Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

The term "CI" refers to a confidential informant, who provides information to police in exchange for consideration in his or her own criminal case. These vermin are more commonly known as "snitches" or "rats."

The result usually depends on the value of the information the snitch provides to law enforcement. If they set up lots of busts, they'll usually get a better outcome. The arrests can also be for show; the police will arrest the snitch to increase his credibility on the street, because people may tend to think the police won't think arrest a snitch.

In most cases, working as an informant is dangerous business. Many law enforcement agencies and prosecutors are careful not to promise anything until the snitch has already provided the information. In many cases, the benefit is not worth the danger involved; for instance, a snitch may get some time knocked off his sentence, but he will still go to prison with a "rat jacket," which means the other prisoners will know he has been an informant. Prison is a dangerous place, anyway, but it's even worse for those the other inmates consider the lowest of the low, and snitches are at the bottom, along with child molesters.

Please understand that this is a general discussion of legal principles by a California lawyer and does not create an attorney/client relationship. It's impossible to give detailed, accurate advice based on a few sentences on a website (and you shouldn't provide too much specific information about your legal matter on a public forum like LawGuru, anyway). You should always seek advice from an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction who can give you an informed opinion after reviewing all of the relevant information.