Undercover Police Officer Posing as a Highschool Student.

I guess I am an outlier on this one. I do not think UCs should be posing as high school students to bust them for drugs. It is up to the parents to keep their kids under control and this could ruin a kid's future if he/she is 18 when he gets busted.

I don't think the police should be going deep undercover for years for the bogus war on drugs to bust anyone. Drug abuse is a health issue, not a criminal one. It is treason in my humble opinion to befriend someone for years only to set them up for a drug bust.

I can understand going deep undercover for busting up human trafficking rings, underage prostitution and illegal arms trading. Also when going after a murderer, child rapists, or a violent criminal I do support law enforcement doing whatever they can to stop the real criminals.

Someone said they knew of an UC partying with high school kids and even having sex with a high school student, I do not know if his story is legit but I do believe their is a high risk of this happening when you put someone who may not have had a great time in high school back in the same setting with a few more years of life experience.

It is extremely wrong in my mind to plant UCs in high school for the sole purpose of busting kids for drugs.

reply to post by jrod


not drugs.... drug ring and a dozen arrests and counting.

Again I keep coming back to this. People want to blame the police, laws or policy while ignoring the fact that the students made their own decision to break the law.

It always seems to be someone elses fault.

It happened in my high school in the late 1960s.

Usually it seems like it's a response to kids selling harder drugs. In my case it was the class younger than mine that had gotten into heroin.

Drugs are alcohol are a part of high school in the 21st century; there is hardly any way to get around them. It comes down to the student, not the school or the parents; if a student is willing to indulge in substance abuse, that is his or her choice. Sure, we can argue that peer pressure plays a part and that students, with their undeveloped identities and fragile egos, will go to extreme lengths to join the "in crowd," but let's be real, arresting these kids is only destroying their future. It does little to actually prevent drug trade in schools. Prices will rocket, but after a few weeks a new dealer will step up to to the plate and things will commence as usual.

There is no way to win the war on drugs.

Look, the drugs being used by high school students are alcohol, marijuana, and pills (specifically Adderall). Anything harder than these is hard to come by, and often undesired; there will be the occasional student who does coc aine, but from what I saw in high school, there were very few people with actual substance abuse problems. Of these common drugs, alcohol and speed are the easiest to come by because of their availability (anyone with a fake ID or a willing older sibling can obtain alcohol, and anyone who has been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD can obtain and sell speed. Weed is a little harder to obtain, but weed is also the least harmful.

We're not talking about heroin or meth dealers here, we're talking about substances which are relatively easy to come across. I just think that they should be pursuing bigger fish than a couple of high school drug dealers. Seems like a waste, both of taxpayer money, and of the kids' futures. With this on their records, they will have a very hard time getting into decent colleges and finding jobs. So congratulations, cops, you successfully ruined 12 lives and created a gap in the drug trade which will be filled within weeks. Great job.

reply to post by Xcathdra


Well, I will start with the things I believe we would both agree on, YES it's the parents job ultimately to teach thier kids "right from wrong" and to educate them and instill morals.My point is that if a school distict and community has decided that a big enough problem exists within a school, and allocates resoures to help solve the problem, then I think there are much more effective ways this could be done then "sting" operations.

We do HAVE laws in place to prevent crime associated with illegal drug use, and the police do enforce those laws, and teenagres are subject to those laws when broken. It's the idea of adults "befriending" teenagers, possibly even participating in illegal activity themselves, or even "dating" a student to gain the kids trust that bothers me. The presence of this "undercover" person interacting with students who most probably are good kids, that have nothing to do with "activities" meant to be stopped I see as an invasion of thier privacy, not "protecting" them.

Perhaps my understanding of just HOW much crime is accuring on school campuses is unrealistic, but based on my obsevations and life experience, having gone through high school in the 80's and my daughter's education, she's now 21....I haven't observed any level of "crime" that would justify "undercover" police in most schools.

I WOULD however LOVE to see "undercover" police being used to BUST corrupt politicians, corporations, and war criminals, shoot I just read somewhere that there is actually some sort of "unspoken" code about police even entering masonic temples in uniform?!

We have bigger problems then busting our kids in this kind of way, and if we're REALLY good parents those should be the priorities, giving them a chance at a happy future

I think criminalising young kids at such an early stage of their lives is very dangerous. We all do stupid things as kids and push the boundaries. That's what growing up is about, but to be landed with a criminal conviction will have a lasting effect and make your life 10 times harder to get started. It should always be a last resort for the most exceptional of circumstances.

