In Barker and Carter's typology, which category includes lies used during undercover investigations?

In Barker and Carter's typology, which category includes lies used during undercover investigations?

• A. Deviant Lies
• B. Blue Lies
• C. Tolerated Lies
• D. Placebo Lies

Answer: (A)

Under Barker and Carter, lies are judged by how much they violate ordinary norms and the purpose they serve. Lies used in undercover investigations fit the category of deviant lies because they involve deliberately departing from the usual expectation of truth-telling and are morally contentious within everyday norms. In undercover work, officers adopt false identities, fabricate backgrounds, and misrepresent motives to infiltrate criminal networks and obtain information. These actions are not casual or innocent fibs; they are strategic, essential to the investigation, and carried out under specific rules and oversight. That combination of purposeful deception and norm-violating method is what marks them as deviant lies. By contrast, other types describe different contexts: blue lies are lies told to protect colleagues or the department, placebo lies are harmless setups meant to provoke a reaction without harming the target, and tolerated lies are those deemed acceptable in certain professional norms but not the central, core tactic used in undercover operations.

Under Barker and Carter, lies are judged by how much they violate ordinary norms and the purpose they serve. Lies used in undercover investigations fit the category of deviant lies because they involve deliberately departing from the usual expectation of truth-telling and are morally contentious within everyday norms. In undercover work, officers adopt false identities, fabricate backgrounds, and misrepresent motives to infiltrate criminal networks and obtain information. These actions are not casual or innocent fibs; they are strategic, essential to the investigation, and carried out under specific rules and oversight. That combination of purposeful deception and norm-violating method is what marks them as deviant lies.

By contrast, other types describe different contexts: blue lies are lies told to protect colleagues or the department, placebo lies are harmless setups meant to provoke a reaction without harming the target, and tolerated lies are those deemed acceptable in certain professional norms but not the central, core tactic used in undercover operations.