Can a search warrant be issued pursuant to an affidavit of a police officer wherein it appears that probable cause for the issuance of the warrant rests upon information furnished to him by an informant?

A lawful search may be made pursuant to a search warrant issued upon the affidavit of a police officer wherein it appears that probable cause for the issuance of the warrant rests upon the officer's belief in information furnished to him by an informant, shown to be reliable, and whose identity is undisclosed. In this connection it is said, 'If a search is made pursuant to a warrant valid on its face and the only objection is that it was based on information given to a police officer by an unnamed informant, there is substantial protection against unlawful search and the necessity of applying the exclusionary rule in order to remove the incentive to engage in unlawful searches is not present. The warrant, of course, is issued by a magistrate, not by a police officer, and will be issued only when the magistrate is satisfied by the supporting affidavit that there is probable cause. He may, if he sees fit, require disclosure of the identity of the informant before issuing the warrant or require that the informant be brought to him. The requirement that an affidavit be presented to the magistrate and his control over the issuance of the warrant diminish the danger of illegal action, and it does not appear that there has been frequent abuse of the search warrant procedure. One of the purposes of the adoption of the exclusionary rule was to further the use of warrants, and it obviously is not desirable to place unnecessary burdens upon their use. The additional protection which would result from application of the Priestly rule in situations such as the one involved here would not offset the disadvantages of excluding probative evidence of crime and obstructing the flow of information to police.' (People v. Keener, supra, pp. 722, 723, 12 Cal.Rptr. pp. 863, 864, 361 P.2d pp. 591, 592.)