Originally posted by gort51

Originally posted by MrWendal
This has been going on for years. When I was 16 years old (many many moons ago) there was an undercover sting operation in a High School I attended in Kansas. It was a drug sting.

I was actually shocked when the arrest came down. These undercover officers got in good with the Students. Hung out with them. Drank with them. Did drugs with them. Even had sex with some of the female students at parties. Then one day, they came in and arrested everyone involved.

Mmmm...Drugs and sex with underage female?? students you say...Mmmm.

I think I should investigate that, cant have this going on, now if only i could...fit...into...my school uniform.....ahh at last.
Excellent, I look like a 40 something yo kid in a school uniform.......Now wheres all that sex and drugs action...I mean, point me in the direction of that illegal activity, my good man......

Actually they were not 40 year old men. They turned out to be in their low 20's and they certainly did not look like they were that old. Maybe you never noticed, but sometimes people look young for their age. Do you even know how undercover work actually works? If these cops looked 40, there would have been no bust to begin with. Do you think teenagers are so dumb that they would look at a 40 year old and say, "Oh he looks 40 but says he is 19, yeah he is legit let me smoke weed with him!"?

They also did have sex with some of the girls at the parties. Everyone knew about it. A couple girls even admitted it, but who is going to listen to a 16-17 year old girl who has just been arrested on a drug charge claiming the outstanding Officer who arrested her also was sleeping with her?

reply to post by boncho


Well if you are really in Italy, and you condone criminal activities, that says alot about you.

But in the states we have undercover police in schools, for drug sales among other things.
They are also used in stings to see who will sell liquor, cigarettes, even lotto tickets to someone who looks underage without asking for id.

Originally posted by rangersdad
reply to post by boncho

 

Well if you are really in Italy, and you condone criminal activities, that says alot about you.

But in the states we have undercover police in schools, for drug sales among other things.
They are also used in stings to see who will sell liquor, cigarettes, even lotto tickets to someone who looks underage without asking for id.

I'm not in Italy, my location is a joke.

Where do I condone criminal activities?

reply to post by boncho


In your OP you state:

In my school, there were a large, large number of students involved in some type of activity that was either very borderline, or outright criminal.

A 22 year old police officer, attended highschool to infiltrate a group of kids which eventually led to their arrest. He was there for 8 months. I can't believe this tactic is used. It is quite literally, unbelievable.

So, how are police supposed to do their job if they cant properly investigate when asked to do so??

Originally posted by rangersdad
reply to post by boncho

 

In your OP you state:

In my school, there were a large, large number of students involved in some type of activity that was either very borderline, or outright criminal.

A 22 year old police officer, attended highschool to infiltrate a group of kids which eventually led to their arrest. He was there for 8 months. I can't believe this tactic is used. It is quite literally, unbelievable.

So, how are police supposed to do their job if they cant properly investigate when asked to do so??

Who said this is an issue that must be met with police action? There are no alternatives? Has the world needed police to do undercover operations in schools since they existed?

As I said, there are a number of crimes that happen in schools, you would be hard pressed to find one that doesn't have its share. Should all students be met with judicial action? Why not put undercovers in every school and prosecute absolutely every crime....

Or is there a better way to deal with youth?

ETA: Xcat pointed out something I should address as well:

As a side note here the police do not send people to jail for drug possession, the PA does all that in conjunction with the judge / jury. Blaming law enforcement in this area makes no sense.

In this case Police were contacted and did what it is in their mandate to resolve the situation. Unfortunately, it came to that. The things I have pointed out in this thread are meant to address the politics behind the situation, leading right back to the parents and the people who issue mandates to Police Services.

It is my opinion, that laws decreed by the state, and the way parents, teachers and others resolve problems with youth, should be addressed and resolved before police action is needed.

In no way I am condoning the behavior of the kids in this story, or ones that simply weren't caught. But at the end of the day, kids make the most mistakes during their school years because that is what they are there to do. Live and learn.

Teaching them and fostering their growth without letting it spiral into something like this seems like it would result in a better outcome.

How could they be selling coc aine in a high school? Isn't that one of the most expensive habits? Do parents just give kids money nowadays for absolutely no reason?

I never imagined a we would come to such a sick state of society. Older folk doing drugs to escape pressures of work, and living in bad economic times...and then kids, doing drugs to escape the totally unreal standards that they are forced to now deal with. All while Uncle Sam arrests both groups, sits back and does some drugs to escape the pressures of poor foreign relations.