South Australia Police says it has not used lawyers as sources in a similar way to the Victorian Lawyer X since at least 2000.

Key points: SA Police says it has not used lawyers as informants since at least 2000

SA Police says it has not used lawyers as informants since at least 2000 A royal commission is underway into Victoria Police's use of lawyers as informants

A royal commission is underway into Victoria Police's use of lawyers as informants SA Police says it is not possible to know if interstate intelligence shared with them came from a lawyer source

However, SA Police says there is no way for it to know if it received any information via Victoria Police from the lawyer — also known as Informer 3838 — or other interstate lawyers in similar circumstances.

A royal commission set up to investigate Victoria Police's use of Informer 3838 as a registered police informant during Melbourne's bloody gangland wars began last Friday.

The scope of its inquiry has been broadened to include other police informants, which Victoria Police confirmed included more people with "professional obligations".

Earlier this month, SA Police refused to rule out the possibility that lawyers had been used as informants in South Australian prosecutions.

In a statement last night, police said the current officer in charge and all prior managers back to the formation of the Human Source Management Section in 2000 had been spoken to concerning the engagement of solicitors as sources.

"Commissioner Grant Stevens has been advised that there is no recollection or record of any engagement of a solicitor as a human source in such circumstances," the service said.

Police said the Commissioner had written to the SA Bar Association this week in response to a request for information relating to the management of informants.

SA Bar Association executive member David Edwardson QC said he was reassured by the letter.

He has written back on behalf of the SA Bar confirming all concerns have been allayed.

"[Mr Stevens] has promptly and unequivocally responded to our concerns and made it categorically clear that the corrupt practice in Victoria has never occurred in SA and nor will it," Mr Edwardson said.

Sorry, this video has expired Why you should care about the Lawyer X affair

Interstate intelligence could come from lawyers

SA Police said it could not know if information given to it from interstate forces used lawyers as informants.

"With respect to the question as to whether SAPOL has received intelligence from Victorian lawyer Informer 3838 or any lawyer in similar circumstances, SAPOL only receives information from another agency in a deidentified and sanitised form," they said.

"This is done by each owner agency prior to dissemination and occurs as a matter of public interest to protect the identity of the person providing the information."

The High Court described Victorian Police's use of Lawyer X as "reprehensible conduct" which involved sanctioning "atrocious breaches of the sworn duty of every police officer".

The court also found the defence lawyer had engaged in a "fundamental and appalling breach" of her obligations as a barrister.

Victoria's Director of Public Prosecutions wrote to 20 criminals after the suppression orders were lifted to let them know their convictions were potentially tainted by the arrangement.

The lawyer represented notorious underworld figure Tony Mokbel and six of his associates, while acting as a paid police informant against some of her clients.