Inspired by a Toronto campaign to reduce bike theft, British police are deploying GPS-fitted, poorly locked and unlocked "bait bikes" around town and tracking their whereabouts after they are inevitably stolen. It's apparently quite effective—trial runs led to 45-percent drops in bike thefts. It not only helps police catch lowly bike thieves, but also leads them to warehouses full of stolen bike collections.
But as Treehugger notes, some people think the practice of using poorly locked bikes to snare thieves (who are often either junkies, kids, or both) amounts to entrapment.
What do you think: Does using bait bikes constitute entrapment?
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