Working with informants is a necessary, though often distasteful part of conducting successful investigations. This is usually because most of the time we are relying on criminals to help us get criminals. Our informants seeking judicial considerations often carry as much baggage as the suspects they are helping us get. However, with a little proactivity on your part, here are five sources for information that can be extremely helpful in generating cases and do not carry the same negative issues as the criminal informant.
1. Hotel/Motel Employees: Identify a hotel/motel known for attracting criminal activity. Contact the management of the hotel and offer to provide a brief (2-3 hours) training session in recognizing suspicious behavior and illegal contraband for the hotel work staff. The training should especially be geared toward frontline employees working the desk and the cleaning staff. Then implement an awards program for employees who provide information that leads to an arrest. This could be money from your agency, gift cards from neighboring restaurants/business that will also benefit from removing criminal activity from the area, or internal rewards provided by the hotel employer.
2. Car Rental Agencies: Have a car rental business in your area? Why not develop a contact at the office and educate them in common behaviors associated with drug traffickers in terms of rental vehicles. Do they have frequent customers who pay cash? Do these customers often rent vehicles for short periods like 1-2 days and return them with excessive mileage? Being tipped off to a customer who meets these characteristics could lead to a very large drug seizure. If so, a letter of appreciation to the employee/informants supervisor could go a long way in helping him/her in their job, as well as encouraging them to continue to provide information.
3. Pharmacists: Did you know that pharmaceutical drug abuse is the fastest growing threat in drug related crime? Yet, few departments dedicate any resources to handling pharmaceutical investigations. This in spite the fact that pharmaceutical drug abusers are increasingly involved in commercial robberies of pharmacies, residential burglaries specifically targeting elderly and infermed people, identity theft, as well as corrupt doctors. Many pharmacists simply turn offenders away who are attempting to pass fraudulent or suspicious prescriptions because they do not think the police will get involved. Take it upon yourself to establish a relationship with pharmacists and you could get tips on very worthy criminal suspects leading to outstanding criminal arrests.
4. Convenience Store Clerks: You know that store that stays open late where you and your colleagues gather for a cup of coffee to get you through the midnight shift? Did you ever notice the amount of drug related paraphernalia that they sell. Rolling papers, blunt cigars, glass vials (with cheap plastic roses in them to disguise their real purpose), "Blunt out" air freshener, etc. While you are sipping that cup of coffee, how about forging a relationship with the clerk and encourage him to call/text you the next time someone comes in and buys a "paraphernalia package." It can be a simple as texting you a tag number. In just such a situation the information provided by the clerk once led me to a pretty significant indoor marijuana grow operation. And all it cost me was a cup of coffee!
5. Bank Security Employees: Do you think it would be interesting to know about a person who deposits between $5000 and $9000 on three occassions on the same day at different bank branches? Did you know that banks should document such incidents on a Suspicious Activity Report which is available to law enforcement (but must not be disclosed to unauthorized individuals). By developing a relationship with the security personnel of a bank, you may receive a courtesy call alerting you to this type of activity and suggesting you might want to obtain a subpoena for a persons account information. This just might lead you to a gold mine of seizeable assets.
Ways in which to develop unconventional informants is just one topic that is covered in the Signal 13 "Developing and Managing Informants" course. You can register for this course which is already being offered in several locations in 2012, or learn how to become a host agency for the course and receive free training for some of your officers by visiting our website at http://www.signal13training.com/.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Rachel Hoffman Murder
Rachel Hoffman could have been anyone's daughter. A middle class, college student with an outgoing personality, Rachel was also a casual drug user and sold small quantities of marijuana to her friends. A felonious act, indeed, but in the scheme of the drug war, a very small fish, to say the least. So when Tallahassee police arrested her on drug charges in 2008 (for the second time in a year), investigators rightly set their sites on "working up the ladder" by offering Hoffman an opportunity to "work off her charges" by becoming an informant. Those of us who have worked narcotics do this everyday. Informants; the lifeblood of successful narcotics investigations, but rarely, if ever, without significant challenges. What the investigators handling Hoffman set out to do was properly ambitious and forward thinking. Ultimately, the investigators targeted two individuals with significant criminal histories who posed a much greater threat to society than Hoffman ever could. These two cold blooded killers are exactly the kind of people that need to be targeted and removed from the street. But it was how the investigators went about utilizing Hoffman to target these two individuals that ultimately cost Hoffman her life, and derailed the lives of her family, friends and the officers invovled. What follows is a summary of crucial mistakes made in this case.
