Editing Covert operation (section)

==Risks==
There are two principal problems that can affect agents working in undercover roles. The first is the maintenance of identity and the second is the reintegration back into normal duty.

Living a double life in a new environment presents many problems.  Undercover work is one of the most stressful jobs a special agent can undertake.<ref>Girodo, M. (1991). Symptomatic reactions to undercover work. The [[Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease]], 179 (10), 626–630.</ref> The largest cause of stress identified is the separation of an agent from friends, family and his normal environment. This simple isolation can lead to depression and anxiety.  There is no data on the divorce rates of agents, but strain on relationships does occur.  This can be a result of a need for secrecy and an inability to share work problems, and the unpredictable work schedule, personality and lifestyle changes and the length of separation can all result in problems for relationships.<ref name="Marx, G. 1988">Marx, G. (1988). Undercover: Police Surveillance in America. Berkeley: University of California Press</ref>

[[stress (biology)|Stress]] can also result from an apparent lack of direction of the investigation or not knowing when it will end.  The amount of elaborate planning, risk, and expenditure can pressure an agent to succeed, which can cause considerable stress.<ref name="ReferenceA">Marx, G. (1988). Undercover: Police Surveillance in America. Berkeley: University of California Press.</ref> The stress that an undercover agent faces is considerably different from his counterparts on regular duties, whose main source of stress is the administration and the bureaucracy.<ref>{{cite journal
 |title= Sources of occupational stress in the police
 |first1= Jennifer
 |last1= Brown
 |first2= Elizabeth
 |last2= Campbell
|date=October 1990
 |volume=4
|issue=4
|pages=305–318
 |doi= 10.1080/02678379008256993
 |journal= Work & Stress
 }}</ref> As the undercover agents are removed from the bureaucracy, it may result in another problem.  The lack of the usual controls of a uniform, badge, constant supervision, a fixed place of work, or (often) a set assignment could, combined with their continual contact with the [[organized crime]], increase the likelihood for corruption.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

This stress may be instrumental in the development of drug or alcohol abuse in some agents.  They are more prone to the development of an [[Substance dependence|addiction]] as they suffer greater stress than other police, they are isolated, and drugs are often very accessible.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> Police, in general, have very high alcoholism rates compared to most occupational groups, and stress is cited as a likely factor.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> The environment that agents work in often involves a very liberal exposure to the consumption of alcohol,<ref>Girodo, M. (1991). Drug corruptions in undercover agents: Measuring the risks. Behavioural Science and the Law, 9, 361–370.</ref> which in conjunction with the stress and isolation could result in alcoholism.

There can be some guilt associated with going undercover due to betraying those who have come to trust the officer. This can cause anxiety or even, in very rare cases, sympathy with those being targeted.  This is especially true with the infiltration of political groups, as often the agent will share similar characteristics with those they are infiltrating like class, age, ethnicity or religion.  This could even result in the conversion of some agents.<ref name="Marx, G. 1988" />

The lifestyle led by undercover agents is very different compared to other areas in law enforcement, and it can be quite difficult to reintegrate back into normal duties.  Agents work their own hours, they are removed from direct supervisory monitoring, and they can ignore the dress and etiquette rules.<ref>Girodo, M. (1991). Personality, job stress, and mental health in undercover agents. Journal of Social Behaviour and Personality, 6 (7), 375–390.</ref> So resettling back into the normal police role requires the shedding of old habits, language and dress.  After working such free lifestyles, agents may have discipline problems or exhibit neurotic responses.  They may feel uncomfortable, and take a cynical, suspicious or even paranoid world view and feel continually on guard.<ref name="ReferenceA" />
Other risks include capture, death and [[torture]].