03-10-2008, 07:15 AM
A lot of crimes surely take place because the opportunity is there. If we relied on the good will of people to stop all crimes without any sort of enforcement, we'd have some serious problems. To me it's kind of a line that isn't clearly defined. For instance, if that particular dorm building were experiencing a string of thefts, I would have no problem with the city or campus police setting up a sting involving an dorm room with an open door and something common yet valuable in sight. The key points being that you are targetting a known criminal element working the specific area, you aren't going out of your way to suggest to people passing by that they should commit the crime, and that there is really no justification for anyone going into someone's home and stealing stuff no matter how tempting and easy you make it. The last question that has to be raised is, is this really the most effective way of catching the criminals and stopping the crime at hand? Or I suppose that should rather be the first question, because if the answer isn't a resounding yes then there is no reason to even consider the ethical issues at hand.