> On the other hand, if you purchase a gun without a license or attempt to hire a contract killer and it turns out to be a police officer you are in contact with, then that sting just save a life, which is good.
How do you know that? How do you know the whole thing wasn't completely created by the police, enticing unstable individuals to do things they would never have done without their help?
Stings are not just "slightly unfair", they are fake and immoral and the people who carry them out are despicable (as this story shows).
(Replacing guns and drugs with cars, so that it isn't a topic we feel strongly about (I am pro-legalization for either, in any event))
If a unstable person walking down the street is enticed by a bait car and attempts to steal it, I think we can caulk that up as a win for society. Maybe they would not have tried to steal a car that day, but they are evidently the sort of person that is willing to steal cars. It is better to get them into the justice system now, rather than wait for them to steal a non-bate car and possibly get away with it.
The bate car scenario eliminates the possibility that the officers involved talked the person into it. Entrapment certainly is problematic, but I do not think that sting operations in general are.
> The bate car scenario eliminates the possibility that the officers involved talked the person into it
It also doesn't make much sense; what's the difference between a "bate car" and a regular car? Do we need bate cars and people watching those, or regular police officers patrolling the streets and protecting ordinary cars from getting stolen?
The whole sting concept lies on the idea that there are inherently bad people and that society just needs to somehow flush them out with clever traps.
But that concept is at odds with the fundamental humanist idea of "punishment" and human perfectibility; the purpose of punishment is to help people improve and amend their behavior. If some people are just "bad" then punishment won't help them.
Bate cars are placed in high-crime areas, have unambiguous ownership (read: anybody trying to drive away with it is trying to steal it) and are easier to stake out than an entire neighborhood of cars. They require less manpower per arrest. Furthermore, bate cars can be rigged to trap the suspect in the car, eliminating the possibility of dangerous car chases.
I am not bullish on punishment. I am instead interested in protecting the public. Imprisonment is useful not because it punishes criminals but because it prevents the criminals from victimizing the general public. Punishment itself serves little purpose (I don't believe that punishment as a deterrent is particularly effective). Rehabilitation is useful, though imprisonment during rehabilitation is often necessary (rehabilitation is not an out-patient procedure). America needs to work on it's rehabilitation, but in the meantime arresting criminals remains necessary.
It's also an effective deterrent. Car burglars in that area are likely thinking twice about thefts if they've heard about someone stealing a bait car and getting caught.
How do you know that? How do you know the whole thing wasn't completely created by the police, enticing unstable individuals to do things they would never have done without their help?
Stings are not just "slightly unfair", they are fake and immoral and the people who carry them out are despicable (as this story shows).