FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY NOT FOR ONWARD DISTRIBUTION WWF and TRAFFIC Guidelines for Managing Informants Step1: Identify potential informants Step 6: Step 2: Manage informants Recruit informants Step 5: Document contacts Know your informant Step 3: Step 4: Protect informants 1.0 Introduction The following guidelines are intended to provide guidance for the safe, ethical and professional management of informants (people) who require their identities to remain confidential and out of the public realm. This includes the careful handling of the information collected by informants. Organizations continue to use informants because they help to solve crimes that may remain unsolved without their assistance, which resonates with the purpose of TRAFFIC and WWF in employing the use of informants. Additionally, changes in the modus operandi of wildlife traders, middle men and hunters may be detected. In effect, relationships between investigators and their informants frequently determine the success or failure of an organization’s law enforcement support efforts. It must be recognised that recruiting informants takes time and involves elements of two-way trust, particularly in more volatile environments. Therefore, results should not be expected in the short term. Consistent and reliable information flow from informants may take a number of years to establish, much of which is dependent upon the management of the informant. 2.0 What is an informant? An informant is an individual who has or had access to information of interest to TRAFFIC and WWF and who, for reasons known and unknown, may elect to remain anonymous. Accordingly, it is important to be mindful that the identity of the informant shall remain confidential to TRAFFIC and WWF. DRAFT JULY 2015 1 FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY NOT FOR ONWARD DISTRIBUTION Upon entering into an agreement to solicit or obtain information with an informant, it is important to determine who may or may not be made privy to any sensitive information, what information is deemed sensitive and who may or may not be made aware of the identity of the informant. Informants in the conservation enforcement environment can be difficult to manage. However, investigators who understand what motivates individuals to become informants can manage them more effectively. Bear in mind that informants can be regular or opportunistic: • Regular – someone who consistently provides information to TRAFFIC and WWF on a periodical/weekly/monthly basis, based upon a set agreement. If necessary, these informant types are built into project planning and involve payments. • Opportunistic – someone who irregularly provides information to TRAFFIC and WWF, and therefore, may not necessarily be built into projects, and usually does not involve any payments. Although these informant types are opportunistic/ad-hoc, TRAFFIC and WWF must recognise and document engagement with them accordingly. In either case, the use of investigators may be employed, or TRAFFIC and WWF staff are involved in the direct management of informants. 3.0 Motivational factors Like most people, informants need motivation to produce results. Some of the more common motivational factors encountered by investigators are fear, revenge, money, repentance, and altruism. Fear - informants may fear their criminal associates. Individuals wrongly accused by poaching syndicates of being informants may then become informants for self-preservation, money, or both. Revenge - informants frequently cooperate to seek revenge against their enemies. Jealousy may also prompt these acts of vengeance. Money - some individuals provide information or services for money. Repentance - informants often claim they cooperate in order to repent for past crimes. However, this is seldom their only motive for cooperating. Altruism - some individuals are motivated by a sense of altruism. Those with professional or moral obligations or feelings of responsibility frequently provide information to the law enforcement agencies or those working closely with them; this is sometimes the case in our work with communities living within or in close proximity to wildlife and their habitats. 4.0 Establishing informants Before a decision is made to establish informants, we need to understand the need, intended objectives and outcomes – will this achieve what TRAFFIC and WWF wants? Understand the environment and circumstances in the area intended to operationalise an informant. What are the common problems encountered, and the DRAFT JULY 2015 2 FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY NOT FOR ONWARD DISTRIBUTION associated risks? (Please refer to the Risk Management Plan for further details). As discreetly as possible become familiar with other colleagues within the TRAFFIC and WWF in the region carrying out similar work, to determine where and how you would be best placed to establish informants. 5.0 The six steps to successful informant management Following these steps will greatly enhance the likelihood of managing informants successfully. Step 1: Identify Potential Informants Recognize potentially productive informants for the information they have access to. For example, engage with communities and businesses that may be able to assist in identifying and getting details of hunters and traders, or those formally involved in these activities. You can find informants anywhere, e.g.: • In villages around the forest if you are in a protected area; • In the nearest town if you are in a trade hub; • At entry and exit points such as seaports / airports / land border controls. Step 2: Recruit Informants Establish rapport • • • Provide orienttation and guidance Explain safety policies It takes time to establish informants, and results will generally not be forthcoming within the first year. Invest the time in regularly engaging with informants, as this will be critical in securing their trust. Establish a rapport and explain TRAFFIC and WWF’s policy on safeguards, rewards and incentives in order to recruit informants Informants should not be forced to generate information. It should come from them willingly, or guidance can be provided in instances where they may be necessary or helpful. Provide them with a general orientation on information gathering, so that they can stay safe while providing you information. Informants must be made aware that TRAFFIC and WWF have a duty of care and will always protect their identity and never knowingly put an informant at risk. Informants