NYPD “bait cars” seems to be driving some people unhappy. The anti-theft tactics of the world’s largest city is being criticized, saying that it too often sweeps up innocent people.

Sometimes the bait is a small amount of cash in a stray wallet, or a credit card and in few cases, a pack of cigarettes, as reported by the Associated Press.

The police in New York City leave such items unattended – on subway platforms, benches and even cars – and then wait to see if someone will grab them.

The NYPD said that the practice has been a valuable tool for catching career criminals and deterring thefts in public premises. But a recent court ruling throwing out a larcency case against a Bronx woman cast a harsh light on the method.

Judge Linda Poust Lopez found that there was zero proof Deirdre Myers attempted to steal anything – and that she was set-up by a sting that took the tactic way too far.

Upholding the charges, "would greatly damage the confidence and trust of the public in the fairness and effectiveness of the criminal justice system, and rightly so," the judge wrote in her decision.

Myers, 40, a single mother with no criminal record has since sued the City of New York, claiming she and her daughter were traumatized by a wrongful arrest in 2010.

Myers said, “You know how embarrassing and humiliating this was? I'd never been stopped by the police for anything in my life."

The city’s Law Department is reviewing Myers’ lawsuit, city attorney Raju Sundaran said in a statement. But reasons, “undercover sting operations are lawful and help reduce crime."

The judge suggested that Myers’ brush with the law had its origin in a tactic called lucky bag operation that the NYPD began in 2006 to deter theft of wallets, shopping bags, smartphones and other valuables in the subway.

A typical scenario was for a plainclothes officer to place a handbag with cash on a train platform and briefly look or step away. Anyone who took the bag, then passed up chances to return it to the undercover cop or report it to a uniformed police officer nearby could be jailed.

At the time, the NYPD credit the operation for driving down crimes in subway. They say that they still use the tactic when they see a spike in thefts of personal property in public spaces like Grand Central Terminal or Central Park. These days, however, they require more evidence of intent – the suspect trying to hide a wallet or taking cash out of it and throwing away the bag – before making any arrest.

The use of NYPD “bait cars” began six years ago in the Bronx to combat a chronic problem with car thefts and break-ins in working-class neighborhoods. In most cases, police plant property – iPad, a pack of cigarettes – in plain sight as the bait for thieves but make sure the car is locked in order for the suspect to need to take the extra step of breaking in.

It was this “bait cars” tactic that entangled Myers’ with the NYPD, after her daughter who innocently peered over a bait car whose door was left open by the “driver.” Myers’ girl saw personal items that included what looked like a bundle of cash – in reality, however, it was a dollar bill wrapped around pieces of newspaper. The girl then called her mother to look at the car. It was then and there that a set of police offers appeared and suddenly pulled up in a van and forced the mother and daughter to the ground.

They were brought in despite not touching anything inside the car. Though Myers’ daughter was let go, Myers’ herself had to fight charges of pretty larceny and possession of stolen property.

Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union called the “bait cars” tactic to be “bizarre” and an “extreme attempt to set somebody up.”

She labeled the approach – referring to the tactic where it was referenced, “lucky bag on steroids.”