8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.

Resume with 2 role-play interviews and break-out sessions of PCI Billy Thibodeaux.

9:45 a.m.

Course #3 Confidential Informants (CI): Handling and Development begins.

9:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

-Preparing contact/meeting plans

-Implementing contingencies and cover stories

-Managing communication devices

-Utilizing surveillance detection methods

Contact/meeting plans: Utilize pre-determined primary and secondary locations to contact your CI. Plot 10 contact locations on a map. Label the contact locations 1 to 10. Plot 2 meeting locations at each of your 10 contact locations on the same map. Label the meeting locations A and B.

Contingencies: 10-minute window (5 minutes before and 5 minutes after planned Contact time). If both you and your CI are not at the primary contact location inside the established window, the contact is automatically reset for an hour later from the original scheduled time at the secondary contact location with the same 10-minute window parameter.

Cover stories: Develop a cover story which both you and your CI are aware of explaining why the two of you are together. What are the pillars of a good Cover story?

Communication devices: Limiting the use of electronic devices and minimizing issues. Do not use your desk phone or department issued mobile device to communicate with your CI. Purchase a burner phone. When connecting to the Internet with your burner phone—do not connect to any department network or your residence network. Keep it simple and connect your burner phone to Starbuck’s, Taco Cabana, McDonalds, etc., all these vendors have open networks or require a basic registration to use their IP address. The same rules apply for desktop, email use and the 100 other communication applications available. Do not use official email addresses to communicate with CI’s. Create alias accounts and monikers with bogus profiles for whatever communication methods you utilize. If available, use stand-alone terminals or networks not connected to the department or your residence.

Surveillance detection: More than one sighting of a vehicle or person over a significant distance and time with directional change. What are you looking for to determine if you are being followed? What subtle actions should you take if you detect surveillance driving to meet your CI? What are some less subtle actions you can take if you detect surveillance and just want to be sure and lose your tail? Except for the media and curious citizens, unless you have previously been observed with your CI, surveillance will rarely start with you on the way to meet your CI. What do you do if you detect surveillance on your CI arriving at the Primary or Secondary Contact location? Students will conduct a surveillance detection exercise--break into two 2-officer teams (4 officers) and drive a 4- mile route from the Cypress Creek Fire Department and back, making two Rational Stops (one at a gas station and one in a parking lot) and a severe Deviation attempting to spot surveillance.

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Lunch

12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m

-Off-site surveillance detection exercise.

2:15 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

-Directing CI evidence and intelligence collection

-Employing electronic surveillance devices

CI evidence and intelligence collection: You should have an investigative plan guiding you through the logical steps to prove or disprove your case. A segment of that investigative plan should list the intelligence and evidence you need to obtain complaints and indictments on your case subject(s). Any gaps you have in your case are prime targets for Specific CI Collection. The major difference between a witness interview and a CI interview: historical data vs. pro-active collection of data. No matter whether you are conducting your first debriefing/interview with your CI or your fiftieth debriefing/interview—you will always need to take time to CONTINUE BUILDING RAPPORT!!! What exactly is Specific CI Collection? Students will watch a video of a CI meeting with an officer who has been operating the CI for one year and has met with the CI at least once a month regularly. Observe whether the officer successfully conducted the meeting with the CI, addressing the five pillars of a successful CI debriefing/interview.

Electronic surveillance devices (video and audio): Why do we want our CI’s to record their interactions with our case subjects? What are some of the types of devices we would utilize with a CI? What if our CI accidentally records activity when they are not present—oops! Do we just act like it never happened and hope no one ever notices? Should you be present, or in the area every time your CI records an event? Can we give our CI a recording device and just let them decide what does and does not get recorded—what are some of the issues we may encounter if we don’t effectively manage our CI’s collection activity? Do we ever allow our CI to start and stop recording on their own without our assistance? Why do we want to record all meetings between our CI and case subjects? When practical to do so, the officer or CI should try to record a preamble at the beginning of every recording. Issuing your CI a recording device—what are some factors you want to consider? If the recording device is lost, stolen, or compromised, what do we do? When using a recording device, you want to collect the best possible evidence--train your CI how to use the recording device. Transmitters are an antiquated method to verify CI safety during a meeting with your case subject; however, besides being in the meeting with your CI and case subject—it is the next best method to determine CI safety, if necessary! Most transmitters will not pick up the hertz (audible sound) of a gunshot at close range.

3:45 p.m - 4:30 p.m.

-Review, and any questions about material covered on days 1 and 2 or pending training on day 3.

-Go over details pertaining to the open book 45-question multiple-choice/true-false examination--60 minutes to complete exam.

4:30 p.m.

Course session ends for the day. Please be back by 8:00 a.m. the following morning. Give students the location of the after class net-working event.