In undercover operations, entrapment is defined as which phenomenon?

• A. Luring suspects into confessing to crimes they did not commit
• B. Coercing a suspect to take a plea
• C. Undercover officers encouraging criminals to continue illegal activity
• D. Inducing innocent people to commit acts they wouldn't normally do

Answer: (D)

Entrapment happens when law enforcement induces or pressures a person to commit a crime that they would not normally have committed. The essence is government action that creates the crime in someone who is not predisposed to commit it. The best description is inducing innocent people to commit acts they wouldn't normally do, because it captures how entrapment centers on generating criminal conduct through official inducement rather than stemming from a preexisting intent. If someone already intends to commit a crime or is predisposed to do so, then it isn’t entrapment even if officers provide an opportunity; the defense relies on showing the government overcame the person’s free will to commit the offense. The other options describe issues like false confessions, coercing a plea, or encouraging ongoing criminal behavior, which do not fit the definitional focus of entrapment.