Sting operation explained

In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have an undercover law enforcement officer, 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 media journalists 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

• Deploying a bait car to catch a car thief^[5]
• Setting up a seemingly vulnerable honeypot computer to lure and gain information about hackers^[6]
• Offering to pass weapons or explosives to a would-be terrorist^[7]
• Luring fugitives out 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 an 1985 sting known as Operation Flagship, US Marshals arrested over 100 fugitives by posing as a television company inviting them to the Washington Convention Center to claim free tickets for a Washington Redskins match.^[8] Another established a fictitious airline offering free tickets, arresting those who came to the fake checkin desk at Miami 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 the legal drinking or smoking age to ask an adult to buy an alcoholic beverage or tobacco products for them^[10]
• Posing as a documentary film crew to lure a pirate to the country where a crime was committed.
• 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 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  million. Journalist Christina Reed broke that story in Geotimes in 2002.^{[11] [12]} Operation Lunar Eclipse and the Moon Rock Project were the subject of the book The Case of the Missing Moon Rocks by Joe Kloc.
• Posing as a minor on the internet, luring and catching online predators in the act.^[13]

See also

• • • The Case of the Missing Moon Rocks
      • • • • • 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 of espionage in Canada after a successful sting operation
• The Sting - a 1973 film
• Vigilantism in the United States of America

External links

• Spencer Ackerman: Government agents 'directly involved in most high-profile US terror plots. Human Rights Watch documents 'sting' operations. Report raises questions about post-9/11 civil rights, The Guardian, 21 July 2014.

Notes and References

1. News: Journalism: to sting or not to sting?. Roy. Greenslade. The Guardian . 2 June 2013. www.theguardian.com.
2. Web site: Watch: FBI Targets American Muslims in Abusive Counterterrorism "Sting Operations". The Huffington Post. 23 July 2014.
3. http://www.hogstadomstolen.se/Avgoranden/Vagledande-domar-och-beslut-prejudikat/2007/
4. News: Luna . Franco . PDEA and PNP scrap 'miss encounter tag on Commonwealth shootout, will wait for probe findings . 25 February 2021 . The Philippine Star . 25 February 2021.
5. News: Lagatta . Eric . Police arrest three teenagers in 'bait car' sting near Ohio State campus . 18 February 2024 . The Columbus Dispatch . 7 December 2021.
6. News: Schrage . Michael . We Can Trap More Crooks With a Net Full of Honey . 17 February 2024 . Washington Post . 26 January 2024.
7. News: Associated Press . Newburgh Four: judge orders release of man convicted in US terror sting . 17 February 2024 . The Guardian . 20 January 2024.
8. News: From fake weddings to free flights, elaborate sting operations have ensnared suspects around the world . 11 June 2021 . Antonia Noori Farzan . The Washington Post .
9. Book: Clark . Jerry . On the Lam: A History of Hunting Fugitives in America . Palattella . Ed . Rowman & Littlefield . 2019 . 9781442262591 . Lanham, Maryland . 135–137.
10. Web site: Palm Springs, Coachella Valley – Weather, News, Sports: Special Report: Local police crack down on adults buying booze for minors . kesq.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090115202841/http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=1878103&nav=9qrxNETb . 15 January 2009 .
11. News: Moon rocks for sale! . American Geological Institute . Geotimes . Christina Reed . September 2002 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20030518104456/http://www.geotimes.org/sept02/NN_moon.html . 18 May 2003 .
12. Web site: In Search of the Goodwill Moon Rocks: A Personal Account . . Geotimes . Joseph Richard Gutheinz . Joseph Richard Gutheinz . November 2004.
13. Web site: Brody. Bernard . August 13, 2020. Not Guilty verdict in federal internet sex sting case: United States v. JWK . Brody Law Firm. https://web.archive.org/web/20240518073607/https://www.bernardbrody.com/case-results/not-guilty-verdict-in-federal-internet-sex-sting-case/. May 18, 2024.