In 2007, the High Court examined the use of the so-called ‘Mr Big Method’ in Australia. The Mr Big Method is a covert policing method where police officers establish a fictitious criminal enterprise. The aim of this operation is to induce a confession from a suspect. To achieve this, undercover officers groom the suspect into becoming a member of their ‘gang’. The undercover officers offer inducements such as money and fictitious job opportunities, causing the suspect to believe that a membership of the ‘gang’ would provide safety and a financially secure future. Although the High Court permitted the use of this method, concerns have been raised by scholars and foreign courts over the last decade. This article will discuss the Mr Big Method, criticisms of this method and its application in Australia. It is argued that the admissibility of these confessions should be subject to a new test to minimise the risk of coerced confessions and consequential wrongful convictions.

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