An Opportunity Lost? The Declining Role of Authorised Covert Human Intelligence Sources in Combating Organised Crime

Stanier, I. and Nunan, J. (2025) An Opportunity Lost? The Declining Role of Authorised Covert Human Intelligence Sources in Combating Organised Crime. Journal of Economic Criminology. 7 2949-7914.

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Abstract:

Combatting organised crime, requires Agencies to deploy a range of collection capabilities to identify community threats, to accurately select and prioritise organised crime targets and to inform operational decision-making. Central to this effort is the ability to identify, recruit and deploy Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS).. It is therefore paradoxical that the United Kingdom’s CHIS authorisations have been in steep decline since the enactment of the bespoke Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA 2000). This research seeks to critically discuss as to what are the key factors contributing to this decline. Consequently, this review suggests that the decline in CHIS authorisations are to be found in a complex configuration of factors. Two stand out as significant; i) the impact of resource reduction on CHIS operational capacity and capability, and ii) an emergence of a culture of fear and risk aversion as a constraining factor on CHIS recruitment and use.

Additional Information:

Uncontrolled Keywords:

/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/peace_justice_and_strong_institutions

Creators:

Stanier, I. and Nunan, J.

Date:

1 March 2025

Date Type:

Publication

Journal or Publication Title:

Journal of Economic Criminology

Volume:

Number of Pages:

Language:

English

ISSN:

2949-7914

Status:

Published / Disseminated

Refereed:

Yes