Essay Sample on Informants and Witnesses

Introduction

There are many ways that law enforcement officers can use to identify potential witnesses in a given case. The most common methods include, viewing CCTV footage from the scene of the crime, Appealing to people who saw anything to come forward through the use of the media, interviewing suspects to see if any names come up, financial investigation of the suspects, house to house inquiries of the neighborhood where the crime happened and interviewed victims. These methods can be used to identify other potential witnesses that might help the case of the law enforcement agencies.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Officers and agents need to exercise caution when responding to tips from informants. while responding to these tips; the officers might face different dangerous situations like gang and gun violence. For the police to be able to protect themselves from these threats adequately, they should wear body armor when responding to tips in case of shootings.

As shown above, law enforcement agencies rely heavily on the use of informants to adequately and effectively perform their duties. Without the tips that the law enforcement officers get from these informants, many crimes would have gone unpunished. Witnesses also play an essential part to ensure that the right people are convicted of the right offense. There are specific ways that officers and agents can use to ensure they find the best informants and witnesses for their cases.

References

Moran, J. (2010). Evaluating Special Branch and the use of informant intelligence in Northern Ireland. Intelligence and National Security, 25(1), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/02684521003588070Natapoff, A. (2009).

Snitching: Criminal informants and the erosion of American justice. Snitching: Criminal Informants and the Erosion of American Justice, 1-260. Retrieved from https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84901100744&partnerID=40&md5=0d1634e9c0002482555a8ef1594e681aSpellman, B. A., & Tenney, E. R. (2010).

Credible testimony in and out of court. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 17(2), 168-173. https://doi.org/10.3758/PBR.17.2.168