Informants were made to feel important, given material or social incentives, and were imbued with a sense of adventure, and only around 7.7%, according to official figures, were coerced into cooperating.
Leta 1978 je Mielke uradno odobril KGB častnikom v Vzhodni Nemčiji enake pravice in moč, kot so jih uživali njegovi častniki v Sovjetski zvezi.