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Ratting The Use and Abuse of Informants in the American Justice System
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Robert M. Bloom
Book Code: C6818
ISBN: 0-275-96818-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-96818-2
216 pages
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 5/30/2002
List Price: $86.95 (UK Sterling Price: £49.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • By overlooking illegal conduct or granting immunity to unsavory informers, does the government compromise itself and foster crime? Does payment of recruited informers encourage fabrication of evidence and thus further compromise public authority? The author addresses these and other important questions through case studies, beginning with an account of the activities of Linda Tripp, the incidental informer whose revelations almost toppled President Clinton. He then examines the importance of informers historically and analyzes their use (and abuse) in different settings. The result is a superb book, accessible to general readers, informative to scholars, and useful to practitioners. Highly recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduates and above.
    —Choice     June 2003
Description: Showing informants in a variety of contexts provides a broader picture of them, and highlights the potential pitfalls associated with their use within our criminal justice system. Police depend on insiders to prosecute the perpetrators of many of the so-called "victimless" crimes like drug dealing, money laundering and political corruption. As victimless crimes have grown, so has the use of informants. Providing insights into law enforcement techniques as well as the Court's response to them, Bloom illuminates the pernicious legal ramifications that can result from the justice system's relationship to and use of informers. Law professors, criminologists, and law enforcement scholars will find Bloom's account of this much used and abused but under-reported aspect of America's law enforcement efforts both edifying and sobering. There are different kinds of informants. Some are used to infiltrate and destroy organized crime operations, and others, such as Linda Tripp, are used to investigate government officials. Informants are motivated by a variety of reasons, including financial gain, political power, elimination of competition, and avoiding criminal punishment. Some are even imaginary, fabricated by police to justify their activity. Bloom discusses each type of informer, grounding his commentary in real cases, some well known, others obscure. He then concludes by suggesting how potential and real abuses of the informant system can be curbed.
Table of Contents:
  • A Historical Overview of Informants
  • The Political Informant
  • The NonExistent Informant
  • Jail House Informants
  • High Level Informants
  • The End of the Story
  • Bibliography
  • Index
LC Card Number: 2001058037
LCC Class: KF9665
Dewey Class: 345
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