Predators

[varshax]

On NBC there is this news program called "Dateline" which has been running a sting operation they call "To catch a predator". On this show they use decoys posing at 13 year olds who talk to people (almost always men) in online chat rooms. A surprisingly large number of these men have sexually explicit conversations with these decoys and then

Comments

It's standard practice...

[chaibacca]

"Sting" operations like this are common among American law enforcement. It's used at least as frequently in the narcotics realm. I was watching an episode of "COPS" a number of years back, covering activities in Las Vegas. It showed an undercover cop sell someone a bag of pot on the street, and then immediately arrest them for possession of narcotics. I couldn't believe it.

The issue should be to remove threats to society from the streets, and I find these sting operations to be kind of iffy on that. They create a perpetrator where there might not have otherwise been one, and they target people based on their simply having a disregard for written law even if sometimes breaking it isn't always going to pose a threat to someone else. There can be endless debate on whether that's the best way to fight crime, but it is at least one way, and even if you think the perpetrator is being treated unfairly, televising it is a good way for countless other people to be influenced to avoid getting into such situations in the first place, so it can be seen as a sacrifice in a way, for the overall benefit (hopefully) of society.

Re: It's standard practice...

[varshax]

They create a perpetrator where there might not have otherwise been one ....... for the overall benefit (hopefully) of society

I agree .... It would be better if they went after known criminals this way, but hopefully publicising the results of living out one's fantasy deters more people from trying to do the same.

From body language, 3 out of the 4 Indians I saw on TV looked like they were just realising the gravity of what they would have (maybe) done. Their pleas of innocence were just embarassing. But then again, I know so many stories of uncles/cousins who molest children in Indian families that I must wonder if these guys would not someday have played out their fantasies anyway.