![]() ![]() As the man speared the shovel into the dirt, Sullivan, wearing an audio recorder, was gathering evidence. It was exactly the kind of demonstration Sullivan had been hoping for. He said disturbing the bones was a "lock-up offense." Finally, one of the guides who considered Sullivan a friend took Sullivan and other undercover agents to a grave that he proceeded to dig up. But Sullivan knew they were really plundering the graves of Native Americans, excavating cultural artifacts as well as bones for resale.įor two years, he returned time and again, seemingly eager to pursue sheep. Every month or two, Sullivan crossed the water to meet up with a group that escorted tourists looking to hunt sheep and pigs. It was the mid-1990s, and Sullivan was undercover, posing as a hunter at Channel Islands National Park, a cluster of rugged islands off Ventura, California. The result is men like Mark Kennedy, who, The Guardian reports, emerged from a lengthy undercover operation confused and depressed, stating that he had "shattered" the trust he once had with friends and family and that "it's going to be a long process to find out who I am.Jeff Sullivan watched as the man dug up the grave. Many undercover agents resort to alcohol or other coping mechanisms that only make their problems worse because there's no easy access to private mental health support, and their support system either doesn't understand what they're going through or are also undercover agents with the same blind spots. They are away from their friends and families for long periods of time and often wind up pushing their loved ones away when they return.Īs noted by USA Today, contributing to the problem is a lack of mental health support for undercover operatives. On the other hand, The Herald reports that undercover officers often experience extreme feelings of isolation. He notes that the trust and bonds of friendship he formed while working undercover were very real - and it felt like betrayal when he filed his reports and got his friends arrested. The more time spent undercover, the higher the odds a law enforcement officer will experience violence like that, no matter how careful they are.Īs noted by former undercover police officer Bob Delaney, it's often about betraying people who became your friends. As reported by the Virginian Pilot, undercover police officers are often robbed, assaulted, and even killed - often by criminals who have nothing to do with the case they're working. Neil Woods, a former undercover drug agent, saw firsthand how the gangs he was buying drugs from became increasingly suspicious of any new faces - and unleashed violence in order to terrify informants as a result.Īnd that's in addition to the increasing dangers that come simply from associating with criminals and being in criminal-dominated neighborhoods and areas. While the initial introductions can be nerve-wracking, it's often not until the undercover agent's work begins to spur arrests that things get really dangerous, because the criminals start to wonder who's feeding the police information. This is called "charging around" specific criminal acts in order to avoid forcing the CI to testify in court, which could threaten their safety and make them useless as an informant in the future.Īccording to The Guardian, that means the danger to individual undercover agents grows steadily the longer they work. ![]() Fitzgerald in his book " Informants and Undercover Investigations," confidential informants are also often immunized against any charges stemming from criminal activities they engage in that are observed by the undercover officer. Without a CI to make those introductions, an undercover agent would have to start at the very bottom of an organization or group and slowly make their way up, adding months or years to the time frame.Īs noted by author Dennis G. This is usually someone already involved in the criminal activity being investigated who has been arrested and offered a deal: that is, help the agent go undercover in exchange for reduced or dropped charges. While some undercover operations begin with a simple membership fee (undercover FBI agent Bob Hamer told Vice he began his investigation into one group by paying $35 to join up) most of the time, the agent working undercover needs a confidential informant, or CI, to make introductions. ![]()
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