Sting operation
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In law enforcement, asting operationis adeceptiveoperation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have anundercoverlaw enforcementofficer, detective, or co-operative 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.Mass mediajournalists occasionally resort to sting operations to record video and broadcast to expose criminal activity.[1]
Sting operations are common in many countries, such as the United States,[2]but they are not permitted in some countries, such as Sweden or France.[3]There are prohibitions on conducting certain types of sting operations, such as in the Philippines, where it is illegal for law enforcers to pose as drug dealers to apprehend buyers of illegal drugs.[4]
Examples
[edit]- Deploying abait carto catch a car thief[5]
- Setting up a seemingly vulnerablehoneypotcomputer to lure and gain information abouthackers[6]
- Offering to pass weapons or explosives to a would-be terrorist[7]
- Luringfugitivesout of hiding by sending them mail telling them that they have won a vacation or sports tickets in a competition, which can be collected.[8]In a 1985 sting known asOperation Flagship,US Marshals arrested over 100 fugitives by posing as a television company inviting them to theWashington Convention Centerto claim free tickets for aWashington Redskinsmatch.[8]Another established a fictitious airline offering free tickets, arresting those who came to the fake checkin desk atMiami International Airport.[8]Such arrests are significantly safer than arresting the fugitive at their home, as the target will often be unarmed and off-guard.[9]
- Arranging for someone under thelegal drinkingorsmoking ageto ask an adult to buy analcoholic beverageortobaccoproducts for them[10]
- Posing as adocumentaryfilm crewto lure apirateto the country where a crime was committed.[8]
- Posting a newspaper advertisement seeking a type of rare item known to have been stolen. In 1998, three agencies joined forces to conduct a sting operation where they successfully recovered theHonduras Goodwill Moon Rockfrom a vault in Miami. The sting operation was known as "Operation Lunar Eclipse" and the participating agencies wereNASA Office of Inspector General,theUnited States Postal Inspection ServiceandU.S. Customs.The moon rock was offered to the undercover agents forUS$5million. JournalistChristina Reedbroke that story in Geotimes in 2002.[11][12]Operation Lunar Eclipse and the Moon Rock Project were the subject of the bookThe Case of the Missing Moon Rocksby Joe Kloc.
- Posing as a minor on the internet, luring and catching online predators in the act.[13]
See also
[edit]- Advance-fee scam– Type of confidence trick fraud
- ATF fictional sting operations– Campaign of sting operations
- The Case of the Missing Moon Rocks
- Edison divorce torture plot– Kidnap and torture ring
- Entrapment– Legal doctrine
- Fence (criminal)– Person who knowingly buys stolen goods in order to later resell them for profit
- Honey trapping– Investigative practice using romantic or sexual relationships
- Honeypot (computing)– Computer security mechanism
- Informant– Person who provides information
- List of scholarly publishing stings– List of nonsense papers that were accepted by an academic journal or conference
- Mr. Big (police procedure)
- Murder of Rachel Hoffman,the execution of a police informant during a sting operation
- Narada Sting Operation
- Operation Tennessee Waltz
- Possession of stolen goods
- John David Roy Atchison(1954–2007), Assistant US Attorney and children's sports coach, committed suicide in prison after being arrested in a sting operation and charged with soliciting sex from a 5-year-old girl
- Stephen Joseph Ratkai,arrested and convicted ofespionageinCanadaafter a successful sting operation
- The Sting- a 1973 film
- Vigilantism in the United States of America
References
[edit]- ^Greenslade, Roy (2 June 2013)."Journalism: to sting or not to sting?".The Guardian– via theguardian.
- ^"Watch: FBI Targets American Muslims in Abusive Counterterrorism" Sting Operations "".The Huffington Post.23 July 2014.
- ^[1]Swedish Supreme Court, verdict B 5039-06.
- ^Luna, Franco (25 February 2021)."PDEA and PNP scrap 'miss encounter tag on Commonwealth shootout, will wait for probe findings".The Philippine Star.Retrieved25 February2021.
- ^Lagatta, Eric (7 December 2021)."Police arrest three teenagers in 'bait car' sting near Ohio State campus".The Columbus Dispatch.Retrieved18 February2024.
- ^Schrage, Michael (26 January 2024)."We Can Trap More Crooks With a Net Full of Honey".Washington Post.Retrieved17 February2024.
- ^"Newburgh Four: judge orders release of man convicted in US terror sting".The Guardian.Associated Press. 20 January 2024.Retrieved17 February2024.
- ^abcdAntonia Noori Farzan (11 June 2021)."From fake weddings to free flights, elaborate sting operations have ensnared suspects around the world".The Washington Post.
- ^Clark, Jerry; Palattella, Ed (2019).On the Lam: A History of Hunting Fugitives in America.Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 135–137.ISBN9781442262591.
- ^"Palm Springs, Coachella Valley – Weather, News, Sports: Special Report: Local police crack down on adults buying booze for minors".kesq. Archived fromthe originalon 15 January 2009.
- ^Christina Reed (September 2002)."Moon rocks for sale!".Geotimes.American Geological Institute. Archived fromthe originalon 18 May 2003.
- ^Joseph Richard Gutheinz(November 2004)."In Search of the Goodwill Moon Rocks: A Personal Account".Geotimes.American Geological Institute.
- ^Brody, Bernard (13 August 2020)."Not Guilty verdict in federal internet sex sting case: United States v. JWK".Brody Law Firm.Archived fromthe originalon 18 May 2024.