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Entrapment.The Supreme Court has defined entrapment in Sorrells v. United States (1932) as "the conception and planning of an offense by an officer, and his procurement of it's commission by one who would not have perpetrated it except for the trickery, persuasion or fraud of the officer." Sorrells also explained the need for trickery in obtaining evidence:"Society is at war with the criminal classes, and the courts have uniformly held that in waging this warfare the forces of prevention and detection may use traps, decoys and deception to obtain evidence of the commission of a crime." Sorrells concludes, "The fact that government agents merely afford opportunities or facilities for the commission of the offense does not constitute entrapment."These Court rulings still stand. In Sherman v. United States (1958), the Court explained, "Entrapment occurs only when the criminal conduct was 'the product of the creative activity' of law enforcement officials. To determine whether entrapment has been established, a line must be drawn between the trap for the unwary innocent and the trap for the unwary criminal."Sting operations. Newman (2007, p.3) notes, "Because sting operations cover a wide variety of crimes and use different techniques depending on the operation's immediate or longterm purpose, it is difficult to define precisely what a sting operation is. However, with some exceptions, all sting operations contain four basic elements:1. An opportunity or enticement to commit a crime, either created or exploited by police. 2. A targeted likely offender or group of offenders for a particular crime type.3. An undercover or hidden police officer or surrogate or some form of deception.4. A "gotcha" climax when the operation ends with arrests.
A controversial sting operation in New York City, Operation Lucky Bag, prompred charges of entrampment. The sting was started in 2006 and involved police officers leaving purses, bags or wallets on subway trains or other public places. If someone took the item, he or she was arrested. A spokesperson for the NYPD said, "Operation Lucky Bag is designed to combat the most frequently reported serious crime in the city's transit system - grand larceny" ("Controversial New York Sting," 2008, p.3). The executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union has criticized the operation, calling it "worse than entrapment. Entrapment is setting people up to engage in criminal activity to which they would not otherwise be disposed. This is setting people up to be Good Samaritans and then treating them like criminals."
Sting operations, which have become a major law enforcement technique in recent years, involve using various undercover methods to apprehend thieves and recover stolen property. For example, the police rent a storefront and put the word out on the street that they will buy any stolen property - no questions asked. The police set up hidden video and audio recorders that can be used to identify "customers," who are then located and placed under arrest several months later. The audio and video recorders make excellent evidence in court. There are numerous examples of successful sting.An FBI-run high-tech electronics store in Miami was used by drug traffickers to purchase beepers, cellular phones, and computers. The 17-month operation resulted in 93 arrests. Another FBI sting in New Jersey, in which agents posed as fences who bought 170 stolen trucks and luxury cars worth $9 million during a two-year period, netted 35 arrests. Another type of sting operation is directed against people wanted on warrants. These wanted persons are mailed a letter telling them that they have won an award (such as tickets to an important ball game) and that they should report to a certain location (usually a hotel) at a certain time to pick up the prize. When the person appears, he or she is arrested. Traditionally, sting operations involved setting up false storefronts to deal in stolen property but over the years the definition of sting operations has expanded. They now often include corruption, prostitution, car theft, drug dealing, child pornography, child sexual abuse, and tobacco and alcohol sales to minors.
Studies of sting operations have found that they account for a large number of arrests and the recovery of a significant amount of stolen property. However, the studies have failed to demonstrate that the tactic leads to reductions in crime. A major drawback to sting operations is that they can serve as inducements to burglary and theft, because they create a market for stolen goods. Sting operations can also lead to questions regarding ethics. Consider the congressional Abscam operations. Abscam was a sting conducted by FBI agents from 1978 to 1980 against memeber of Congress. The agents, posing as Arab sheikhs, offered bribes to members of congress in return for favors. The sting resulted in the conviction of seven member of Congress and other officials, as well as harsh criticism (by some) of the FBI for its undercover methods. Recently, police departments have expanded their definition of stings. Frustrated with increasing gun violence and perception that the federal government wasn't taking any action, New York City decided to take on gun dealers in other states. New York City sent teams of private investigators posing as gun buyers to stores in five states and caught 15 dealers making illegal sales. These businesses had been the source of 500 guns that were used in the commission of crimes in New York City. The operatives went into the stores with hidden cameras. One investigator looked at the guns, talked with the sales staff, and made the decision. This investigator then called the second investigator over (usually female), who had not been involved in any way, to fill out the background paperwork, and then the first investigator would pay for the gun, This practice is referred to as using a "straw buyer," someone with no criminal record, to fill out the background paperwork to purchase a gun for a dealer.
Sting operations have drawbacks. By its very nature, a sting involves deceit by police agents that often comes close to entrapment. Covert police activities have often been criticized as violating the personal rights of citizens which forcing officers into demeaning roles, such as having female officers act like prostitutes. (Ironically, recent 2005 research by Mary Dodge and her associates found that rather than considering it demeaning female officers find their work as make-believe prostitutes exciting; they consider it a stepping-stone for promotion.)Sting operations may encourage criminals to commit new crimes because they have a new source for fencing stolen good. Innocent people may hurt their reputations by buying merchandise from a sting operation when they had no idea that the items had been stolen. By putting the government in the fencing business, such operations blur the line between law enforcement and criminal activity.
