Showing informants in a variety of contexts provides a broader picture of them, and highlights the potential pitfalls associated with their use within our criminal justice system. Police depend on insiders to prosecute the perpetrators of many of the so-called victimless crimes like drug dealing, money laundering and political corruption. As victimless crimes have grown, so has the use of informants. Providing insights into law enforcement techniques as well as the Court's response to them, Bloom illuminates the pernicious legal ramifications that can result from the justice system's...

An inherent tension resides in the Fourth Amendment's strictures on unreasonable searches and seizures. We want it to protect our privacy from government intrusion, yet we want the police to do whatever is required to solve crime. Greater controls on the power of the police provide more privacy protections to citizens. Reduced controls on police actions provide less privacy protection to citizens. Bloom explores this tension as he guides the reader to through the history and relevant Supreme Court decisions that have shaped the current state of Fourth Amendment law.