What is an informant? Discuss role conflict in regard to using juveniles as informants. Do you agree or disagree with the practice? Explain
What will be an ideal response?
• Informants are individuals who have access to criminal networks and who, under conditions of anonymity, provide information to authorities in exchange for money or special treatment.
• Police rely on informants, both adult and juvenile, to obtain evidence to make arrests in serious cases that the police may otherwise not be able to solve, such as gun and drug trafficking.
• Juvenile informants are also used in less serious cases where age is important to the crime—for example, when retailers sell cigarettes or alcohol to minors.
• Police must balance the need to obtain evidence and the vulnerabilities of (and extra safeguards that are needed for) juveniles in these cases.
• As criminologist Mary Dodge notes, there is a need for a higher degree of scrutiny in the use of juvenile police informants and this practice should not be warranted in all circumstances.
• Student views will vary.
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