Civilian snitches are people who are not part of an adversary's security force, but who would inform the adversary if they saw something suspicious.
For example, a civilian snitch who witnesses a crime and identifies with the State is likely to call the police, provide a description of the suspect(s), and may even follow the suspects until the police intervene or become a witness in a criminal investigation.
Used in tactics: Deterrence, Incrimination
Mitigations
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Anonymous dress | You can dress anonymously to prevent civilians from providing a description of you that would be valuable to an adversary. |
| Attack | If a civilian follows you after an action, you can scare them off with threats or pepper spray. If a civilian tries to call the police, you can destroy their phone. |
| Careful action planning | Civilians can observe you during an action and report their observations to an adversary. To mitigate this, you can carry out actions at night or in areas with minimal foot traffic to minimize witnesses, and use a lookout to report the presence of any witnesses as soon as they are noticed. Beware of balconies and windows overlooking the action site. |
Used in repressive operations
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Belarusian anarcho-partisans | While trying to cross the Belarusian-Ukrainian border, the people stopped at a shop about 10 kilometers from the border[1]. A shopkeeper called the border guards on them, which led directly to their arrest. |
| 2019-2020 case against Mónica and Francisco | The saleswoman of the cell phone store where Mónica bought a phone that was used as part of the 2020 action, when questioned by investigators, gave a description of a person that the investigators matched to Mónica[2]. |
| Fenix | When Lukáš Borl was in clandestinity his photo and personal information were published on the national police website to encourage civilians to send information about him to the police[3]. |