Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

Re: confidential informant

A confidential informant is someone who gives information to the police during the course of an investigation whose identity is concealed, usually for safety reasons.

Usually the information given by a CI serves as the basis for a search warrant, wiretap or other investigative methods.

A CI may be someone with a criminal record. Many times, someone becomes a CI upon being arrested in order to get consideration from the DA. This is common in drug cases where a person arrested "flips" on someone higher up in a drug organization by becoming a CI.