How Do I Obtain a Confidential Informant List?
I am often asked by people about how a person can get a list of confidential
informants in their area. This is hard to do for several reasons. Governments don’t typically maintain such lists. Even large metro
police departments typically try to decentralize information about informants
so that damage would be limited should there be a breach of security that
allowed the leaking of information. Smaller jurisdictions typically rely
on institutional memory rather than specific lists. People are free to
make a public records request for lists of informant under the Freedom
of Information Act or under a state public records law. Information revealing
the identity of confidential informants is exempt from public disclosure
under RCW 42.56.240(1) and (2), and rule CrR 4.7(f)(2). Confidential informants
are called “confidential” for a reason. The best that a person
could obtain under such a public records request would be a list of
past informants, i.e. informants that testified in court and are no longer active.
Learn more about informants.