What Should I Do If I Discover That My Lover Is Actually a Confidential Informant?
This question is the phrasing of an actual question that was received.
This is always somewhat of a tricky situation. Informants are usually
sworn to secrecy and aren’t allowed to tell anyone what they are
doing, not parents, not spouses, not roommates, and not lovers. So I suppose the first thing that I would suggest would be that you do
not confront this person about whether they are an informant. It goes
without saying that if your lover is working with the police that you
must mind your p’s and q’s around that person. While a spouse
cannot testify against you due to spousal privilege, this does not apply
to unmarried couples. They could very well end up as a witness against
you. You should also prepare yourself for a day when their work becomes
public and they are forced to testify in court and have their identity
revealed. This could potentially bring retaliation against them (and you
by extension). It could also lead people to believe that you are working
as an informant as well. It may be a good idea to separate yourself from
the situation a little bit until the informant work is completed.
Learn more about the role of confidential informants.