Anyone ever hear of the truTV show, Bait Car?

[hyphenate]

I have a question about it. To be brief about the show's premise, the police have set up an expensive car with all kinds of alterations, one being a built in camera, and another to actual take control of the car. The "bad guys" get into it, take it on a joy ride, and then get arrested for Grand Theft.

My main question: isn't that considered entrapment? Obviously the thief shouldn't have taken the car, but setting the car up as the cops have, even I might be tempted to steal it.

But it seems to me that there are too many such kinds of setups like this, and I have to wonder if they aren't creating more criminals with these things.

Well, perhaps not to that point, but there does seem to be a major effort to appeal to the greed of some people.

[Steely_Dan]

1. You Know...

...that show bothers me as well. I don't know what it is. The entrapment thing is strange. I get some of the same feelings when I saw "Predator Raw." Hard to explain.

[MajorChode]

2. It's not entrapment

There's a difference between a police trap and entrapment (the later being illegal). If a person would have committed the crime anyway, it's not entrapment. If the police entice the person to committ the crime, it could be entrapment. The police are allowed to set traps to catch criminals.

I watched one instance (I'm not sure if it was that particular show) where the police staged an argument where an undercover officer left a Cadillac SUV running with the door open on a public street. A suspect entered the car, drove off, and was arrested. Although that particular instance probably comes closer to the line, I still don't think it was entrapment. If the person wasn't already predisposed to crime, they wouldn't have stolen the vehicle.

[City of Mills]

4. I saw a similar one

Staged 'argument' in the front lot of a convenience store, with several black males hanging around. The 'couple' in the car both took off in different directions, leaving the car door open. The black males looked at each other and said something inaudible, then one of them gets in the car, and drives it into a parking spot in front of the store. He gets out and rejoins his friends. Female undercover cop returns to the scene, and the guy hands her the keys...turns out he was a good samaritan, concerned about the woman being stranded in the area without her car.

[Xithras]

5. Did they taze him and arrest him anyway?

Just kidding! It's good to know that there are still good samaritans in the world. I'll bet the cops were blown away.

[MajorChode]

6. If they had no intent to steal the vehicle and were charged, that would be entrapment

[Xithras]

3. Bait cars aren't entrapment.

This is entrapment: "Hey buddy, I'll give you a thousand dollars to go hit that guy over the head with this brick. You'll do it? Awesome, I'm a police officer, and you're under arrest for conspiracy."

There is a simple test to judge the difference between a trap (which is legal) and entrapment (which isn't). Simply ask: Did the police behavior cause someone to commit a crime that they otherwise wouldn't have? Did their behavior induce an otherwise law abiding person to commit a crime?

With car theft, that's a pretty simple test to answer. If a police officer walked up to your door, handed you the keys to a new Ferrari in your driveway, and then arrested you for receiving stolen property, it would be entrapment. Normal, honest, law abiding people don't generally steal cars out of parking lots and roadsides though, no matter how nice they are. I might admire that Ferrari sitting in a parking lot, and wonder at the stupidity of the owner for leaving the door open and the keys in the ignition, but it would never occur to me to hop in and drive it away. Law abiding people don't do that, so it's not an induction. Therefore, it's not entrapment.

[SunnySong]

7. Bait cars are a way for the police to arrest more African Americans

They plant the cars in high crime (read Black) neighborhoods and entrap African Americans in the criminal justice system.


Then they sell the tapes of the humiliation for the viewing pleasure of middle class white Americans.

[MajorChode]

9. Good point. They should put them in low crime neighborhoods instead

[gvstn]

8. I only saw one episode

Some middle aged guy got in the car took out his lunch ate it and then left. Ha ha. What was going through his mind?