New figures have revealed that Staffordshire Police has spent more than £200,000 paying informants over the last three years.
It handed £209,949.73 to “confidential informants known as “covert human intelligence sources” – and in the last year alone the bill was £91,041.73.
Informants are used by police to tackle serious and organised crime and Staffordshire Police say the information is often “invaluable” when tackling organised crime.
But local policing representatives said they needed more information about the effectiveness of the spending to understand its benefits.
Chairman of Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel, Cllr Bernard Peters, said:
“I need more context around it – what have been the benefits? I don’t know what the benefits have been.”
In a Freedom of Information request police refused to say the number of informants it had paid in the three year period and what was the largest payment it made to a source.
However, it is understood that informants can be paid anything between £20 and £15,000 for information leading to successful arrests.
In a statement, Staffordshire Police said:
“The use and recruitment of informants is a legitimate and closely regulated police tactic, particularly in cases involving serious and organised crime and other offences that pose a serious risk of harm and financial loss to the public.
“Many of these investigations rely on the use of information from informants and it is often invaluable when tackling organised criminality.
“The use of informants by the police is well known nationally and is governed by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, 2000.
“We must stress that there is a very strict processes in place to ensure that this incredibly sensitive area of policing is carefully managed and extreme care is taken to ensure that informants are only used when deemed absolutely necessary in the prevention and detection of crime.”
Staffordshire Police spokesperson
