nicholas Calabrese]], |
*[[Nicholas Calabrese]], a [[made man]] who testified against the [[Chicago Outfit]] |
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*[[James Carey (Fenian)|James Carey]], Irish terrorist |
*[[James Carey (Fenian)|James Carey]], Irish terrorist |
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*[[Steve Flemmi]], Whitey Bulger's partner-in-crime |
*[[Steve Flemmi]], Whitey Bulger's partner-in-crime |
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*[[Sinaloa Cartel# |
*[[Sinaloa Cartel#Arrests and seizures|Flores twins Pedro and Margarito]] |
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*[[Nicola Gobbo]], former Australian barrister who provided information on her own clients<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-04 |title=Lawyer X: how Victoria police got it 'profoundly wrong' with informant Nicola Gobbo |url=http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/05/lawyer-x-how-victoria-police-got-it-profoundly-wrong-with-informant-nicola-gobbo |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> |
*[[Nicola Gobbo]], former Australian barrister who provided information on her own clients<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-04 |title=Lawyer X: how Victoria police got it 'profoundly wrong' with informant Nicola Gobbo |url=http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/05/lawyer-x-how-victoria-police-got-it-profoundly-wrong-with-informant-nicola-gobbo |access-date=2022-08-27 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> |
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*[[Sammy Gravano]], former [[underboss]] of the [[Gambino crime family]] |
*[[Sammy Gravano]], former [[underboss]] of the [[Gambino crime family]] |
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*[[Frank Lucas (drug dealer)|Frank Lucas]], New York City drug dealer turned informant |
*[[Frank Lucas (drug dealer)|Frank Lucas]], New York City drug dealer turned informant |
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*[[Joseph Massino]], the first boss of one of the [[Five Families]] in New York City to [[turn state's evidence]] |
*[[Joseph Massino]], the first boss of one of the [[Five Families]] in New York City to [[turn state's evidence]] |
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*[[George Orwell]], author of [[Orwell's list]]<ref>{{Cite |
*[[George Orwell]], author of [[Orwell's list]]<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2003/09/25/orwells-list/|title=Orwell's List|work = The New York Review of Books|date=September 25, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305071504/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2003/09/25/orwells-list/|archive-date=2016-03-05 |last1=Ash |first1=Timothy Garton }}</ref> |
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*[[Abe Reles]], [[Murder, Inc.]] hit man |
*[[Abe Reles]], [[Murder, Inc.]] hit man |
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*[[Freddie Scappaticci]], member of the [[Provisional IRA]] |
*[[Freddie Scappaticci]], member of the [[Provisional IRA]] |
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=== Poland === |
=== Poland === |
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{{Main|pl:Tajny współpracownik}} |
{{Main|pl:Tajny współpracownik}} |
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=== Venezuela === |
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{{Main|Snitch Law|:es:Patriota cooperante}} |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
Aninformant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie" or "grass", among other terms)[1] is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information intended to be intimate, concealed, or secret, about a person or organization to an agency, often a government or law enforcement agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informants are officially known as confidential human sources (CHS), or criminal informants (CI). It can also refer pejoratively to someone who supplies information without the consent of the involved parties.[2] The term is commonly used in politics, industry, entertainment, and academia.[3][4]
In the United States, a confidential informant or "CI" is "any individual who provides useful and credible information to a law enforcement agency regarding felonious criminal activities and from whom the agency expects or intends to obtain additional useful and credible information regarding such activities in the future".[5]
Informants are extremely common in every-day police work, including homicide and narcotics investigations. Any citizen who provides crime-related information to law enforcement by definition is an informant.[6]
Law enforcement and intelligence agencies may face criticism regarding their conduct towards informants. Informants may be shown leniency for their own crimes in exchange for information, or simply turn out to be dishonest in their information, resulting in the time and money spent acquiring them being wasted.
Informants are often regarded as traitors by their former criminal associates. Whatever the nature of a group, it is likely to feel strong hostility toward any known informers, regard them as threats and inflict punishments ranging from social ostracism through physical abuse and/or death. Informers are therefore generally protected, either by being segregated while in prison or, if they are not incarcerated, relocated under a new identity.
Informants, and especially criminal informants, can be motivated by many reasons. Many informants are not themselves aware of all of their reasons for providing information, but nonetheless do so. Many informants provide information while under stress, duress, emotion and other life factors that can affect the accuracy or veracity of information provided.
