In informant reliability, which type is described as anonymous informant?

• A. Named citizen
• B. Anonymous informant
• C. Criminal informant
• D. All informants are equally reliable

Answer: (B)

An anonymous informant is someone who provides information without revealing their identity. This anonymity affects how much weight their tips carry because verification relies on corroboration and motives rather than just the tip itself. Since you can’t independently assess the informant’s credibility from their name or background, investigators must seek corroborating evidence or patterns before treating the information as reliable. In contrast, a named citizen is known to investigators and can be evaluated more easily for credibility, a criminal informant may have incentives that bias their information, and the idea that all informants are equally reliable is not accurate because reliability varies with identity, motives, and corroboration.