Police spend £1m on secret army of 1,200 informants Critics slam air of mystery behind payments
Police Scotland have spent more than £1 million recruiting an army of 1,200 informants,wecanreveal.
A total of 1,218 covert human intelligence sources (CHIS) have been put on the books since April 1, 2013, according to the national force.
Chiefs insist the use of CHIS is vital in the fight against terrorism and organised crime but critics warn the use of informants is so shrouded in mystery it is impossible to scrutinise how the information is collected and its worth.
Last week it was reported Scottish officers had approached football fans, offering cash for information on alleged trouble-makers.
And concern has previously been raised after police were accused of trying to recruit environmental campaigners to ask them to spy on their fellow activists in exchange for cash. Informants have been vital in successful cases brought against some of Scotland’s biggest criminals, including Jamie Stevenson, once the country’s biggest drug baron.
And Police Scotland argue that use of CHIS is regulated and independently monitored. Detective Superintendent Garry Church, of the force’s Specialist Crime Division, said: “The use of Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) is a tactic which is successfully used proportionately and legitimately to support the police service in keeping the people of Scotland safe. It is a well-established, highly-regulated and an independently-scrutinised tactic.” Just over £1m has been spent on CHIS since Police Scotland launched five years ago but campaigners say there must be more transparency around their use.
Tilly Gifford, an environmental campaigner, was approached in 2009 after being arrested for participating in a protest at Aberdeen airport.
She claims she was asked to spy on fellow members of the activist group Plane Stupid, of which she was part.
Ms Gifford, 33, said: “There is a complete lack of clarity, even when people ask basic details. “Police Scotland have been hiding behind conflation of undercover policing and the use of CHIS for security reasons and the other things they use them for.
“In my case, it was environmental, political reasons which is very different from national security.
“It is much easier to just say they are fighting terrorism so cannot tell anyone about their activities or what they are doing.”
Kevin Blowe of the Network for Police Monitoring, said there were fears over CHIS forming relationships with their surveillance targets in order to get more information.
Mr Blowe said: “Police codes of practice give no guidance on this issue and appear to have done little to address concerns about the proportionality of CHIS deployments, attempts by police to coerce individuals to spy on others or to limit any intimate relationship a covert source may have with a surveillance target.” Scottish Labour’s justice spokesperson, Daniel Johnson MSP, said: “Modern policing requires the use of a number of undercover activities to keep the public safe. It’s vital Police Scotland ensure money is not being handed to people still involved in criminal activities and no law abiding people are being spied upon.”