tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307520700323538148.post8673319453228128916..comments2023-03-25T23:16:35.229-07:00Comments on Crime and Justice: Drug dealer targetted in undercover sting gets three years -- unbelievable!Brittany Thiessenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16249744623547261314noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307520700323538148.post-28394759344682941102010-05-26T14:03:32.110-07:002010-05-26T14:03:32.110-07:00"Also undercover stings should be banned. The..."Also undercover stings should be banned. They are a form of entrapment and can lead to false confessions, blackmailing, and wrongful convictions."<br /><br />The term sting operation is used loosely in this case as the "police agent" would qualify more as a police informant.<br />There are measures in which to determine if an individual was a victim of entrapment. As the investigation was targeted at a criminal organization and the victim was not in contact with the police agent until the actual crime was committed, there is no factors here that would remotely indicate entrapment.<br />I would also assert that "false confessions, blackmail, and wrongful convictions" occur at a higher rate with standard investigative procedures then undercover operations.Terry Mcdonaldnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1307520700323538148.post-29110114775341198662010-05-26T13:54:35.086-07:002010-05-26T13:54:35.086-07:00"Selling drugs is not dangerous as it is cons..."Selling drugs is not dangerous as it is consenting activity and does not physically harm anybody."<br /><br />This comment interests me. You state in the majority of your blog comments that you believe the core economic and social issues that drive criminal behaviour should be addressed instead of relying on prison sentences. Drug trafficking and addiction is quite possibly the greatest soci and economic contributor to crime in our country.<br /><br />I won't get into the crimes that are committed by individuals who need to obtain funds to feed their addictions.<br />I also won't comment on the wide variety of programs that are actually available within the prison system and the support system available upon release.<br /><br />But I will present some published facts.<br /><br />"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 123,235 adults living with AIDS in the United States in 2003 contracted the disease from injection drug use, and the survival rate for those persons is less than that for persons who contract AIDS from any other mode of transmission. CDC further reports that more than 25,000 people died in 2003 from drug-induced effects. "<br /><br />"National-level studies have shown that parents who abuse drugs often put their need to obtain and abuse drugs before the health and welfare of their children. NSDUH data collected during 2002 and 2003 indicate that 4.3 percent of pregnant women aged 15 to 44 report having used illicit drugs in the past month. Moreover, that same data show that 8.5 percent of new mothers report having used illicit drugs in the past month. "<br /><br />"NCLSS data show that U.S. law enforcement agencies report having seized 9,895 illicit methamphetamine laboratories in 2004. These agencies report that 2,474 children were affected by these laboratories (i.e., they were exposed to chemicals, they resided at laboratory sites, or they were displaced from their homes), while 12 children were injured and 3 children were killed."<br /><br />It is reasonable to assume that while the exact statistics listed above may not be known to the average person, the general effects of drug use on individuals and society as a whole is general knowledge.<br /><br />"Criminal Negligence - Every one is criminally negligent who in doing anything, or in omitting to do anything that it is his duty to do, shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons."<br /><br />"The Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the acused's conduct showed a marked departure from the conduct of a reasonable person in the circumstances; and that a reasonable person in the same circumstances would have foreseen that this conduct posed a risk of bodily harm.<br /><br />"Bodily harm" is any hurt or injury that interferes with a person's health or comfort and is more than brief or minor. In deciding what a reasonable person would have done or foreseen, you must not take into account (the accused's) individual characteristics or experiences."<br /><br />That being said, I agree that selling drugs should not be charged with a drug related offence. They should in fact be charged with a reasonable number of counts, in direct relation with the amount of drugs they were selling, of criminal negligence. Then sentenced to appropriate consecutive prison terms.Terry Mcdonaldnoreply@blogger.com