Informants identity

nervous stool pigeon

If a person wanted to give the Gardai information about the whereabouts of a person they wanted to arrest and charge, would the Gardai need the informants name and other details?

Also would the arrested persons solicitor be able to find out who gave them the vital information that led to their arrest?

Could the informant give the information to a solicitor who would pass it on but not tell the Gardai from where the information came?

runawaybishop

nervous stool pigeon wrote: »

If a person wanted to give the Gardai information about the whereabouts of a person they wanted to arrest and charge, would the Gardai need the informants name and other details?

Also would the arrested persons solicitor be able to find out who gave them the vital information that led to their arrest?

Could the informant give the information to a solicitor who would pass it on but not tell the Gardai from where the information came?

There is an anonymous number to call for situations like this.

4ensic15

In general the Garda would not tell an arrested person how they found him or her. There would be no need to unless evidence was needed from the informant to secure a conviction and a statement by the informant had to be given in the book of evidence. This would rarely happen.

mrcheez

4ensic15 wrote: »

In general the Garda would not tell an arrested person how they found him or her. There would be no need to unless evidence was needed from the informant to secure a conviction and a statement by the informant had to be given in the book of evidence. This would rarely happen.

how would they contact the informant unless they had name / number?

4ensic15

mrcheez wrote: »

how would they contact the informant unless they had name / number?

The informant contacts the garda.

Peregrinus

If they do need the informant to give evidence, and the information came through an anonymous tip-off, they are in a bind. Depending on the circumstances and the nature of the information given, they can try and guess who the informant is, and track him down. Or they can issue an appeal for the informant to come forward. But if these fail, then they don't have the evidence they need and a prosecution may not proceed, or if it proceeds it may fail.

But this would all be very rare. The informant who tells them where a fugitive is hiding is not normally also the only person who can give crucial evidence about the crime for which the fugitive is on the run. So his evidence is not needed in the prosecution.

source

1800 666 111 is the Garda confidential line, if you have information you can call it without having to leave your details.

gctest50

mrcheez wrote: »

how would they contact the informant unless they had name / number?

If it's a proper line your number will still show up even if you set it to "hidden"

Victor

gctest50 wrote: »

If it's a proper line your number will still show up even if you set it to "hidden"

Use a pay phone.

Fred Swanson

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Victor

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

If the information is plausible, useful and fits with other information why wouldn't they?

They might not necessarily use every piece of information, but they can use it as intelligence to build up a picture.

GM228

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Yes, as Victor points out they can act on it to build a case and gain evidence, however the information given could not in itself be used as evidence - hearsay.

4ensic15

All information, even inadmissible hearsay from an anonymous source can be useful. It might corroborate information from another source. It might help eliminate a line of enquiry. The garda might learn that an individual was in a particular place at a particular time. That could eliminate that person as a suspect for a crime committed elsewhere at that time. Eliminating suspects is always useful as it saves resources. On the other hand, it might throw doubt on an alibi and show that someone was lying. That might meaqn a shift of emphasis onto a a more likely suspect.