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Comment by pavel_lishin | Hacker News Reader

> This article isn't about searches; it's about the technicians reporting something they happen to see in the course of their business relationship with the customer.

If I witness a hit-and-run, will the local police department pay me for it? If I wave a traffic cop over to an illegally parked car, do I get a cut of the fine the driver pays?

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I've heard of local PD paying for tips/information on things like petty crimes and misdemeanors (though, maybe not parking). I have no proof of such a thing, but I can't see why they would not do it if circumstances allow.

> If I witness a hit-and-run

IANAL, but I suspect that's the important distinction. You witnessed something, you didn't search for it. Just like these Best Buy technicians witnessed the illegal/contraband items.

I think that the issue comes in when people have the option of both plain sight and searching. For example if an electrician is paid by the local PD to report drug paraphernalia they now have an incentive on future calls to poke around where they don't strictly need to be. How do you know whether they conducted an illegal search (as an agent of the government since they are paid if they find something) vs. saw it in the regular course of their duties? To me that is the key. The person is already in a somewhat privileged position, not just standing on a street corner with their eyes open. The payment creates a conflict of interest, thereby making anything they find suspect.

I agree with you... What I'm saying is even with someone reporting information from a "privileged position", the Police _still_ need a search warrant to gain that knowledge in a way they could charge someone with a crime.

If Police want to move forward with charges based on information from a paid CI alone, they are certainly able to do so. However, I doubt it happens very often because they know they need evidence collected via the correct legal process.

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