If you’ve been arrested, one potential defense is to claim that the police used entrapment. This would constitute a violation of your rights and often serves as a complete defense. If the police are guilty of entrapment, you cannot be found guilty of the alleged criminal charges.
Perhaps the best way to understand entrapment is by considering how it’s defined by the U.S. Department of Justice. It’s illegal for a police officer or other law enforcement official to “implant in an innocent person’s mind the disposition to commit a criminal act.”
In other words, the officer cannot be the one who causes the criminal act to occur. If it was their idea, they cannot arrest someone simply for going along with it. This law prevents officers from convincing individuals to break the law solely to arrest them.
Is this similar to undercover police work?
Undercover police work is not typically considered entrapment, but it depends on how the situation unfolds.
For instance, the police may already suspect someone of selling illegal drugs. An undercover officer could approach that person to make a purchase, using the transaction as solid evidence of the illegal activity. This is standard undercover work, not entrapment.
However, if a police officer approached someone who wasn’t involved in drug sales, provided them with illegal substances, and suggested a plan to sell them on the black market, it would likely be entrapment if the officer later arrested that person. In such a case, the individual could argue that they had no intention of selling drugs in the first place. The officer would have violated their rights by coercing them into breaking the law.
Your defense options
As you can see, these situations can become complex. If you are facing criminal charges, be sure you understand all the defense options available to you.
