Legal Definitions - stool pigeon

Stool Pigeon

The term "stool pigeon" is a slang expression used to describe an individual who:

• Serves as an informant, particularly for law enforcement, by secretly providing information about criminal activities or organizations.
• Acts as a decoy, often on behalf of police to facilitate an arrest, or sometimes for individuals engaged in deceptive practices like gambling or swindling.

Here are some examples illustrating the use of this term:

• During a complex investigation into organized crime, a low-level associate of a criminal syndicate, fearing a lengthy prison sentence, agrees to become a stool pigeon. He provides detectives with detailed information about the syndicate's money laundering operations and the identities of key members, hoping for a reduced sentence in return.

  This example illustrates the first sense of "stool pigeon," where an individual acts as an informant for law enforcement, secretly providing critical intelligence about criminal activities.

• To catch a serial pickpocket operating in a busy downtown market, police deploy an plainclothes officer who deliberately walks through the crowd with an unzipped bag, appearing distracted. When the pickpocket attempts to steal from the officer's bag, uniformed officers waiting nearby quickly apprehend the suspect. The plainclothes officer acted as a stool pigeon in this operation.

  Here, the plainclothes officer functions as a decoy, intentionally creating an opportunity for a crime to occur so that law enforcement can make an arrest, fitting the second sense of the term.

• A group running a fraudulent investment scheme hires an actor to pose as a highly successful client at their promotional seminars. This actor enthusiastically shares fabricated stories of immense profits, encouraging new potential investors to hand over their money. The actor serves as a stool pigeon for the swindlers.

  This scenario demonstrates the second sense where an individual acts as a decoy, in this case for swindlers, to mislead and entice victims into a fraudulent scheme.