The FBI says it’s working with local law enforcement in at least 10 states to develop guidelines to help informants and undercover agents work together, a move it says will allow them to “get a handle on the issue and protect the public.”
“This is a really critical moment for law enforcement,” said FBI Special Agent John Mazzagatti.
“The FBI and local law enforcements have the tools to better identify, track and prosecute serious crimes, and this new information will enable law enforcement to work better together and protect public safety.”
“We have seen an increase in these types of undercover investigations and investigations of foreign-based terrorist groups in the last few years,” Mazzacatti added.
“These are people that have come into our country without authorization and have been able to commit terrorist acts.
The FBI is committed to ensuring that they’re held accountable for their actions.”
The FBI says that it has been working with states and localities for at least two years to develop these guidelines.
They will go into effect in 2019.
The FBI hopes that these new guidelines will help inform state and local police forces about their responsibilities as informants and will help to “help them better identify and track individuals involved in terrorism.”
The new guidelines have not yet been released to the public, but they were released as part of the FBI’s annual press conference Tuesday.
The guidelines include specific examples of how the FBI hopes to improve the use of informants and agents, including how to get them to help with a potential crime or how to use them in an undercover operation.
There are a few guidelines in the FBI report about how to work with undercover agents, such as how to make sure the agent’s identity is kept secret and how to avoid them becoming informants.
In one example, the report says the agent should wear a GPS tracking device that allows the agent to track the person he’s speaking to.