Entrapment: understanding its role in the legal system

Entrapment is a defence in the NSW criminal justice system where someone commits a criminal offence by police inducement. Thus, understanding entrapment is important as it protects citizens from over policing and fair legal processes.

What is Entrapment?

Entrapment as a legal concept is all about the origin of the criminal intent and the role of police in creating that intent. This doctrine is important in balancing police's role in preventing crime and individual's freedom from government persuasion or coercion. Here, we go into more detail on what constitutes entrapment and its elements.

Let's use a case example. The case of Ridgeway v The Queen is a perfect example for entrapment. There was a controlled operation in the case where the police induced a person to import heroin. In this case, there was involvement by both the Australian Federal Police and the Malaysian Federal Police.