ETHICS BEHIND USE OF INFORMERS TO NAIL NARCOTICS SUSPECTS
Law enforcement agencies in the United States have resorted to using all possible means to curb drug abuse especially cutting the chain of drug trafficking. In that case, the predominant practice within the anti-narcotics departments is to employ the services of informers who are allowed to infiltrate the criminal gang and get information that may assist in convicting targeted suspects. In fact, the informers are trained and allowed to participate in the crimes so long as they get the relevant evidence. They can only engage in such an endeavor having been granted virtual immunity because of their cooperation. This paper takes the stance that use of informers is unethical and a very unscrupulous means of achieving justice in the society. Here are reasons why the ethics of the practice are in question.
The first reason as to why the use of informers is a clandestine means of pursuing justice is that it has reduced the criminal justice system to a fishing expedition. The practice flouts the general right to privacy for any person, whether a suspect or not. The authorities would argue that use of informers is for the greatest public good even though it tramples on rights of individuals. Much as this may be true, it is also noteworthy that the mindset of all narcotics units is geared towards making an arrest at all costs. Therefore, the informer is tasked with making any move that would trigger an inculpatory reaction or statement from the target even if they had no previous intention of doing so. In legal practice then, this suffices to be countered with the defence of entrapment because the narcotics units will have used unscrupulous machinations to get a confession or an aggressive reaction.
The other argument is premised on the utilitarian approach of reasoning. All narcotics units are expected to contract the services of an informer who is then planted in a criminal establishment. It is thus imperative that the informer has to take part in all endeavors of the gang and stay as close as possible to the target suspect so as to be able to fetch the requisite information. There are two ethical considerations that are not heeded to while making this type of arrangement. The first one is that for all this time the informer is with the gang, they undoubtedly participate in criminal activity and for the sake of the mission, they might even end up playing a greater criminal role than that of the person being pursued. It is always superfluous for a mission to end up this way because instead of averting crime, the authorities keep aggravating the situation. Secondly, such a mission is always risky for a person who may not have been directly involved in the criminal establishment before. It is a sure way of endangering participants’ lives when there may be other means of getting the information.