1. Failure to know your enemy
Prior to sending Hoffman to meet her assailants, Daneilo Bradshaw and Adrea Green, the investigators failed to do a thorough enough background check and properly identify the suspects. Had they done this they would have known that each of them had extensive criminal histories including violence. Additionally, once the operation went wrong and they lost sight and contact with Hoffman, they would have been able to launch a much more intensive search, place detailed lookouts and conceivably taken far less than three days to find Hoffman's body. However, the bottom line is always safety, and if they had known about the extensive criminal background of these two, would they still have sent Hoffman to meet them alone? Or at all? Or, was there an alternative plan they could have utilized to achieve the same goal, but at much less risk to Hoffman?
2. Failure to Control
Rule #1 when conducting undercover and/or informant operations: CONTROL, CONTROL, CONTROL! There is a certain amount of inherent risk in every operation we do and the only way for us to minimize the risk is by being in control of as many variables as possible. The biggest variable to consider is the location of the operation. In Hoffman's case, the suspects changed the location twice after agreeing to the location chosen by investigators. The ultimate location they chose was down a secluded dirt road that was impossible for a surveillance team to adequately cover. Had the investigators insisted on keeping the original location, a busy public park, it is highly unlikely the suspects would have been brazen enough to brutally murder Hoffman with the risk of being seen by witnesses visiting the park. It is important to remember that ultimately, we have what they want; MONEY. They will come to us, often despite the warnings of their own sixth sense, as greed almost always supersedes good judgment.
3. Exceeding an Informants Capabilities
Despite our best intentions of targeting the worst offenders, we often ask too much of informants in pursuit of making a great case. In the case of Rachel Hoffman, she was arrested with approximately 1/4 pound of marijuana and less than 10 pills of ecstasy. Investigators encouraged her to set up a deal with Bradshaw and Green in which she would be buying several ounces of cocaine, several thousand pills of ecstasy and a handgun in exchange for $13,000. Several problems with this scenario should immediately come to light. First, Hoffman did not know either of these people and had never dealt with them before. This is a significant amount to be purchasing during a first meeting. Second, Hoffman had no familiarity with firearms and in fact, had never handled one before. In addition, there is no indication she had ever dealt in cocaine nor had she ever purchased anywhere near the amount of ecstasy she was being asked to buy. Ultimately, Hoffman, a lone woman, was given $13,000 cash and asked to meet with two career criminal men, who would be known to possess at least one firearm at the meeting. This was a recipe for robbery!
These are just a few of many issues in this case that will be analyzed in depth in our Developing and Managing Informants course. If you are interested in attending this course please visit our website at http://www.signal13training.com/ or contact us at info@signal13training.com.
1. Failure to know your enemy
Prior to sending Hoffman to meet her assailants, Daneilo Bradshaw and Adrea Green, the investigators failed to do a thorough enough background check and properly identify the suspects. Had they done this they would have known that each of them had extensive criminal histories including violence. Additionally, once the operation went wrong and they lost sight and contact with Hoffman, they would have been able to launch a much more intensive search, place detailed lookouts and conceivably taken far less than three days to find Hoffman's body. However, the bottom line is always safety, and if they had known about the extensive criminal background of these two, would they still have sent Hoffman to meet them alone? Or at all? Or, was there an alternative plan they could have utilized to achieve the same goal, but at much less risk to Hoffman?
