What are the ethical problems with paying $25,000 to a key informant for information?

Question

Who otherwise won't disclose anything. (btw, this is hypothetical, for an assignment) It's for an undercover series to expose rumored corruption in a certain hospital...4 patients might have died as a direct result of the conditions in the hospital, and paying is the only way you will get any information out of this person. What would you do? What are the ethical/legal issues surrounding this?

Answer 1

The only ethical problem I see is with the informant himself/herself. This person obviously values money more than saving lives and, apparently, works in a hospital (hypothetically).

Answer 2

Well, sometimes a person will lose their job and or have to move and relocate after being a key informant about corruption. The FBI gives rewards for tips to turn people in. I do not see any problem with this reward money because, most people will need to move and relocate after informing about a bad situation. People are reluctant to disclose information because it will cause problems in their work situation and they will have to move and change jobs. it is a major ethical decision.

Answer 3

I think the cost of getting the information outweighs traditional methods of getting information. If this amount will get the proof for the case, it is little to pay for that. Otherwise, they might be spending much more than that tracking down the information.



But in a court, it might be perceived by jurors that the information is not valid because it was paid for. The hospital will have the burden of verifying the information the informant gave.

Answer 4

Money taints questionable people.



Respectable people wouldn't need the inducement of huge sums of cash to dislodge information they know about people being hurt. That information would sing from our lips.



Giving someone money to go forward, cheapens and makes suspect the information being shared. It's not as reliable as if it were given free of charge...like witness testimony..