In law enforcement, a sting operation is a
deceptive operation designed to catch a person attempting to commit a crime. A typical sting will have an
undercoverlaw enforcement officer, detective, or co-operative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather evidence of the suspect's wrongdoing.
Mass media journalists occasionally resort to sting operations to record video and broadcast to expose criminal activity.[1]
Sting operations are common in many countries, such as the United States,[2] but they are not permitted in some countries, such as Sweden or France.[3] There are prohibitions on conducting certain types of sting operations, such as in the Philippines, where it is illegal for law enforcers to pose as drug dealers to apprehend buyers of illegal drugs.[4]
Setting up a seemingly vulnerable
honeypot computer to lure and gain information about
hackers[6]
Offering to pass weapons or explosives to a would-be terrorist[7]
Luring
fugitives out of hiding by sending them mail telling them that they have won a vacation or sports tickets in a competition, which can be collected.[8] In an 1985 sting known as
Operation Flagship, US Marshals arrested over 100 fugitives by posing as a television company inviting them to the
Washington Convention Center to claim free tickets for a
Washington Redskins match.[8] Another established a fictitious airline offering free tickets, arresting those who came to the fake checkin desk at
Miami International Airport.[8] Such arrests are significantly safer than arresting the fugitive at their home, as the target will often be unarmed and off-guard.[9]
Posting a newspaper advertisement seeking a type of rare item known to have been stolen. In 1998, three agencies joined forces to conduct a sting operation where they successfully recovered the
Honduras Goodwill Moon Rock from a vault in Miami. The sting operation was known as "Operation Lunar Eclipse" and the participating agencies were
NASA Office of Inspector General, the
United States Postal Inspection Service and
U.S. Customs. The moon rock was offered to the undercover agents for US$5 million. Journalist
Christina Reed broke that story in Geotimes in 2002.[11][12] Operation Lunar Eclipse and the Moon Rock Project were the subject of the book The Case of the Missing Moon Rocks by Joe Kloc.
Posing as a minor on the internet, luring and catching online predators in the act.[13][citation needed]
John David Roy Atchison (1954–2007), Assistant US Attorney and children's sports coach, committed suicide in prison after being arrested in a sting operation and charged with soliciting sex from a 5-year-old girl
^Clark, Jerry; Palattella, Ed (2019). On the Lam: A History of Hunting Fugitives in America. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 135–137.
ISBN9781442262591.