• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Justice, Law & Order, Entrapment?

O

Ornery

Lifer
rutchtkim's sister had a digital camera stolen. What penalty does the thief face if caught? I'd like to see them at least have to cough up as much money as the victim would have lost. Fair, no? Perhaps a little more to teach them a lesson? Perhaps some jail time too? Do bleeding hearts have a problem with that?

What percentage of the general population would have snitched that camera, given the chance? I'd say roughly 10%. How would you like to start going after this scum with a vengeance? I would! I'd love to set up a video camera to catch people walking off with stuff that doesn't belong to them, like that camera. Would that be considered entrapment? Just leave a camera hanging on a chair and bag any SOB that walks out the door with it. Prosecute to the fullest. Make it just expensive enough to be grand theft. Who around here would have a problem with this?
 
I don't really think that's entrapment. The thief is still acting on their own. Otherwise, you couldn't have surviellance cameras in stores to catch shoplifters. The only way its entrapment is if you go cajole him into stealing it.

but i could be wrong...
m00se
 
I'd like to have the video as proof after the fact. Basically, just have somebody stake out the item when it's left unattended. When somebody walks off with it, apprehend them. Pretty much like a speed trap, only I'd call it a scum trap! :frown:
 


<< I don't really think that's entrapment. The thief is still acting on their own. Otherwise, you couldn't have surviellance cameras in stores to catch shoplifters. The only way its entrapment is if you go cajole him into stealing it. but i could be wrong... m00se >>



That does make sense, but I am no lawyer.

You would have to wait to apprehend them when they left - not if they just picked it up after all they could be one of those rare individuals who would take it to the counter to report that someone 'left' it their by mistake. Figure the odds though.

I don't have a problem with having video cameras in public places as I don't have anything to fear from them. BTW: I love NY😀

VP

 
Not entrapment.

It is not entrapment if the criminal is predisposed to commit the crime.

It is entrapment if the state creates the predisposition.

Contrary to what most people think, it takes a whole lot before something becomes entrapment.

Jeremy
 
i've lived in nyc for like 12 years now and have never had anything stolen. that chick was just plain stupid to hang a 800 dollar camera around a chair, whether in nyc or in a church you just dont do stupid things like that, everyone should have the common sense to know that scum is everywhere.
 
I thought entrapment is when you are led to the crime, not tempted. In other words, given the circumstances the only plausible move is to commit the crime.
 
Did a "sting" operation, in which officers left an unlocked car in a public place--with the keys in the ignition--constitute entrapment?
  • One evening, Bakersfield police conducted a somewhat elaborate vehicle theft "sting" operation. It went like this: Officers in a patrol car made a phony car stop on a 1980 Monte Carlo, driven by an undercover officer. The driver pulled into a parking lot and stopped. A group of spectators watched as an officer ordered the driver out, patting him down, handcuffed him, placed him in the back seat of the patrol car, and drove away, leaving the Monte Carlo behind--unlocked and with the keys in the ignition. Surveillance officers were also left behind.

    A couple of hours later, the surveillance officers arrested Watson as he drove the Monte Carlo from the parking lot. He was subsequently charged with car theft (Vehicle Code ' 10851).
Watson contended the officers' sting operation constituted entrapment.
  • Entrapment occurs if the officers' conduct would have made the commission of the crime appear unusually attractive to a normally law-abiding person. For example, entrapment may occur if officers represented to the defendant that the crime would not be detected or that it was not illegal, or officers offered the suspect an exorbitant payoff for committing the crime.(4)
So, the question was whether an unlocked car with the keys in the ignition would appeal "unusually attractive" to a normally law-abiding person?

Hint: The whole story and results can be found in the link above.
 
"The police did nothing more than present to the general community a tempting opportunity to take the Monte Carlo. Some persons, obviously including defendant, might have found the temptation hard to resist. But a person who steals when given the opportunity is an opportunistic thief, not a normally law-abiding person. Specifically, normally law-abiding persons do not take a car not belonging to them merely because it is unlocked with the keys in the ignition and it appears they will not be caught."

I liked this part. An opportunistic thief is still just a thief in the eyes of the law. Good point.

VP
 
This would not, legally speaking, constitute entrapment - entrapment exists only if the defendant would not have committed the offense but for the influence of the authorities. That said, I can't see that this would be an optimal use of prosecutorial resources. Virtually every major criminal jurisdiction in the U.S. is overloaded as it is, and a sting operation like this would simply lead to a whole lot of prosecutions of people who likely would not ordinarily commit a criminal act (because they are not routinely faced with such a tempting, easily-accessible target). These kinds of cases would almost invariably be pled out as misdemeanor theft and I doubt most courts would give any significant jail time for a first-time offender who stole a camera. Frankly if they did give jail time it would be that much more wasteful.
 
I'd love to turn law enforcement away from victimless crimes, like pot use and prostitution, and concentrate on these scum. I'd confiscate enough money from these worms to perpetuate the enforcement efforts. Expand the courts and deputize block watch groups. Basically, I'd rather extract a pound of flesh from them, but I'll settle for making their lives financially miserable as well as loss of freedom in whatever way is practical and feasible.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top