Sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather evidence of the suspect's wrongdoing.
Sting operations are common in the United States, but not allowed in other countries such as Sweden and the Netherlands.
Examples
Ethical and legal concerns
Sting operations are fraught with ethical concerns over whether they constitute entrapment. Law-enforcement may have to be careful not to provoke the commission of a crime by someone who would not otherwise have done so. Additionally, in the process of such operations, the police often engage in the same crimes, such as buying or selling contraband, soliciting prostitutes, etc. In common law jurisdictions, the defendant may invoke the defense of entrapment.
Contrary to popular misconceptions, however, entrapment does not prohibit undercover police officers from posing as criminals or denying that they are police.[2] Entrapment is typically only a defense if a suspect is pressured into committing a crime they would probably not have committed otherwise, though the legal definition of this pressure varies greatly from country to country. For example, if undercover officers coerced a potential suspect into manufacturing illegal drugs to sell them, then the accused could use entrapment as a defense. However, if a suspect is already manufacturing drugs and police pose as buyers to catch him, then entrapment usually has not occurred.
Sting operations in popular culture
- In 1998, three agencies joined forces to conduct a sting operation when they successfully recovered the Honduras Goodwill Moon Rock from a vault in Miami. The sting operation was known as "Operation Lunar Eclipse" and the participating agencies were NASA Office of Inspector General, the United States Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Customs. The moon rock was offered to the undercover agents for 5 million dollars.[3][4]
- In June 2007, Larry Craig, a Republican senator from Idaho, was caught in a sex sting operation at a Minnesota airport. Craig was purportedly soliciting sex in a men's bathroom when he was arrested by an undercover policeman.[5] In August 2007, he filed a guilty plea for disorderly conduct. He professed to have been wrongly pressured into entering the plea, however, and on September 10 filed a request to withdraw his guilty plea.[6] His petition for withdrawal was rejected by the Minnesota court system. Craig went on to finish out the rest of his term despite the scandal and allegations.
- In To Catch a Predator, an NBC reality TV show hosted by Chris Hansen, decoys posing as minors have online conversations with potential sexual predators in an attempt to lure them to a meeting, where they are confronted by Hansen and the police.
- In White Collar (TV series), a fictional renowned thief, known as Neal Caffrey, is caught and serves as a criminal consultant for the FBI. Neal during these cases resumes a false identity to lure forgers and other thieves out of hiding such that the FBI can arrest and charge them.
See also
Notes
- ^ "Palm Springs, Coachella Valley - Weather, News, Sports: Special Report: Local police crack down on adults buying booze for minors". kesq.com. http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=1878103&nav=9qrxNETb.
- ^ "What Is Entrapment?". Slate. http://www.slate.com/id/1003657.
- ^ Joseph Richard Gutheinz (November 2004). "In Search of the Goodwill Moon Rocks: A Personal Account". geotimes.org.
- ^ Christina Reed (September 2002). "Moon rocks for sale!". geotimes.org. http://www.geotimes.org/sept02/NN_moon.html.
- ^ Prosecutors oppose Craig's request to rescind guilty plea - Washington Blade
- ^ "Sen. Craig files to rescind guilty plea". usatoday.com. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-09-09-craig-lawyer_N.htm.