Hey guys, i'm here again. Currently i'm working on a novel, and i'm having a hard time getting the answers i need from the internet. A huge portion of the story will focus on life as a criminal, particularly in a very obscure industry: that of the illegal informant. Although i have the opportunity to communicate with the police, i doubt i will be able to further my research, for confedentiality reasons and all that stuff. So what i'm wondering is basically how this whole information-selling system works, i guess? Any inputs would be great, and i apologize if this whole thread is kindof stupid, i have no clue what i'm doing.
The illegal informant is often someone who is in the midst, if not part of the criminal activity that he or she informs on. He or she may have gained insider knowledge while inside jail, or has gained it word of mouth from others who run in that particular circle. As you probably know, many incarcerated individuals have been brought up on new charges due to their willingness to blab their story to establish credibility within the penal system. There is a hierarchy, from petty thief to murderer, and the newly incarcerated often have to establish where they are in terms of the pecking order. There are also disastrous repercussions for some inmates who turn informant, even the appearance of being someone who snitches can cause a person to receive a severe beat down. Often criminals will limit their illegal conduct to known associates in an attempt to reduce the possibility of being caught. There is also corruption among some (not all) of the jail guards, and sadly those ones are the ones who will turn a blind eye while someone browses through jail files, to find out who are the 'skinners', 'pedos' and dealers. A jail broke cell phone is worth thousands of dollars inside, so its not uncommon for those earning lower wages to divest of their moral code and provide contraband and information if there's money to be had. I once heard the phrase that there is an appearance of control by the outside sources, because they have the lock and key, but in truth, the criminals are the ones who run the system while inside. At first I brushed this thought off, but it did have some merit. Simply because there are more of them, than there are guards. This is often what leads to the brutality, riots etc., as the guards try to show force, so they aren't rushed by a number of inmates. I realize some of this is off topic, but hopefully it will drum up some ideas.
Illegal informant? How is an informant illegal? There's nothing illegal about tipping off law enforcement whether you are any sort of official informant or not.
I thought for sure that TS was talking about white-collar crime, selling trade secrets and private information?
That is what i was wondering about. My main character is often infiltrating gangs, sneaking into shady clubs, and slipping onto crime scenes to aquire information they would sell to whoever will pay, usually not governmental officials or the police. I know what you are mentioning is very common, but i aim to tackle a topic that often goes un-written. All i can imagine right now is that they would constantly be facing a lot of danger from all angles, both clients and police, and suffer from extreme paranoia because of it. I would also think they would be very, very reluctant to reveal their indentity, and would use a high degree of anonymity. Does that answer your question?
It does not. More than 85% of espionage is so called active measures. it means effecting, not nesting info. Getting information happens through networks and cyber space. Humint is not so big thing any more. Humint happens by taking a grip from somebody. Money is not a good grip. if you wanna know how it works, you could start from cold war and Yuri.
Ah, thanks for clearing that up. My other plan was instead casting the character as a distributor of drugs on the street, making deliveries to a dealer from an underground operation. Would this be a little more plausible?
If I understand correctly, it is like knowledge of any type. You have it, others figure out you know more, they offer money for it. It really depends on what circles you are a part of. Remember, most criminals stick to one or two avenues of crime, just like most in a career or hobby. You fall into what you know and are comfortable with, and most importantly, what you have time for. Most information of this type is traded for something. You can't be anonymous if you are selling info, no one would buy it. Who are you and how do you know? Are you trying to set me up? Are you going to sell me out too? This isn't worth the time or money. Most that will sell information like this are 'cashing out' and trying to leave the life. Information is a fleeting thing, it will change tomorrow. That makes you a target if anything is incorrect. It doesn't matter if the buyer sat on it for a month and things went badly when they made a move, it was your information that put them in that place. I could see a story like this working in a James Bond type of world that is fast paced, and money and time are not a hinderance. Always remember that people have memories and people talk to one another. It becomes a math equation that the seller needs to figure out beforehand and then stay ahead of. Over a short time the noose would begin to tighten. X people knew about this. X people knew about that. X people knew this. How many people were in all three places? Probably just one. Now, my own experience. I was involved in crime for a lot of my life. I did crime by myself as a child, then as a teen. I honed my craft. Eventually I was approached by the right person that was part of a group. I took what I had learned and married it to what I always wanted to do, and got paid well for it. Sound like a dream job? It was and became my second life, but now I pay an emotional price every day, and the money is long gone. I saw people who sold information to the group; they were like the walking dead, they had nothing else to offer for sale, and tended to be horrible at crime. If you end up writing this, make sure you figure out how the person gets money while doing the other things they do, and avoids long stretches in prison. Most crime novels or movies make little sense to me, but they are supposed to be entertainment; similar to a writer that watches a movie about a writer that bangs out novels in days and not months or years.
