R v Loosely 2001 UKHL 53
Citation:R v Loosely 2001 UKHL 53
Rule of thumb:Can undercover police officers be ring-leaders in criminal operations? No, these convictions cannot be upheld. Where an undercover officer has moved up the ranks of a criminal organisation and is co-ordinating the arrangements it is entrapment for a person to be prosecuted in those circumstances. Undercover police officers must stay on the peripheries of the organised crime operations and just provide police with details, but not actually be the one who has set anything up. Ie the undercovers have to be ‘foot soldiers’ in the operations.
Background facts:
The basic facts of this case were that an undercover police officer asked Mr Loosely to supply him with drugs. The Police then charged Loosely for doing this.
Judgment:
The Court affirmed that the police cannot actively be involved in setting up crimes or else the person cannot be convicted in these circumstances, as this was deemed to be entrapment. The Court affirmed that this is an absolute defence where an accused can be found not guilty based on a technicality.
Ratio-decidendi:
‘... in some instances a degree of active involvement by the police in the commission of a crime is generally regarded as acceptable... Entrapment, with which these 2 appeals are concerned, is an instance where such misuse may occur. It is simply not acceptable that the state through its agents should lure citizens into committing acts forbidden by the law and then seek to prosecute them for doing so. That would be entrapment. That would be a misuse of state power, and an abuse of the of the process of the Courts... The role of the Court is to stand between the state and its citizens and ensure that this does not happen’. Lord Nicholls
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