The use of juvenile informants by police is rarely discussed among law enforcement, and published research is virtusally nonexistent. In most cases, ethical issues, legal circumstances, and traditional police secrecy keep any teenager involvement in covert law enforcement operations hidden. This article seeks to shed some light on the use of minors in police investigations through a presentation of known cases and semistructured interviews with law enforcement agents. The qualitative interviews reveal fundamental concerns regarding the precarious nature of the role of juveniles in the investigation process, despite the limitations of the sample size and generalizability of the data. The primary issues addressed in the research include coercion in the recruitment process and the potential for physical and emotional harm of the young informants.
Bailey, E. (1998, September 26). Law signed limiting use of youth informants. Los Angeles Times, p. B4-B4.
3.
Blair, J. (1998, April 14). Ethics of using juvenile informants. Christian Science Monitor, p. 3-3.
4.
Bovard, J. (1994, January 30). DARE scare: Turning children into informants?Washington Post, p. C3-C3.
5.
Brea Police Department. (1998). [Written transcript of Brea Police Department audiotape].
6.
Brown, M. F. (1985). Criminal informants: Some observations on use, abuse and control. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 13, 251-256.
7.
Cloyd, J. (1982). Drugs and information control: The role of men and manipulation in control of drug trafficking. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
8.
Cooper, P., & Murphy, J. (1997). Ethical approaches for police officers when working with informants in the development of criminal intelligence in the United Kingdom. Journal of Social Policy, 26(1), 1-20.
9.
Curriden, M. (1991, June). Making crime pay: What's the cost of using paid informers?American Bar Association Journal, p. 42-42.
10.
Curriden, M. (1995, February 20). The informant trap: Secret threat to justice. National Law Journal, p. 1-1.
11.
DeRochi, K. (1991, October 20). On trial: Police sued over teenage informant's suicide. The Virginia Pilot, pp. A1, A10.
12.
Dillow, G. (1998, May 21). Who's picking up the tab for MacDonalds?Orange County Register, p. B1-B1.
13.
Dorn, N., Karim, M., & South, N. (1992). Traffickers: Drug markets and law enforcement. London: Routledge.
14.
Duke, J., & Marx, J. (1984, September 13). Baesler sets policy on use of juvenile informants. Lexington Herald-Leader, pp. A1, A14.
15.
Dunnighan, C., & Norris, C. (2000). The detective, the snout, and the Audit Commission: The real costs in using informants. The Howard Journal, 38(1), 67-86.
16.
Fritz, M. (1998, May 3). “Rewards” becoming the 4th “R.”Los Angeles Times, pp. A1, A28.
17.
Glover, P. R. (2001). Re-defining friendship: Employment of informants by police. University of Colorado Law Review, 72, 749-777.
18.
Harney, M. L., & Cross, J. (1968). The informer in law enforcement. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.
19.
Hazlett, J. (1998, July 21). Erickson's drug past described. Estherville Daily News, pp. 1, 2.
20.
Herbert, D. L., & Sinclair, L. (1977). The use of minors as undercover agents or informants: Some legal problems. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 5, 185-192.
21.
Illinois v. Gates, 103 S. Ct. 2317 (1983).
22.
Ingold, J. (2005, July 19). Teen sting tests alcohol sellers. Denver Post, p. B1-B1.
23.
Innes, M. (2001). Professionalizing the role of the police informant: The British experience. Policing and Society, 9, 357-383.
24.
Jackson, T. (1994, June 28). Murderer of teenage informant dies. Roanoke Times, p. B1-B1.
25.
Jacobs, B. (1992). Undercover deception: Reconsidering presentations of self. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 21, 200-225.
26.
Jacobs, B. (1996). Cognitive bridges: The case of high school undercover officers. Sociological Quarterly, 37, 391-412.
27.
Jacobs, B. (1997). Contingent ties: Undercover drug officers' use of informants. British Journal of Sociology, 48, 35-53.
28.
James, A. (2003). The advance of intelligence-led policing strategies: The emperor's new clothes?Police Journal, 76(1), 45-59.
29.
Karchmer, C. L. (1977). Productivity problems in organized crime enforcement. Police Chief, 44, 28-30.
30.
Louv, R. (1998, November 4). Teen snitch law may pit kids against parents. San Diego Union- Tribune, p. A3-A3.
31.
Manning, P. (1980). The narc's game. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
32.
Martelle, S., & Hayes, B. (1998, April 5). Fatal deception: Web of lies may have snared young drug-user-turned-informant. Los Angeles Times, p. B3-B3.
33.
Marx, G. T. (1974). Thoughts on a neglected category of social movement participant: The agent provocateur and the informant. American Journal of Sociology, 80, 402-442.
34.
Marx, G. T. (1981). Ironies of social control. Social Problems, 28, 221-233.
35.
Marx, G. T. (1988). Undercover: Police surveillance in America. Berkeley: University of California Press.
36.
Matza, D. (1964). Delinquency and drift. New York: John Wiley.
37.
Mauet, T. (1995). Informant disclosure and production: A second look at paid informants. Arizona Law Review, 37, 563-576.
38.
Moore, M. H. (1977). Buy and bust: The effective regulation of an illicit market in heroin. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
39.
Osther, D. G. (1999). Juvenile informants—A necessary evil?Washburn Law Journal, 39, 106-127.
40.
Pereira, J. (1992, April 20). The informants: In a drug program, some kids turn in their own parents. Wall Street Journal, p. A1-A1.
41.
Pfeifer, S. (1998a, April 15). Tapes of informer reveal his fear. Orange County Register, pp. 1, 5.
42.
Pfeifer, S. (1998b, September 3). Chad had a big mouth. Orange County Register, p. 1-1.
43.
Pfeifer, S., Peter, L., & Christensen, K. (1998, March 29). O.C. teen informer case has parallels. Orange County Register, pp. 1, 16.
44.
Pogrebin, M. R., & Poole, E. D. (1993). Vice isn't nice: A look at the effects of working undercover. Journal of Criminal Justice, 21, 383-394.
45.
Reuter, P. (1982). Licensing criminals: Police and informants. Washington, DC: Rand.
46.
Roberts, T. (2002). The human factor: Maximising the use of police informants. Surrey, UK: New Police Bookshop.
47.
Rubinstein, J. (1973). City police. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
48.
Santiago, M. R. (2000). The best interests of the child—Scrutinizing California's use of minors as police informants in drug cases. McGeorge Law Review, 31, 777-800.
49.
Siebert, J. L., & Gitchoff, G. T. (1972). The strategy of narcotics law enforcement: Its implications and effects. Journal of Drug Issues, 2, 29-36.
50.
Sinclair, L., & Herbert, D. L. (1998). The use of minors in law enforcement undercover operations. Ohio Northern University Law Review, 24, 31-41.
51.
Skolnick, J. (1966). Justice without trial. New York: John Wiley.
52.
Solomon, J. (1996, September 17). Federal anti-smoking rule urges use of minors in stings. The Repository, p. A3-A3.
53.
Weinstein, I. (1999). Regulating the market for snitches. Buffalo Law Review, 47, 563-644.
54.
Williams, J. R., & Guess, L. L. (1981). The informant: A narcotics enforcement dilemma. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 13, 235-245.
55.
Wilson, J. Q. (1978). The investigators. New York: Basic Books.
