The Dangers of Police-Created Crime

Executive Summary

Police-created crime is not a path to public safety. In most cases, undercover police stings target individuals who officers know nothing about, including whether they were already committing the targeted crime. Rather, these stings tend to ensnare the most vulnerable individuals, often by focusing on low-level drug crimes and poverty-induced offenses. Creating crime—in particular crime that is accompanied by enhanced or lengthy sentences—exacts a high financial and ethical cost to our criminal legal system, but does not leave our communities safer.