Letzgo Hunting

wandatowell

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/suspected-paedophiles-arrested-after-vigilante-parents-pose-as-underage-girls-online-8583252.html

Outstanding.

Want to add anything to this discussion OP?

Tombi!

I copied and posted this from another thread like this because my opinion is still the same on things like this. Keep in mind, the part in italic was copied from a page on Facebook dedicated to "informing" others have pedophiles living in the area. I edited it a bit to reflect on the fact that it's not on facebook and there seems like little chance of naming the wrong person.
Absolutely disgusting idea if they're going to post it online. it won't just "protect the kids", it'll also give the faces and names of people to the vigilante type which is never really a good thing.

Sorry for this very, very long quote but someone on the page actually posted this. It stood out since it seems to be one of the few of its type.

I have worked a lot with severely sexually abused children and still, several years on, I look after a couple of them now that they are vulnerable adults, and among my closest friends. It's hard going and I live with the shadow of their abuse every day and the ongoing problems associated with that such as drug abuse, depression etc. So this is an issue very close to my heart. However, I have just read that this site is being closed down- and that is a very good thing. Sites like this promote vigilantism and vigilantes are usually those who get on their moral high horse without any real understanding of the issues at stake and with no real interest or understanding other than having a bandwagon to join. The law is there for a reason- to protect all. Vigilantes may well cause a paedophile to go to ground if they feel that they are in danger. In fact the chances are that they are being well supervised and controlled if they have had a conviction.

A higher than average proportion of the children who are abused go on to become abusers. There is a very good chance that the offender being named or harassed has themselves been the victim of serious abuse. Now imagine that you had cared for that person as a sexually abused child. How would you want them treated as an adult? You would want them to be helped or to be harassed and bullied.
As a carer of sexually abused children you become very aware of why their abusers have done what they have done, and you start to have an understanding of them and are inclined to, yes,condemn what they have done but also to understand why and how damaged they are too.
If you want to do some good in society then go out and volunteer to become a friend and mentor to a young person that has suffered abuse, or to a prisoner freshly released. Bet you won't though, that's not the easy option, getting on a facebook bandwagon is.
Just look at the terms that are being banded around here- freak, perv, paedo, typical tabloid sensationalist rubbish read by those who have very little understanding of the issues and who are perhaps even less willing to make a positive contribution.

Yes, I agree that abusers need to be closely monitored to protect society but that is generally done very successfully by those with expert knowledge, not hysterical tabloid readers who are in it for their own perverse form of gratification.

brummytom

It would be nice if they were doing it merely as a means of preventing crimes to children, and not for the perverse pleasure they're obviously getting from it.

Why meet the people and not just hand over the existing evidence to the police? I don't like the glorification of vigilante justice, to be honest.

Chuck Stone

Crowdsourced policing!

Catkins407

So police say vigilantes could spark abusers to harm themselves .......where's the problem there? One less pedophile on the loose surely .

mikom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaUkt59vY1Q

Tombi!

Catkins407 wrote: »

So police say vigilantes could spark abusers to harm themselves .......where's the problem there? One less pedophile on the loose surely .

I think you're missing a few words: "It can compromise ongoing investigations and could spark an abuser to further harm a child or themselves.


They're not actually always abusers yet and secondly, even if they are, the whole vigilante thing does more harm than good.
Besides, if the parents are doing it how I think they're doing it (via chat), usually it's the vigilantes doing the enticing.