Pakistan: ICITAP Conducts Criminal Informant Recruitment and Operations Training, Culminating in U.S. Consul General Addressing Graduating Class

On December 13, ICITAP completed a three-day practical training program for forty Pakistani counterterrorism investigators of the Federal Investigative Agency (FIA), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and additional participants from the Punjab prosecutor’s office. Two days of classroom training culminated in one day of simulations. These simulations involved outside role players, assuming the role of targets, helping students to think on their feet during simulated street scenarios and use of the techniques they learned in training that week. Attendees learned to identify criminal informants based on access, motivation, ability to operate independently. Students also learned about handling problems, which could jeopardize not only the safety of the informant and the handling officer, but also the integrity of the ongoing criminal investigation. Training also emphasized the characteristics of police officers best suited for criminal informant operation, and the skills that must be demonstrated to assure success. Ethical issues associated with informant operations were also discussed and recommendations were made to minimize misconduct allegations against officers for abuse of power or failure to recognize potential conflicts of interest. Special interest was shown in identifying “red flags” consisting of behavioral indicators in informant operations, as well as potential methods of countering these behaviors. The three-day program and role-playing simulations received an overwhelmingly positive response from the attendees who wanted to see the training standardized within their respective agencies. In Pakistan, ICITAP works with the support of and in coordination with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism.