At any rate, such listings should contain more than the names of the persons. They should have enough identifying data to enable the operator to locate the person by phone, letter, cable, or telegraph and by proper title. It is obvious, perhaps, that such lists and all other data gathered are of a confidential nature and should be protected from public scrutiny. In fact, it is wise to restrict information as to the very existence of files, since the idea of dossiers is unpleasant to most people. No social grouping remains static.
Leaders rise, gain top prestige and influence, lose it, die.
The process of attrition in a stable elite may be slow, but movement in such groupings is perceptible and spot checks, to be outlined in the next chapter, must be utilized to make a running inventory of elite changes. Records must be changed accordingly. Clipping files on changes in elite membership composition are vital and must be kept up to date. A record of informants may also be kept, properly dated and with identifying information, and some evaluation of the reliability of such communications as might be received from them. Informants may be members of other governmental agencies, they may be members of the local elite or sub-elite groupings.