Analysis of the treatment of the police informer in different legal systems

Abstract

Increasingly, the use of different means of investigation is enabling the authorities to clarify the facts and to arrest the perpetrator of the crime more quickly and effectively, within the different means of investigation available to police authorities, one of which and the most common in all countries is the police informer, being a person of particular importance during the police investigation, as he or she provides confidential and essential information in order to learn important facts about the crime and its perpetrators. The problem with this research tool is that it is not uniform in its treatment, in different countries, the informant is treated differently, and as a result of this, the product or the investigation that is offered to the judges, as a result of these confidences, is different. Likewise, when working with police informants, it is very important to take into account a series of precautions so as not to violate any human rights, as well as not to being manipulated by the informer. As an example of the above, this article studies the treatment of police informants in different countries, considering the legislation of each one, sentences and documents that establish the guidelines for the use of police informants.