2. Failure to Control
Rule #1 when conducting undercover and/or informant operations: CONTROL, CONTROL, CONTROL! There is a certain amount of inherent risk in every operation we do and the only way for us to minimize the risk is by being in control of as many variables as possible. The biggest variable to consider is the location of the operation. In Hoffman's case, the suspects changed the location twice after agreeing to the location chosen by investigators. The ultimate location they chose was down a secluded dirt road that was impossible for a surveillance team to adequately cover. Had the investigators insisted on keeping the original location, a busy public park, it is highly unlikely the suspects would have been brazen enough to brutally murder Hoffman with the risk of being seen by witnesses visiting the park. It is important to remember that ultimately, we have what they want; MONEY. They will come to us, often despite the warnings of their own sixth sense, as greed almost always supersedes good judgment.
3. Exceeding an Informants Capabilities
Despite our best intentions of targeting the worst offenders, we often ask too much of informants in pursuit of making a great case. In the case of Rachel Hoffman, she was arrested with approximately 1/4 pound of marijuana and less than 10 pills of ecstasy. Investigators encouraged her to set up a deal with Bradshaw and Green in which she would be buying several ounces of cocaine, several thousand pills of ecstasy and a handgun in exchange for $13,000. Several problems with this scenario should immediately come to light. First, Hoffman did not know either of these people and had never dealt with them before. This is a significant amount to be purchasing during a first meeting. Second, Hoffman had no familiarity with firearms and in fact, had never handled one before. In addition, there is no indication she had ever dealt in cocaine nor had she ever purchased anywhere near the amount of ecstasy she was being asked to buy. Ultimately, Hoffman, a lone woman, was given $13,000 cash and asked to meet with two career criminal men, who would be known to possess at least one firearm at the meeting. This was a recipe for robbery!
These are just a few of many issues in this case that will be analyzed in depth in our Developing and Managing Informants course. If you are interested in attending this course please visit our website at http://www.signal13training.com/ or contact us at info@signal13training.com.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Getting Ahead of the "Front"
Although the concept of providing drug supplies on consignment, or "fronting," is not a new concept, it is one that is being employed much more commonly these days. With the rising quality and cost of marijuana, especially, drug traffickers cannot afford to pay for a new supply when they receive it. Distributors are then left with the frightening prospect of being caught with large quantities of illicit drugs in their possession. The alternative is to front the drugs to their retail customers and postpone payment until the retailers have distributed the product to their customers and received payment. For the wholesalers this practice has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that the wholesaler limits the amount of time he is in possession of large quantities of illegal drugs. The wholesaler also stands to gain by keeping his clientele "on the hook" to them. Often the wholesaler will push the retailer to take larger quantities than the retailer is used to, or prepared to sell, thus giving the retailer the risk of getting caught with the load, and also creating an indebtedness with the retailer that will be used to ensure loyalty. In the code of the streets, once a drug dealer has established a debt to a supplier they should remain loyal to that supplier until the debt is repaid. In a market where re-supplies begin to amass more frequently than the previous shipment is distributed it is easy to see how a retailer can get themselves heavily indebted to their supplier. When one comes to understand this concept they are able to understand how someone who may handle hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug money over a short period of time can in essence be broke.
The obvious disadvantage of fronting is the ever present possibility of the retailer being busted with a significant portion of the shipment still in their possession. Not only is the wholesaler out an extraordinary amount of money, but he now owes his supplier for a load that was almost certainly fronted to him. It is this domino effect that provides law enforcement with a golden opportunity to make an impact. By understanding how a significant drug seizure can impact a trafficking organization, we are presented with a unique opportunity to turn a good arrest into a great case. The key point to take away from this is that when you make an arrest with a significant amount of drugs or money (not both at the same time), understand that you have broken a chain of events. Do not view this through the small picture lens which will leave you satisfied with a "good" arrest and seizure. Rather, view the big picture and take this opportunity to the next level. Realize that the large quantity of drugs you just seized is about to be delivered to someone who may or may not have a large amount of money with them. Or, the large amount of money you just seized is destined for someone that may have a large amount of drugs with them (and who is a bigger fish than the one you have). Whichever is the case, the money is most likely linked to a previous shipment and the drugs have most likely been fronted or are about to be fronted. Your challenge is to use this small window of opportunity to reconnect the distribution chain and deliver or collect from the other links. When you have successfully done this, you will have turned a "good" arrest into a "great" case!!