should also be made aware that TRAFFIC and WWF have limited means to extract someone in the event there is a bad turn of events involving law enforcement agencies, and therefore, safety measures must be considered by the informant at all times in the context of gathering and sharing information. Prior to enlisting them as informants, you should make sure that:  They have been made aware of the potential risks including on personal safety;  They have been made aware that they carry no official status with TRAFFIC or WWF;  They have been made aware that TRAFFIC and WWF will not tolerate violation of any laws; if there has been misconduct, including those involving violation of any laws, TRAFFIC and WWF will not be liable; DRAFT JULY 2015 3 FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY NOT FOR ONWARD DISTRIBUTION  They should take every care not to reveal their real identity to traders/poachers;  They should not freely share gathered information with anyone outside of TRAFFIC and WWF due to risks to their safety;  They should avoid talking to their investigators or those (TRAFFIC or WWF staff) managing informants in public places;  They avoid visiting the TRAFFIC or WWF offices, it is better for them to meet their investigator at a different, more neutral location;  They should not tell their family members and friends that they are providing information to you or your organization;  Under no circumstances will we accept information that has been obtained by coercion, particularly of local communities or indigenous peoples Step 3: Know Your Informant Whenever possible, knowing the identity of informants is best practice. Obtaining the true identity of those who provide information is important to assess the context and value of information and, in many cases, provides an insight into their motivation and veracity of the information being collected. It is recognized that such identification may not always be possible. However, every reasonable effort should be undertaken to identify all informants from whom we receive information. It is recognized that it is not unusual for people who have information of value that they wish to share with TRAFFIC and WWF staff, to choose to remain anonymous in an effort to avoid being identified. Likewise, it is not unreasonable to assume that informants who have close access to significant criminals or criminal organizations Step 4: Protect Your Informant may resist being identified for fear that their identity might be exposed. It is vital that the identity of all informants is kept confidential. In order to protect the privacy of informants and to manage risks to their security, a source register should be maintained, accessible only to investigators or TRAFFIC and WWF staffs who manage informants. All informants are issued with an identifying number that is used when documenting information received from that informant and the details are stored on a source register. If information obtained from an informant is to be documented or shared with others, no identifying details about the informant will be provided, unless specifically authorized by the informant. The source register should include the following: • Informant names, contact details; • Reliability grade/rating (given by informant handler); • Country/state/province of operation • Unique reference number assigned to the informant and used to reference the informant on the database; DRAFT JULY 2015 4 FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY NOT FOR ONWARD DISTRIBUTION Step 5: Document contacts ● The source register is kept separate to the database and must be password protected with access restricted to the informant handler; By establishing a source register in this way (with limited access and the use of unique reference numbers), the privacy of the informant will be safeguarded. This is accepted as the least invasive method and therefore compliant with privacy protection principles. If you are managing investigators or informants, always document and maintain informant files to ensure that you are constantly aware and up-to-date on the true picture of performance. Update files whenever changes occur. Informant files documents the investigators' interaction with them. Access to the files would be on a "needto-know" basis, limited only to investigators and their supervisors or those to manage informants who deal directly with the informant. To protect informants' identities, use an identity number in lieu of informants' names in investigative reports. Informants should keep the same number throughout their working relationships with WWF and TRAFFIC. The informant file could include personal information about the informant such as a physical description, a Step 6: Manage informants photograph, contact details, vehicle details etc. It should also contain a note documenting that the informant has been advised of WWF/TRAFFIC rules, such as those identified in the bullet points in Step 2 above. Every time the informant provides information concerning an actual or potential criminal matter, the investigator should include this information in the file. Details of any actions taken and the results should also be recorded. Maintain regular contact with informants, and encourage them to investigate or provide information. Guide the informant by asking for additional detail on what they already know (who is this person selling to? who else is involved?) so additional leads are gathered. Motivate informants, show an interest in their lives and / work and the information that they can provide, and show them that they are valued. Payments for informants can also be considered, as a form of rewards or incentive. See guidance in section 6.0 below on Informant Payments. Ensure you are always in charge. As much as possible or necessary, stay informed about the informants day to day lives, and any changes in their circumstances that may affect their ability to be a successful informant. Continue to use informants to keep them from losing interest. Wherever possible, document what steps are taken to corroborate information provided by the informant. This is especially important when informants act alone. The investigator should also establish how the informant has become privy to the information (witnessed it himself/hearsay/photographic evidence etc.) as a means of verification, particularly if such information is to be shared with law enforcement agencies for action. DRAFT JULY 2015 5 FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY NOT FOR