Mr. Big” recruiting for the criminal underworld: an examination of undercover police investigations in Canada

This thesis examines a controversial, yet increasingly common, undercover operational method known as the Mr. Big strategy where undercover police officers masquerade as criminals in order to elicit confessions from their targeted suspects. The analyses are based on a sample of 63 reasons for decision in Canadian criminal cases, from 1992 to 2008, where a confession was tendered as evidence at trial as a result of a Mr. Big investigation . An analysis of emerging trends in judicial decisions over the past 16 years helped trace the emergence, advancement, and sustainability of this post-offence undercover interrogation technique, highlighting potential risk factors that could be instrumental in the elicitation of unreliable, misleading, or inaccurate information from unwitting suspects. This thesis concludes by putting forward for consideration recommendations for legal reform that could help prevent the elicitation of false confessions and further miscarriages of justice in the Canadian criminal justice system.