Undercover police work necessarily requires that officers of the law participate in activities that would, under most circumstances, be deemed illegal. For example, police have been noted to transport drugs into prisons, launder drug money, fence stolen goods, and print counterfeit money. These and many other examples involve law enforcement officers’ willingly and knowingly engaging in behaviors that are legally prohibited for the sake of gathering evidence against other criminals. Except in cases in which officer behavior goes well beyond what is necessary for their role, they are immune from prosecution. Relying on one or more of the normative theories outlined in the text above, what moral issues are presented by undercover police work? Do the ends justify the means? Where might be draw the line between moral and immoral.
