Advantages and Disadvantages of Undercover Officers Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Undercover Officers - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that the use of undercover as an investigative technique has grown into all areas of criminal investigations in most of the countries. Though an undercover officer’s job is an exciting one, it consists of a lot of challenges and risks. â€Å"It’s perfectly legal for undercover officers and informants to engage in criminal activity to protect their cover. Because of the serious threats to their lives, while facing extreme terrorists and criminals, undercover officers are legally allowed to engage in any sort of activities to protect their lives. They can even kill the suspected people if there is no other option to capture them alive. â€Å"Undercover officers are legally allowed to lie when you inquire whether they’re law enforcement personnel.   It does no good to ask, â€Å"Are you a cop?†Ã‚   Undercover cops can just reply, â€Å"Of course not.† As part of their duty, undercover officers need not tell truths all the times. They can manipulate stories and even they can tell utter lies to execute their mission effectively. The aim or target is most important for the undercover officers rather than the method used to reach the target. â€Å"To those engaged in police investigations, undercover operations offer the opportunity for increased efficiency. They allow you to penetrate criminal organizations not susceptible to other investigative techniques.† (Burton) Criminals have well-defined methods to tackle any kind of operations from the police because they are able to watch and act based on the police activities because of their known identity. On the other hand, because of the unknown identity of the undercover officers, criminals may not get enough information about the actions and procedures of these officers and also most of the undercover operations occur unexpectedly. The criminals may not get enough time for preparation or resistance in most of the undercover operati ons.