Law enforcement officers, prosecutors, defense lawyers, judges and others should be aware of possible motivations so that they can properly approach, assess and verify informants' information.
Generally, informants' motivations can be broken down into self-interest, self-preservation and conscience.
A list of possible motivations includes:
Corporations and the detective agencies that sometimes represent them have historically hired labor spies to monitor or control labor organizations and their activities.[9] Such individuals may be professionals or recruits from the workforce. They may be willing accomplices, or may be tricked into informing on their co-workers' unionization efforts.[10]
Paid informants have often been used by authorities within politically and socially oriented movements to weaken, destabilize and ultimately break them.[11]
Informers alert authorities regarding government officials that are corrupt. Officials may be taking bribes or be participants in a money loop also called a kickback. Informers in some countries receive a percentage of all money recovered by their government.[citation needed]
The ancient Roman historian Lactantius described a judiciary case which involved the prosecution of a woman suspected to have advised another woman not to marry Maximinus II: "Neither indeed was there any accuser, until a certain Jew, one charged with other offences, was induced, through hope of pardon, to give false evidence against the innocent. The equitable and vigilant magistrate conducted him out of the city under a guard, lest the populace should have stoned him... The Jew was ordered to the torture till he should speak as he had been instructed... The innocent were condemned to die.... Nor was the promise of pardon made good to the feigned adulterer, for he was fixed to a gibbet, and then he disclosed the whole secret contrivance; and with his last breath he protested to all the beholders that the women died innocent."[12]
Criminal informant schemes have been used as cover for politically motivated intelligence offensives.[13]
Jailhouse informants, who report hearsay (admissions against penal interest) which they claim to have heard while the accused is in pretrial detention, usually in exchange for sentence reductions or other inducements, have been the focus of particular controversy.[14] Some examples of their use are in connection with Stanley Williams,[15] Cameron Todd Willingham,[16] Thomas Silverstein,[17] Marshall "Eddie" Conway,[18] and a suspect in the disappearance of Etan Patz.[19] The Innocence Project has stated that 15% of all wrongful convictions later exonerated because of DNA results were accompanied by false testimony by jailhouse informants. 50% of murder convictions exonerated by DNA were accompanied by false testimony by jailhouse informants.[20]
Slang terms for informants include:
The term "stool pigeon" originates from the antiquated practice of tying a passenger pigeon to a stool. The bird would flap its wings in a futile attempt to escape. The sound of the wings flapping would attract other pigeons to the stool where a large number of birds could be easily killed or captured.[50]
A system of informants existed in the Russian Empire and was later adopted by the Soviet Union. In Russia, such people were known as osvedomitelordonoschik, and secretly cooperated with law enforcement agencies, such as the secret-police force Okhrana and later the Soviet militsiyaorKGB. Officially, those informants were referred to as "secret coworker" (Russian: секретный сотрудник, sekretny sotrudnik) and often were referred by the Russian-derived portmanteau seksot. In some KGB documents has also been used the designation "source of operational information" (Russian: источник оперативной информации, istochnik operativnoi informatsii).[53]
2: one that informs against another; specifically : one who makes a practice especially for a financial reward of informing against others for violations of penal laws
According to the Confidential Informant Guidelines, a confidential informant or "CI" is "any individual who provides useful and credible information to a Justice Law Enforcement Agency (JLEA) regarding felonious criminal activities and from whom the JLEA expects or intends to obtain additional useful and credible information regarding such activities in the future."
A spy or informer, esp. for the police
A spy or informer, esp. for the police
The 1970s in Italy were characterized by the persistence and prolongation of political and social unrest that many Western countries experienced during the late 1960s. The decade saw the multiplication of far-left extra-parliamentary organizations, the presence of a militant far right movement, and an upsurge in the use of politically motivated violence and state repressive measures. [...] The early 1980s were characterized by the appearance of the first pentiti (justice collaborators), waves of arrests and trials, and the incarceration of several hundreds of radical left activists, many of whom were sentenced to very long terms (22 years and over). According to available data, 4087 activists were detained at the beginning of the 1980s in prisons around the country, including a few hundred in maximum security facilities.
A police informer
Media related to Informants at Wikimedia Commons