Assignment Details

The typical undercover operation is known as a buy and bust. That means that an undercover officer buys the drugs from the dealer and then arrests the seller. Or, the officer could do just the opposite by posing as a drug dealer and arresting the drug users after a purchase. That is known as a reverse sting, or a sell and bust. Undercover operations may include wiretaps, inspection of all legal records and documents (in which legal channels must be followed), and surveillance.

In 5-6 paragraphs, address the following:

• Do you consider a "buy and bust" or a "sell and bust" to be entrapment? Why or why not?
  • What types of offenders do you think are most susceptible to these strategies? Explain.
• If drugs were legalized, operations such as the buy and bust would no longer apply. Generally speaking, do you feel that drugs should be legalized? Why or why not?
  • What effect might legalization have on your children and families? Explain.
  • What positive or negative effects might it have on the United States? Explain.
  • What effect would it have on U.S. borders? Explain.
• What challenges would legalization pose to law enforcement strategies? Explain. use APA in-text citation from the below text including other scholarly source:A street officer is a valuable tool in controlling locally handled drug transactions.There are both discreet and nondiscreet markers.Discreet markers are used when both the drug dealer and the buyer know each other fairly well.These sales usually happen in the workplace or within a social environment.These are often difficultfor officers to track because the transactions are usually held in private settings.A nondiscreet marker is usedwhen the seller does not know his or her buyer well or at all.This happens in public and is much easier to spot by the officer.

There is a major issue law enforcement officers face:Do they go after the head of this organization, or do they just take out the local dealers?Some officers believe that they shouldgo after the leader,so the whole organization could fall.The problem with that idea is that theseorganizations do not function that way.When the head of the organization is removed,another one is quickly put in place.

Other strategies that officers use are marijuana citations, undercover operations, and curtailing the proliferation of crack houses.

There is notmuch specific information pertaining to undercover operations because the work is extremely confidential, butgeneral information can be found when researching the topic.The typical undercover operation is known as a buy and bust.That means that an undercover officer buys the drugs from the dealer and then arrests him or her. Or, the officer could do the opposite by posing as a drug dealer, and then arresting the buyers after a purchase.This is known as a reverse sting. Undercover operations may include wiretaps, inspection of all legal records and documents, and surveillance.

One relatively new tactic implemented may be marijuana citations.When a street officer finds a small amount of marijuana, he or she can write a citation for the person to show up in court. This helps the city or county save money by reducing officer time and money in the booking process.It also saves the administrative costs of the prosecutor and the courts.Another advantage of this is the fact that it helps officers identify and convict drug users in the community.