Where a prison informer initiates contact with police rather than being recruited by them, and the police do not coach or direct the informer's conversations, the informer is not an agent of the police and the resulting admissions evidence is not obtained improperly for the purposes of s 138 of the Evidence Act 1995. The line between permissible and impermissible police involvement with prison informers is a question of fact and degree for the trial judge. An appellate court will not interfere with the trial judge's exercise of discretion under ss 90 and 138 unless a miscarriage of justice is established.
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