# Source of Information (Law Enforcement) **Entity class:** DOJ source category **Domain:** Law enforcement / occupational access ## Definition The Attorney General's 2001 confidential-informant guidelines define a **source of information** as a person who otherwise meets the informant definition but provides information solely through legitimate routine access to information or records—for example through the military, a law-enforcement agency, an airline, bank, telephone company, or other legitimate business—and does so consistently with law. The category is important because it describes how ordinary employment can become an information pathway without turning the entire occupation into an intelligence workforce. ## Relationships - **occupational boundary:** [[wiki/Occupational Collection Surface|Occupational Collection Surface]]. - **distinct from:** [[wiki/Undercover Employee|Undercover Employee]]. - **related to:** [[wiki/Confidential Informant|Confidential Informant]] and [[wiki/Limited Use Confidential Source|Limited Use Confidential Source]]. - **measurement:** [[wiki/Intelligence Participation Headcount|Intelligence Participation Headcount]]. ## Sources / Provenance - [DOJ — Confidential Informant Guidelines, January 8, 2001](https://www.justice.gov/archives/ag/attorney-general-renos-confidential-informant-guidelines-january-8-2001)