A police constable has warned that 'paedophile hunters' are causing problems for the police by using Facebook and social media to name and shame. I am sure that statement will get a mixed reaction?
I've seen posts by self certified 'paedophile hunters' on Facebook. Pretty much everyone has, I expect? I've watched someone I knew being 'caught out' and been shocked and horrified by the whole video. In fact I wish I hadn't seen it, and not because I want to deny that things like this happen. It sticks in your mind and hacks away at the trust you have for everyone around you, especially when you see someone you know. I realise that some people have secret lives and I know that I would want my children, and any child, to be safe from those that intend to harm them. I have no name for those that do anything like that as they deserve no name. They only deserve to be wiped from the history of everyone, and vanish in to space, whether that be real or internet!
What this police statement meant was that sometimes a whole lot of harm can be done by filming these 'hunts' and 'captures'. To name and shame before a court case is brought could jeopardise it. After all you cannot have an unbiased judge and jury if the whole episode is plastered over social media. Most of us have social media of some sort and so it's hard to hide what is happening. Whoever you feel about such people, and wicked they are, our laws state that everyone has the right to be judged in a court of law according to the evidence placed before the jury. Not the 'evidence' of a confrontation on social media. Now I am of the opinion that there is no punishment severe enough for paedophiles and anyone harming children (or animals, people, whatever). But I want a conviction that cannot be argued in law, and neither do I want to possibility that a suspect may get off on some weird 'travesty of law' that some know it all barrister feels he can quote. Our British laws are rather quirky, and some are old fashioned and some are downright wrong, but laws they are and I want there to be no doubt that these people are going to prison. A few years ago I headed a jury that listened to the evidence against a 'groomer'. He almost got off on a technicality and it took all of us a couple of hours of discussion before we decided he was indeed attempting to groom a child. So for that reason I understand the concern of the police.
But, and it's a big but, paedophile hunters do have success. They do help to convict these people, so on the other hand it's hard not to applaud what they do. Entrapment is a tough word used in courts to show when someone was enticed to do something wrong. If the defence can show that the person entrapped wouldn't normally do whatever they were caught doing then the case could be thrown out. Because of this I know that most of the time paedophile hunters are careful how they go about doing what they do.
The only time I have had cause to be concerned by what I was watching, was when I saw a video of a potential paedophile being cornered by what can only be called a mob. People were pretty much hysterical with hatred for this person who had to take refuge in a telephone box, while the single policeman tried to control the angry vigilante crowd. It would have been funny if it hadn't been so horrifying. To see people react without proof in this particular case......and it was shown later to be a mistake.....was shocking. I totally get the anger that people had when they believed that this person was a paedophile, but I genuinely thought that if they had got hold of him he would have been badly hurt, if not killed. The fact a policeman had to call for backup is bad enough, but the hysteria was beyond a joke. I'm not mucking about here when I say that it put me in mind of the klu klux klan in America last century.
So the plea from the police statement was to stop posting videos in such a glorified manner. To big up what these 'hunters' are doing is not what it is all about. To 'like' a video is not what it is all about. The police have enough to do without wasting time trying to get a conviction only to find that the 'evidence' is all over Facebook. You may feel that for every mistaken person named the ones that get caught are worth it. But would you want the suicide of a person on your conscience? Would you want an innocent person to be hounded out of their home and their family targeted? It's not just the possible paedophile that ends up 'caught in the net'. There are repercussions that ripple around and affect other people.
I don't know what the answer is to the police statement but I do know I have some concerns about the videos posted. I think there is no need to place them on social media. Instead just hand them to the police and that way the law can be followed and a proper prosecution brought!
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/paedophile-hunters-destroying-peoples-lives-for-facebook-likes/ar-AABcTVK?MSCC=1557584054&ocid=spartandhp
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