ONWARD DISTRIBUTION 6.0 Informant payments Payments to informants are sometimes necessary as a form of encouragement or motivation, though this is to be assessed on a case by case basis by the investigator and their supervisors. The decision to pay informants must be made clearly in writing and is communicated to the Financial and Operations manager, and his/her supervisor. TRAFFIC and WWF recognise two categories of payments for law enforcement support —rewards and incentives. Rewards do not represent a percentage of the value of the seized assets, they are intended to serve as added incentive to continue working. These are usually provided upon successful interdictions/seizures. Some informants, such as those working at a lower level in forests areas (including local and indigenous communities), may sometimes require additional financial resources to enable data gathering. These are considered incentives, which could include, Informant incentive formula = TA + AA + PD + Little Extra but not limited to, expenses incurred for travel and subsistence. TA: Travelling Allowance AA: Accommodation Allowance PD: Per Diem In determining how much incentive to give, the following formula can be considered. Examples for calculating incentives and making payments are provided in Annexes 1 and 2. Payments by investigators or those managing informants must be approved by the country director and the country director is accountable and responsible for authorising informant payments. Always be cautious when determining payments: too high an incentive might encourage informants to generate information, which might lead them to encourage wildlife crime. If the incentive is too low, they will end up spending their own money and will lose interest in providing information to you. DRAFT JULY 2015 6 FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY NOT FOR ONWARD DISTRIBUTION Annex 1: Example of a WWF Informant Incentive Procedure used in Cambodia The following outlines an example currently being used by the WWF-Cambodia team. The amounts are suitable for Southeast Asia. As every country has different levels of income, these amounts will need to be adjusted accordingly based on local circumstances. This can be used as a guide by other TRAFFIC and WWF Offices. If a modification is required, particularly in country-appropriate costs, approval is to be sought from the Country Director. 1. This procedure describes the steps in which WWF Project managers and supervisors involved in paying informants, can use as a guide for financial management purposes. 2. Rewards for informants will be made only upon positive results such as arrests of offenders, confiscation of evidence and stopping forest and wildlife crime. It will NOT be made upon any results of a case in a court of law. 3. Incentives for informants will be made based on the attached informant’s Incentives scheme. 4. These payments are not applicable to TRAFFIC, WWF or Government staff. Step 1: Request and approval 1. Upon successful result the authorized Manager will complete the EVIDENCE CONFISCATION and INFORMANT INCENTIVES REQUEST FORM (attached below) and submit to the Protected Areas Management Technical Advisor PAM-TA for review and approval. 2. The EVIDENCE CONFISCATION FORM and INFORMANT INCENTIVES REQUEST should include proof of the positive result and photos. 3. The PAM-TA will review the request and documents and approve / modify / reject the request Step 2: Payment and consolidation 1. The authorized PAM will submit the approved documents to the finance officer 2. The financial officer will advance the approved amount and record the amount in the cash advance book 3. The authorized PAM will pay the informant and collect a receipt from the informant who uses their identification number / provides a fingerprint 4. The authorized PAM will submit receipt to the finance officer 5. Finance officer delete cash advance from cash advance book Note: • The authorized PAM must submit the receipt to finance officer no later than 10 days after receiving the advance • No new cash advances will be released before the former cash advance has been consolidated DRAFT JULY 2015 7 FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY NOT FOR ONWARD DISTRIBUTION Annex 2: Evidence confiscation and informant payment request Date: Team Leader: Location: Grid Reference: Patrol members: No Informant ID: Description of results (arrest, confiscation) Amount Action Amount in USD Amount requested for intelligence due to successful results Submitted by: Date: Signature: Approved by: Signature: Date: An example of an informant reward calculator You are required to enter the correct amounts in the Amount column (highlighted in GREEN) Conditions 1 Payment will ONLY be made if information leads to a successful action eg arrest / confiscation (as recorded below) 2 Payment will ONLY be approved with proof of results, documentation, photos etc. 3 ‘Set' means that multiple items are considered as 1 4 Maximum reward for the same item = 2 units. e.g. correct entry in the amount column for three chainsaws will be 2 5 Maximum reward will not exceed $50 unless recommended by the PAM TA and approved by the PA manager 6 For common species, full payment depends on the species and amount / number of wildlife DRAFT JULY 2015 8 FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY NOT FOR ONWARD DISTRIBUTION 7 No. 1 Payments will be made in Local Currency Issue Confiscation / arrest Logging 1.1 Chainsaw 1.2 Luxury timber* 1.3 Other timber Baseline Unit 1 Set Set Reward / unit $ $ $ Amount Total 10.00 15.00 10.00 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 15.00 5.00 2.50 2.50 2.50 10.00 15.00 30.00 50.00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 15.00 30.00 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Subtotal 2 Poaching 2.1 Rifle 2.2 Homemade rifle 2.3 Metal snare 2.4 Rope snare 2.5 Trap 2.6 Common species** dead 2.7 Common species live 2.8 Endangered species** dead 2.9 Endangered species live 1 1 20 40 10 Set Set Set Set $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Subtotal 3 Transport 3.1 Motorbike 3.2 Private car (Camry etc.) 3.3 SUV / Van (Land cruiser etc.) 3.4 Truck 1 1 1 1 $ $ $ $ Subtotal 4 Offenders 4.1 Poacher / logger 4.2 Transporter 4.3 Trader 1 1 1 $ $ $ Subtotal Grand Total 0.00 * Species classification based on local legislation or IUCN Red Data List. If WWF / TRAFFIC are paying the incentive, then this could include priority species, which may not be listed by the country concerned. DRAFT JULY 2015 9