Undercover & Confidential Information Operations
Risk Mitigation and Protocols for High-Stakes Investigations
This course dives deep into the high-risk world of confidential informant and undercover operations. These cases carry some of the greatest operational and legal risks in narcotics enforcement — and also the greatest potential for disruption of drug trafficking networks when done right.
The goal of this course is simple: give you a framework for running UC and CI operations that gets results without getting your team jammed up.
Officers will learn to evaluate and manage informants in a structured, legally defensible way, including protocols for documentation, payments, tasking, and reliability tracking. You'll also study how to plan and debrief UC operations with risk mitigation as a built-in function, not an afterthought. Case studies from real-world successes — and failures — drive home the points that matter most.
Whether you’re working low-level buys or infiltrating upper-tier trafficking crews, this course gives you the principles and tools to manage human intelligence assets safely, legally, and effectively.
Instructors:
Tanner Jenkins and Scott Courrege, J.D. (See "About Us" for bios.)
Topics:
Overview: When and Why to Use CI & UC Operations
Types of Informants & Sources of Information
CI Cultivation and Recruitment
Storage Unit & Hotel/Motel Personnel as SOIs
Documentation Protocols:
Initial CI Setup & Debriefs
Payment Logs
CI Tracking Database
Direction, Control & Tasking of CIs
Legal Issues and Liability Triggers
Operation Planning:
Buy-Busts, Buy-Walks, and CI Intros
Building and Protecting Backstories
Risk Mitigation in Human Intelligence Operations
Command Considerations for CI/UC Oversight
Cartel Case Study: High-Stakes Lessons in UC Roles
Key Takeaways:
Risk-driven framework for managing CI and UC ops
Templates and guidance for airtight documentation
Lessons learned from real-world operational successes and failures
Legal safeguards to keep your case — and career — intact