Vigilante Stings - Are They Justified ?

[Canary42]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35449817

Judge Richard Foster said: "This group had taken upon itself to track down individuals they perceived to be paedophiles. The courts cannot encourage vigilantes or groups like this and the proper course of action is to involve the police and to leave the police to do the work."

Is this sort of sting acceptable, provided when once having caught the offenders they then hand them over unharmed to the police ?

The judge says "no", I wonder what the police say.

[Ellipsis]

As long as they know the difference between paedophiles and paediatricians, eh ...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1353904/Paediatrician-attack-People-dont-want-no-paedophiles-here.html

[retrocop]

Islay
One example of a police officer who was on duty and not acting above the law.
Problem was he wasn't allowed to do his duty was he.?
I can find many more identicle links. One quite recently came to light from a retired D.S. from Leicestershire police.So unless the general concensus of the public is just to be indifferent to the plight of innocent kids then they should allow the police to do their duty unrestrained. Failing that let vigilantes get on and clean up the filth.
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/manchester-police-silenced-officer-who-found-cyril-smith-home-sex-offender-drunk-boys-1492639

[THECORBYLOON]

RETROCOP, are you saying it is right for these vigilantes to do what they are doing? Who is to say they may not be "over-zealous" when dealing with the alleged offenders, what if they cross the line? What if the alleged offender is being tracked by the police already and these "do-gooders" ruin months of investigative work by the police?

[hc4361]

That was my point exactly, Corbyloon.

[Canary42]

Thank you all for your views, and a varied discussion.

My own view is that while it seems at first glance desirable, for many reasons as pointed out by responses here, it is a rather dangerous precedent.

And yes ClarionSt, the entrapment element worried me too.

It should therefore IMO be vigorously discouraged.

[sandyRoe]

Is it much of a step from being an on-line vigilante to being an agent provocative?

[andy-hughes]

I have never thought that vigilante groups are a good idea.

What seems to be a valid course of action by concerned members of society can all too often by hi-jacked by the unhinged who enjoy the 'gang' mentality, are so self-righteous it's almost painful, and quite enjoy venting their repressed anger in systematic violence against people who have not been proven to have committed a crime.

I always think of the plot of Clint Eastwood's Magnum Force, released way back in 1973, where vigilante cops were 'cleaning up the city' - as Clint's Dirty Harry character wondered, where does it stop? 'Before long you execute your neighbour because his dog wees on your lawn (not the term he used!) and that is exactly what we have to be aware of.

Society is full of people looking to 'belong' to something because it addresses their feelings of inadequacy and isolation. That may be something as harmless as the local golf club committee, or as scary as the local paedophile-bashers collective, but the thread that runs through all these voluntary organisations is the often-encountered factionalism, back-biting, vendettas, power struggles, and so on. If you add that scenario into a group who are wandering the streets with pick-axe handles, you have something really serious to deal with.

[ToraToraTora]

Sadly Vigilantes are made by our society being made to feel it must protect itself when the state fails to do so. Generations of right on lefty thinking has effectively decriminalized so many things that the public feel the need to step in. In the unlikely event someone gets jailed they find themselves in Butlins for 5 minutes. Paedophiles should be locked up forever, full stop. No wonder the public feel the need to protect their own children when the state as disastrously failed to do so. Vigilantism is bad very bad, it can be fixed by protecting the public properly.

[andy-hughes]

TTT - //Sadly Vigilantes are made by our society being made to feel it must protect itself when the state fails to do so. Generations of right on lefty thinking has effectively decriminalized so many things that the public feel the need to step in. In the unlikely event someone gets jailed they find themselves in Butlins for 5 minutes. Paedophiles should be locked up forever, full stop. No wonder the public feel the need to protect their own children when the state as disastrously failed to do so. Vigilantism is bad very bad, it can be fixed by protecting the public properly. //

Can't argue with that T.

[ToraToraTora]

thanks Andy, when I saw that you had replied I was expecting a rollocking!