Evidence Act 2006
Generally, there are no restrictions on who can provide information to the police. So if someone in a group decides to pass information to the police they are free to do so.
However, where informers are asked to give evidence in court, questions about whether the information is fit as evidence can be raised.
Informers are often paid and therefore it could be argued that they have an incentive to provide evidence. Informants will also seek to protect their identity and give evidence anonymously. These factors normally make evidence unusable by police. Other issues to consider are:
Unfairness – The case of R v Cameron considered the situation where a defendant made a statement to an undercover police officer regarding previous offending. The court decided that because Cameron had made the statement voluntarily to a person who happened to be a police officer it was not unfair to use it as evidence.
Entrapment – If you have been encouraged or incited to offend by the police, the court will look to how the police acted. If they have unreasonably encouraged you, beyond what others in a similar situation may do, then it is possible the court may refuse to admit the evidence.