No. The perp is not forced or coerced into taking the vehicle. An example of entrapment would be if an undercover told someone that if they didn't take the car, he would punish or persecute them in some way.

not sure.

No it is not. Since the car is just sitting there. Yes, it is technically bait, but it's still deemed a crime since people pass unlocked/key in car all the time and don't hop in and take it. If you do take the car, then you would have thought about it ahead of time and knew what you were doing. An example of entrapment would be undercover officers trying to get a recovering drug addict to buy drugs from them. The person is recovering so he might not have bought them until the officer gave him the opportunity.

Maybe. First it must be noted that California’s entrapment law is a little different from most of the country. In most of the country it would not be entrapment, but in California it may be. Most states and the federal government look at the intent of the defendant when determining if he was entrapped. If the defendant would have committed the crime if the cops acted differently, then there is no entrapment. California, on the other hand, does not look at the intent of the defendant. Rather, they only look at the conduct of the state. If the conduct is outrageous enough to inspire a normally law abiding citizen to commit a crime, it is entrapment. Under California and federal law (which is followed by most states), the mere act of leaving a bait car is not entrapment. This is no different than an undercover cop who waits in a known drug or prostitution area. The cops conduct is not outrageous as he is not doing anything but standing around, nor is he doing anything that would convince a person to commit a crime. However, the CHP’s bait car program does more than simply leave a car on the side of a road. The CHP actually stages a scene and advertises to people that a car with the keys in the ignition is waiting to be taken. Under the federal standard this is not entrapment because we look to the intent of the defendant and ask “would this person have stolen the car anyway if it was not a bait car?” And the answer, of course, is yes. But under California law, this may be entrapment because we don’t look to the intent of the defendant. Instead, we ask whether the cops conduct was outrageous enough to get a normally law abiding citizen to commit the crime. Here, it is certainly possible that someone who normally would not steal a car would be tempted by the cop’s actions to take the car for a joy ride. Note: This has yet to be tested in a California court, and the entrapment law has enough wiggle room that a court could come out any way on this issue.