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Legitimate criminal indictments, search warrants, and trial transcripts are public record. You can search your local county or federal court dockets via systems like PACER to see unsealed case files that have already gone to trial.
Since you cannot obtain the official ledger, investigative journalists and private investigators use a method called "retrospective identification." Here is how you build a probable informant list for your city: confidential informant list for my city exclusive
If a city's informant list is compromised, local street-level intelligence dries up entirely. Citizens stop cooperating with police, leaving violent crimes unsolved. For now, stay legal, stay safe, and stay curious
Have you found a public record that accidentally revealed an informant? Contact our legal tips line. For now, stay legal, stay safe, and stay curious. Within 72 hours
Consider the story of , who in 2018 pieced together informant identities using cross-referenced court filings. He published what he called an "exclusive" list on a Substack. Within 72 hours, one of the names he published was found dead in a motel room. The coroner ruled it a suicide. The local PD suspected the cartel.
Recent legislative actions demonstrate the ongoing protection of this information. Wisconsin's Assembly Bill 118, for instance, extends nondisclosure requirements concerning personally identifiable information of confidential law enforcement informants to records or parts of records maintained by any official or body subject to public records law. The bill expands the scope of nondisclosure, ensuring that informant information is protected not only within law enforcement records but across all public entities subject to public records laws.
