Informants are extremely common in every-day police work, including homicide and narcotics investigations. Any … See more

Corporations and the detective agencies that sometimes represent them have historically hired labor spies to monitor or control labor organizations and their activities. Such individuals may be professiona… See more

Informers alert authorities regarding government officials that are corrupt. Officials may be taking bribes or be participants in a money loop also called a kickback. Informers in some countries receive a p… See more

Jailhouse informants, who report hearsay (admissions against penal interest) which they claim to have heard while the accused is in pretrial detention, usually in exchange for sentence reductions or other inducement… See more

Slang terms for informants include:
• blabbermouth
• cheese eater
• canary – derives from the fact that canaries sing, and "singing" is underworld or street slang for providing information or talking to the police. … See more

• Tim Allen, actor, who was arrested with cocaine and provided the names of other dealers in exchange for a sentence of three to seven years rather than a possible life imprisonment
• Nicky Barnes, head of The Council, … See more

A system of informants existed in the Russian Empire and was later adopted by the Soviet Union. In Russia, such people were known as osvedomitel or donoschik, and secretly cooperated with law enforceme… See more