Exploring the Motivation of the United Kingdom’s Domestic Extremist Informants

Abstract

Understanding a potential informant’s motivation can lay the foundation for managing the risks and opportunities associated with the informant-handler relationship and operational deployments. The present research explored the self-disclosed and handler-assessed motivations of U.K. informants authorized to report against domestic extremists. Informants reported being motivated overwhelmingly by both ideological and financial considerations. Those reporting on right-wing domestic extremism primarily reported for financial reasons, while those reporting on left-wing extremism did so primarily for ideological reasons. The findings also revealed that motivation is neither one dimensional nor unchangeable, with most informants declaring financial and ideological reasons for informing. Handlers were accurate at identifying informants’ primary motivation, with a minority of the handler assessments revealing a perceived change after a six-month period. By designing recruitment approaches around ideological and financial motivational hooks, law enforcement and intelligence agencies may increase the probability of recruitment success, as well as enhance both the effectiveness and longevity of their informant-handler relationship.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the law enforcement data holders and those practitioners who made this research possible. The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of National Police Chief’s Council or the U.K. Government.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

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2 As defined under the Serious Organized Crime and Police Act 2005 (SOCPA) sections 71-75. The CHIS definition also includes the term’ undercover officers’ however the original interpretation of this specific role has been clarified through the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Covert Human Intelligence Source: Relevant Sources) Order 2013, which defines the UC as someone who holds an office, rank, or position with one of a specific list of law enforcement agencies (see Investigatory Powers, 2013) and are therefore bound by the policing code of ethics and policing principles.

3 Martin Dillon, The Dirty War (London: Arrow Books, 1991).

4 With some exceptions relating to National Security and the Economic well-being in the U.K., CHIS conduct that is required to be authorized and which will take place in Scotland is authorized under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000.

5 Part II Section 26 (8) (b) or (c) Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

6 There are 11 regional Counter-Terrorism Units (CTU) and Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Units (CTIUs) across the United Kingdom, working with MI5 and other partners. Overseeing the CT Policing network is the National Counter-Terrorism Policing Headquarters (NCTPHQ).

7 MI5 and CTP, Operational Improvement Review, (2017) (Chapter 9 –Domestic Extremism).

8 Vikram Dodd, “MI5 to Take-over in Fight Against Rise in U.K. Rightwing Terrorism. Retrieved,” The Guardian, last modified October 28, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/28/mi5-lead-battle-against-uk-rightwing-extremists-police-action (accessed September 10, 2021).

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34 Ibid.

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37 In the U.K., one case study would include the Cambridge Spy Ring (Burgess, Blunt, Cairncross, Maclean and Philby).

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41 Brian Lieberman, “Ethical Issues in the Use of Confidential Informants for Narcotic Operations,” The Police Chief 74, no. 6 (2007): 1–5.

42 Charters, “‘Have A Go’: British Army/MI5 Agent-running Operations in Northern Ireland, 1970–72.”

43 (Informer v A Chief Constable (CA) [2013] QB paragraph 61).

44 William Matchett, Secret Victory: The Intelligence War that Beat the IRA (Lisburn: Hiskey Limited, 2016).

45 Ibid.

46 Derry, “Inside a Police Informant’s Mind.”

47 Roger Billingsley, Covert Human Intelligence Sources: The ‘Unlovely’ Face of Police Work (Hook: Waterside Press, 2009).

48 Department of the Army Headquarters, “Human Intelligence Collector Operations.”

49 Ibid.

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55 Steven Kleinman, “Barriers to Success: Critical Challenges in Developing a New Educing Information Paradigm,” in Educing Information-Interrogation: Science and Art, ed. Robert Fein (Washington DC: National Defense Intelligence College Press, 2006).

56 Laurence Alison, Emily Alison, Geraldine Noone, Stamatis Elntib, and Paul Christiansen, “Why Tough Tactics Fail and Rapport Gets Results: Observing Rapport-Based Interpersonal Techniques (ORBIT) to Generate Useful Information from Terrorists,” Psychology, Public Policy, and Law 19, no. 4 (2013): 411–431. doi:10.1037/a0034564.

57 Ibid.

58 Allison Abbe and Susan Brandon, “The Role of Rapport in Investigative Interviewing: A Review,” Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling 10, no. 3 (2013): 237–249, doi:10.1002/jip.1386.

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61 Ibid.

62 Miller, “Narratives of Guilt and Compliance in Unified Germany: Stasi Informers and their Impact on Society.”

63 Informants under the age of 18 are initially authorized for a 4-month period with a statutory review every month (The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Juveniles) (Amendment) Order 2018 (2018 No. 715). Vulnerable informants should only be authorized in the most exceptional circumstances (Covert Human Intelligence Sources Revised Codes of Practice December 2022 (Para 4.2). Both require an authorization by a senior authorizing officer/grade.

64 Brown, “Criminal informants: Some observations on use, abuse, and control”; Department of the Army Headquarters, “Human Intelligence Collector Operations.”

65 (Informer v A Chief Constable (CA) [2013] QB paragraph 61).

66 Roger Billingsley, Teresa Nemitz, and Philip Bean, Informers: Policing, Policy and Practise (Cullompton: Willan, 2001); Billingsley, “Covert Human Intelligence Sources: The ‘unlovely’ face of police work”.

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71 Nemitz, “Gender Issues in Informer Handling.”

72 Taylor, “A Cylindrical Model of Communication Behavior in Crisis Negotiations.”

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74 Mathilde Turcotte, “Shifts in Police–Informant Negotiations,” Global Crime, 9, no. 4 (2008): 291–305. doi:10.1080/17440570802543508.

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