• Instructor:  Steve Peterson        REGISTER HERE
• Date:  April 13-14, 2023
• Location:  RCCC-N, Bldg N110, Room 133
• Time:  8 am – 5 pm
• Total Hrs: 8

Advanced Informant Management

Now you’re working drug cases and your boss wants you to get some informants.  Where do they come from?  How do you recruit informants?  While informants can be the lifeblood of narcotic investigations, they are also one of the greatest dangers.  Improper informant management can lead to dismissed cases, officer dismissals and even criminal charges against police.  This two-day advanced class gives Narcotic Investigators the necessary tools to recruit and utilize Informants to their full capacity.  Instruction includes identifying Informant motives, proper documentation, debriefing skills & techniques, with an emphasis on officer liability and safety.  Students will learn how to properly debrief and document informant interactions and court preparation.  Practical exercises with students will highlight the importance of these skills.  The following blocks of instruction are included:

• Informants vs. Sources of Information
• Identifying Motivations
• Informant Identification and Documentation
• Case Development & Informant Roles
• Informants Role in Undercover Investigations

Upon completion of this class, students will be able to:

• Identify, recruit and manage confidential informants,
• Successfully initiate and develop drug investigations,
• Understand the liabilities associated with informant utilization and
• Understand the necessities of thorough and proper informant documentation

Lead Instructor Biography

Steven R. Peterson had been a Special Agent (SA) of the United States Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for nearly three decades.  At the time of his retirement, SA Peterson was the most senior DEA street agent in the world.  During his tenure, SA Peterson had been stationed in Boston, New York, Atlanta, retiring in Charlotte in 2010.  For nearly ten years he had been the DEA Atlanta Field Division Training Coordinator (DTC), responsible for coordinating and conducting training to all DEA employees within the Atlanta Division, as well as Task Force Officers, State & Local Police Officers and civilians within Georgia, Tennessee and North & South Carolina.  As a DEA DTC, SA Peterson has taught over

80,000 law enforcement officers.  Prior to training, as a street agent working undercover for over 18 years, SA Peterson received numerous awards and commendations, including appointment as Lead Investigator in the investigation of the murder of DEA SA Ray Stastny in 1987 in Atlanta.

SA Peterson was a DEA Certified Firearms Instructor, Defensive Tactics Instructor, Tactical/Raids Instructor, Clan Lab Certified, Site Safety Officer, a member of DEA’s Traumatic Incident Response Team, graduate from the DEA Instructor Development Course (IDC), a Georgia POST Certified Instructor and a DHS Certified Instructor.  SA Peterson is also the co-author of the DEA DTC Training Manual distributed by the DEA Academy to all DEA DTCs throughout the US.  SA Peterson served as the President of the National Drug Enforcement Officers Association (NDEOA) for three years, the longest term of any President in the NDEOA’s 40-year history.

In 2010 SA Peterson took over the National Law Enforcement Speakers Bureau, LLC, a network of retired DEA Special Agents and other topic specific experts, providing the highest quality of training to the law enforcement community.  He is an adjunct instructor for DEA’s Academy at the Office of Training in Quantico, VA and a full-time Instructor at the DHS Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Charleston, SC.  But most importantly, he is the husband of a beautiful wife and father of three great daughters.  In actuality, he’s just an ordinary guy battling the forces of evil in extraordinary ways.