To learn much more about disrupting the drug distribution network and analyze successful case studies attend our Drug Enforcement for Patrol Officers course on October 28, 2011, in Upper Marlboro, MD. If you are not in the Washington, DC metro area and are unable to attend, contact us about the possibility of hosting this course at your agency's location. For more information visit our website at http://www.signal13training.com/.
The obvious disadvantage of fronting is the ever present possibility of the retailer being busted with a significant portion of the shipment still in their possession. Not only is the wholesaler out an extraordinary amount of money, but he now owes his supplier for a load that was almost certainly fronted to him. It is this domino effect that provides law enforcement with a golden opportunity to make an impact. By understanding how a significant drug seizure can impact a trafficking organization, we are presented with a unique opportunity to turn a good arrest into a great case. The key point to take away from this is that when you make an arrest with a significant amount of drugs or money (not both at the same time), understand that you have broken a chain of events. Do not view this through the small picture lens which will leave you satisfied with a "good" arrest and seizure. Rather, view the big picture and take this opportunity to the next level. Realize that the large quantity of drugs you just seized is about to be delivered to someone who may or may not have a large amount of money with them. Or, the large amount of money you just seized is destined for someone that may have a large amount of drugs with them (and who is a bigger fish than the one you have). Whichever is the case, the money is most likely linked to a previous shipment and the drugs have most likely been fronted or are about to be fronted. Your challenge is to use this small window of opportunity to reconnect the distribution chain and deliver or collect from the other links. When you have successfully done this, you will have turned a "good" arrest into a "great" case!!
To learn much more about disrupting the drug distribution network and analyze successful case studies attend our Drug Enforcement for Patrol Officers course on October 28, 2011, in Upper Marlboro, MD. If you are not in the Washington, DC metro area and are unable to attend, contact us about the possibility of hosting this course at your agency's location. For more information visit our website at http://www.signal13training.com/.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Finding Training Funds When There Are None To Be Found
In today’s stagnant economy, conscientious officers seeking training to hone their criminal enforcement and officer safety skills experience the same rhetoric over and over: “Denied due to lack of training funds.” Understandably, police administrators have to make difficult cuts to meet the diminishing budgets and appease the orders of the elected officials that are largely responsible for the economic mess they find themselves in. But one is left to wonder what the thought process is that allows funding for officer training to be cut over other less important funding. It is disheartening to see the number of police officers killed in the line of duty continue to soar to record levels, especially in a time when overall crime rates are decreasing. As a police administrator is there any greater failure than to have an officer killed in the line of duty, especially if an adequate level of advanced training may have provided that officer with a greater array of knowledge and skills to apply in deadly situations? Law enforcement agencies need to stop falling back on go-through-the-motions in-service training as justification for fulfilling officer training needs. Why is it that many agencies are mandated to provide training in areas such as cultural diversity and dealing with elderly people. Are these not areas that our parents should have provided us a lifetime’s worth of training in? I would like to think that by the time a police department has finished vetting candidates for the next academy class they would have a pretty good sense of whether or not that person was accepting, tolerant and compassionate towards others, regardless of their color, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation or social status. Yet, how often are officers mandated to receive training in officer survival? How often are we mandated to qualify with our firearm? Once a year?Twice a year? And at those qualifications are we provided an opportunity to do any tactical shooting exercises or is it just push us through the qualification course, record our scores and send us back to the streets.
Sadly, too many officers are denied opportunities to receive advanced investigative and tactical training that could not only make them better prepared, more competent and safer officers, but would also translate to making the communities they serve safer. Yet, we are still incredibly undertrained and somehow surviving potentially deadly situations on a daily basis; except, of course, for the record number of 125 officers (as of September 18th) that did not survive those encounters so far in 2011.
In light of the current circumstances of limited to non-existent training budgets, I offer you the following possibilities for finding funding in a time when there is none.
