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Q&A

Are Undercover Police Guilty of Lying?

Fr. Charles Grondin

Question:

Do undercover police lie by assuming a false identity as a criminal?

Answer:

There are two ways to view this.

One is that undercover police are no different than an actor in a play or TV show or movie. They are playing a role that society has authorized them to play.

The second is that in moral theology it is said that the truth is required insofar as the other person has a right to the truth. A criminal who breaks the law cannot possibly claim a right to know if the other person is actually a fellow criminal or the police.

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