What about someone who has been the ability to talk to insects and gather information about things that are happening around town? The informer would never be there, merely talk to the literal "fly on the wall" and gather information that way. This could also be accomplished through bugging with technological devices. I don't know if an individual character could gather enough information to make this workable. Most government intelligence agencies such as the CIA have multiple sources of intelligence and they don't always have the ability to analyze it correctly. I think that's why some terrorism events were such a surprise. It's always amazed me that people flying airliners into buildings was even possible. The amount of planning that took, and nobody knew?? Maybe in a fanasty/sci fic setting a la star wars? Like, Han Solo agrees to smuggle something to the planet Hoth and Greedo knows this, sells the information to an rival who hijacks Han Solo? Or sells it to the Empire?
If you are intending a realistic story, I have difficulty believing that anyone could "join a criminal group, find out enough information, sell it and move on" more than a couple of times per lifetime. I'm sure it could be written to be believeable, but it would be a lot of work. If you were setting this as a background for a superhero, urban fantasy, fast paced romp etc - sure, no drama. We accept these things in that context, but if you are intending as gritty realism, it does not fly for me. Thinking more about it, I think I might change my mind. If all the criminal activity is related and it is a field where people do move around a bit and the info is all sold to the same group, it might work. For example, The Black Jackets Motorcycle gang have chapters in all the major cities (and many large towns) of Australia and our protagonist is related to someone high up in the chain. They did an apprenticeship in Autoelectronics but then joined the life. His brother offers him a job going to each chapter upgrading one bike to be a police scanner/UHF radio/taser recharger/EMP generator... So protag hangs out with each chapter for a couple of weeks (and get rough details of what they are doing) and then moves on. Protag has an occasional GF who is a member of the Blood Tiger Motorcycle gang, who have started moving in to Australia. He gives some details initially and she convinces him that he can sell the details to her "Older brother" to help them move in to the territory and the club members will just get new management, there may even be some money in it. As time goes on, he is amazed at home much money he is getting from them, but he also starts to doubt that is will be as bloodless as he has been told. His internal tension builds as it becomes clear that gangs don't work like that and it will need a bloodbath so he is torn between family/gang loyalty and his Girlfriend and his self belief that he isn't doing the wrong thing. Once people start dying, he realises and has to tell his brother that he is the reason so many people have died. Summary - I think it might work, but only in very particular circumstances
This scenario is highly doubtful in regards to realism but would be highly entertaining if you figured a way around it. It's fiction anyhow. Anything goes if you are persuasive enough. I'll explain why I say that it's highly doubtful first and then try to find out a probable solution. 1) Motivation. Have you got any idea what the odds are taking job after job without getting caught? Null. Even if you don't get caught red-handed and you snitch whomever you want to frame without getting found out, how will you excuse yourself from a gang without getting noticed in order to move to another job? Because in these situations e v e r y o n e turns paranoid and suspects and tracks e v e r y o n e. Even your oldest friend might be the mofo. Do you know what they do to snitches? Is 1 million dollars worth it if you wind up dead the next day? The dead take nothing to their graves. Money is not an equivalent to adapting to such a job. You need to find something more substantial than just lots and lots of money. Let's get deeper the rabbit hole. Probable extreme motivators: a) Revenge. Yes, I do believe that when a person needs to take revenge, he turns into a psychopath. Cool and composed. Your character must be extremely smart and emotionally unyielding (dead) for he is about to see and do a lot of inhumane things in order to blend in with the gang. He will have to prove himself. No way around it. Everyone starts low in order to reach the place where they are in the position to earn the trust to get more vital information upon business. It takes time, brutality, grit and brains. Not everyone gets there. Maybe he's looking for some strong persona in particular to take down, enjoying seeing him crumble to the ground. A family vendetta of sorts? b) Business megalomania. He is a power-starved person that wishes to take out all competition and rise to the top. This goes deeper than money issues. It's almost an obsessive desire of power, control and achievement. Believe it or not, omerta ended more than half an aion ago with the Italians. (Because they valued family more