1. Asset Forfeiture: Find out where the asset forfeitures made by your department are controlled. If they are controlled by your agency then most certainly they should be designated in part to paying for training. Most agency controlled asset forfeiture funds are managed by the department’s drug enforcement/vice units. You DO NOT have to be assigned to one of those units in order to acquire funds for training. Especially if you aspire to work in a specialized unit like narcotics or vice, you should make your interest known to the powers that oversee the fund. It would help immensely if you have made significant seizures yourself that have contributed to the fund and you can include details of these cases in your memo requesting funds.
2. Tuition Assistance: Does your department offer tuition reimbursement? If so, find out if it can be applied toward training classes relevant to your assignment or career goals. Many agencies do permit these funds to be used for training as well as education.
3. Become a host agency: Many police training companies rely on agencies to host their courses by providing training facilities and helping to market the class in their geographic areas. In exchange, the training company offers reduced and/or free registration to members of the host agency. If there is a course you are interested in but cannot obtain the funding, provide your agencies training coordinator with the course information and ask them to consider becoming a host agency for the course. For information on course hosting with Signal 13 visit our host agency page.
4. Inquire about reduced rates: Contact the company that is providing the training you wish to attend and inquire about reduced rates and/or payment plans if you are paying out of pocket. The owners of Signal 13 are always willing to work with an individual or group of officers who are paying for their own training. We have a strong commitment to providing officers with the best training they can get and see the big picture. That is, we want you to be trained to survive and to make a difference. Please contact us if you are interested in attending one of our courses but are not sure you can afford it.
5. Apply for grants: There are many grant opportunities available and you do not have to be a person of rank to apply for them. You just need to take the time to write a succinct proposal. Information on available law enforcement grants can be found here and here. Find someone on your department who has applied for and obtained grants for your agency and can give you guidance (or maybe you can convince them to use their expertise on your behalf).
6. Civic Associations: Every community has a variety of civic associations that are eager and willing to contribute to a worthy cause. Many of these groups have scholarships that are awarded annually. Why not approach them and see if you can convince them to start a Police Officer training scholarship. After all, these groups are strongly invested in the community you serve and want the community to be safe. Many of these groups (i.e. V.F.W., Knights of Columbus, etc.) have many members that are ex-military and/or retired law enforcement officers. Most training courses cost between $100-$500 which is significant to officers paying out of pocket, but not so significant to an organization that can receive positive publicity and help a worthy cause for a minimal contribution.
7. Approach the Private Sector: Many corporations have funding budgeted for charitable contributions and are law enforcement friendly. Why not approach corporations located in your jurisdiction and see if they are willing to sponsor your training. Use community policing to your advantage by forming partnerships with these businesses and convincing them how the training will benefit you and them. For instance, if you are interested in a street crimes investigations course, it would be easy to explain to a retail business how the expertise you would be gaining can help suppress crimes that target retail business like robberies, thefts, fraud, etc. One example of a corporation that is known for contributing to law enforcement causes is Target. For more information about Target’s programs visit here.
Finally, remember that if you invest in your own training that any expenses incurred including registration fees, transportation, lodging, meals, etc. are tax deductible.
Friday, September 16, 2011
About this Blog
Welcome to the Signal 13 Training blog. The purpose of this blog is to provide discussion of relevant law enforcement topics. Often, the blog posts will discuss and critique officer invovled incidents. This blog is NOT meant to pass judgements on officers or to second guess split second decisions made under duress. Rather, it is intended to take an objective look at situations and learn from them. We at Signal 13 are active law enforcement officers who have made our share of mistakes in the heat of the battle on the streets. Subsequently, we have learned that one of the greatest assets you can have in this job is "tough skin" and an ability to accept constructive criticism. It is when we recognize our deficiencies and mistakes that we get get better at what we do. We hope you enjoy the blog and visit often and we welcome your responses and opinions. Please take some time to visit our website at signal13training.com to learn more about our company and the unique training opportunities we offer. BE SAFE!
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