Serving as a confidential informant can be dangerous, whether the informant is an adult or underage. As to minors working as informants, the International Association of Chiefs of Police recounts a cautionary tale: In 1998, police in California arrested [17-year-old Chad] MacDonald on drug charges. He agreed to act as a CI, wearing a recording device during at least one drug buy and providing police with information about local drug trafficking. A short time later, he was found dead in an alley, apparently tortured and strangled, and his girlfriend was found raped and shot to death in a canyon. MacDonald’s death was believed to have been the result of his association with law enforcement as a CI. Bearing these risks in mind, is it lawful for police to use minors as confidential informants? Is it a good idea? This post explores the topic. Why police use juvenile informants. Police often use minors as informants when investigating criminal activity committed by minors or involving minors. For example, a juvenile informant has a better chance of infiltrating a teenage gang than a 30-year-old detective does. Similarly, if someone is suspected of selling drugs, alcohol, or tobacco to young people, a minor is more likely than an adult to succeed in posing as a potential purchaser. Concerns. As noted above, working as a CI can be dangerous. Juveniles, whose brains are not fully developed, do not weigh risks as carefully as adults do. They may also be less aware of the dangers inherent in [...]
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