In criminal law, if you feel the officers pushed you to commit a crime, you could have a defense called entrapment. According to the Department of Justice, the theory behind entrapment is that officers cannot implant a criminal idea in an innocent person’s head or induce the crime to obtain an arrest.
This does not mean that an officer cannot go undercover to catch a person in a crime, but it does mean that you should not face coercion to commit a crime because of a government agent.
Did the officer persuade you?
Inducement is one of the key factors behind an entrapment defense. If an officer solicits a crime, this is not inducement. Police can use strategies and deceit to catch a person committing a crime. However, they cannot persuade or coerce you into committing a crime. For example, an undercover officer cannot come to you and plead with you to commit a crime. They cannot make promises to you that would cause any reasonable person might turn a blind eye to legal duties.
Did the officer come up with the crime?
If the officer coerces you, but you had plans to commit a crime, it may harm your defense. Entrapment involves an unwary innocent. This means you did not just wait for an opportunity to commit a crime. For example, if an officer asks you to sell drugs without coercion or plea and you agree automatically, you do not have an entrapment defense.
When it comes to entrapment, the officer becomes too forceful with attempting to catch a person in a crime and induces him- or herself.