than any other culture did. It was strictly family business though, conducted through family relations only. Every single member of the "familia" was indeed somehow family related. Outsiders where not welcome, unless they served as cogs in some minimal operations from time to time, because they were not trusted. What was in it for them anyway?). Might I go as far as to say that maybe your MC was raised in a gang? He's trying to win a game of monopoly perhaps. c) A mix of a and b. Strong combination! d) Caught by the police and wish to avoid doing time. This usually happens to the small fries. They get persuaded (or their circumstances sometimes dictate) to avoid prison at all costs. (Either they are extremely scared of doing time, or they know that they'd get murdered, just in case). They fear for their lives or for the lives of their loved ones. They don't serve a single day in jail. They get constantly blackmailed by the police to become a mole, since they have no other options really. If they get officially arrested, it's game over. Can't be more than a case though. They'd lose anonymity easily. Since there are moles in the police too, they usually get found out anyways and get murdered. The true mafia is the corrupted policemen actually. The highest tip wins. e) A mix of a and d. Really tricky but works like a charm. f) Stupidity/Cockiness. Most probable cause, but your hero would wind up dead in no time with a most anticlimactic death. Really small fries. Usually misguided teenagers. 2) One person, 2 lives? When you are a member of a gang, either a knight or a pawn, you spend most of your time with your subordinates. There's no time to hang out with another gang and certainly no excuse to do so! It's treason. There's no way not to get exposed if you are working for 2 different gangs. Except if you serve strictly as a mole for one of the gangs. This means that you must not get caught coming in contact with the gang you serve. It's all in strict secrecy. Even if you end up becoming a double spy, you must be seen only as serving one of the gangs for obvious reasons. The same goes for a police confidant as well. Never be seen hanging with the police officer! It's a dead give away. You're done for. Except if he (dirty cop) is also involved, but still, it's pretty darn suspicious and makes no sense to hang around or even come in contact with, aside from work with a police officer. It's none of both parties best interest to be seen together. To be seen hanging with a member from another gang might be excused, depending on your specialty and business relation with the other member. For example, you are the physical intermediate/contractor (this is a very high position/ the right hand man) with the other gang, trading goods or services. Maybe you want to make a deal or a truce. You might have to hang out with some members of the other gang (of similar position) to seal a deal or make truce or come in terms with and build trust. Expanding business or/and performing damage control. So, to sum this up, your main character most probably fits the profile of a contractor or a dirty cop. But I'm not sure how this will work with multiple, different cases. I mean... Unless they get plastic surgery or something, after completing a mission. One good, relevant show I can think of is "The Romeo Section". Also watch "The Departed". They might give you some ideas. Or make it unrealistic but interesting enough. Who knows? You might come up with an original idea that inspires future criminals to follow to your fictional footsteps. I myself prefer a well constructed, original idea than strict realism, just as long as there are no extreme "conveniences" taking place.
Had the question been "to write it or not?", I would have nothing to add to the previous thorough and sensible comments. However, the OP seemed to be asking how this can be made to work after all. I can imagine this information selling thing might work in the field of some kind of a niche crime. Infiltrating street gangs who steal cars and rob shops or such has (as has already been pointed out) much too unfavorable danger-to-profit ration. Try to come up with a specific type of crime that has lots of money in it. Maybe a novel or very unusual type of crime. The second idea is for the protagonist to not infliltrate gangs per se, but to be a provider of some kind of a rare and needed service to many of them. A producer of fake documents selling out his customers is not a good idea, a prostitute spying on her customers might not be an awfully good idea either, but if you keep thinking along those lines, you might come up with something usable. However, if it's the sneaking into shady clubs part that appeals to you, then it may be preferable to make your protagonist pursue some interest completely different from betraying many criminals to those who would pay. Imagine someone who can contact criminals without being perceived as a (significant) threat. He hears things from them. What for? Think. He better have one big goal which he'll achieve by the end of your novel, not many little ones. No one knows he's selling them out, but he is constantly worried he'll make a mistake and betray himself.
