4 ms·

I mean, they do this - it's not uncommon to bust a drug dealer, and then allow them to continue operating as an informant so they can monitor their activities.

• ethanbond 10y ago
  Yeah, this shit happens all the time. How do you people think law enforcement operates against criminal networks? Infiltrate, quietly gather evidence, then prosecute. The "gather evidence" portion often involves allowing people to do incriminating things, especially since, you know, being about to do an illegal thing isn't illegal (usually).
  • xtian 10y ago
    The question is whether this is how we want law enforcement to operate in our society. And in the process of answering that question we should probably ask, "is it working?"
    • ethanbond 10y ago
      Mmmm yep. I want our law enforcement to have the ability to find and prosecute people at levels of criminality higher than selling loose cigarettes on the street. Like seriously? Do you really think the absolute lowest hanging fruit is valuable, fair, or effective for justice to focus on?
      • xtian 10y ago
        No, I don't think that. Maybe I was ambiguous. My question was whether we want law enforcement to become purveyors of illegal material in order to prosecute people seeking that material. That seems a little circular to me. And since the analogy was dealing with illegal drugs I was wondering whether these tactics are in fact more effective than just prosecuting at the level of "selling loose cigarettes".