When the guards guard themselves: Undercover tactics turned inward

The perennial issue of "who guards the guards?" has taken a new turn in the U.S. with the increased use of covert means to ferret out corruption among police, prison guards, prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges. This specialized use is located within the recent general expansion of undercover policing in the United States. Theoretical issues involved in controlling the controllers, empirical examples, intended and unintended consequences and the policy issues this raises are discussed.