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To Catch a Predator

Cindy Claveau
Gignowanasanafonicon
Join date: 16 May 2005
Posts: 2,008
08-09-2006 14:18
As I read this, I found myself waffling back and forth between hatred of predators and despising over-zealous journalists who disregard the rule of law and Constitutional rights.

'Gotcha' Shows Aimed at Nabbing Sexual Predators Raise Controversy
From: someone

While some argue such programs are nothing more than tabloid pulp and that the media should leave police work to the police, others say this kind of programming performs a community service. They say it gets the message out that there are sex offenders among us who pose a threat to our kids.

"Media has done a tremendous service to our nation by bringing awareness to the issue. Proactive online investigations are effective in identifying and ultimately catching child sexual predators, when conducted by proper law enforcement authorities," said John Shehan, the Cyber Tipline program manager at the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children.

"Awareness and the identification of these individuals is the first step in the process. …[But] trained law enforcement … should be conducting these types of investigations to ensure the highest possible conviction rate."
"[Pedophilia] is an epidemic. We can't just go door-to-door to raise awareness, or even just print it on a newspaper. It's not enough," Cornett said. "We need to get the media in these guys' faces. If we're not looking, they're going to be looking out for their next victim."


Ok, that's one side. The story also tells the other side (emphasis is mine):
From: someone
But some critics say these shows contribute more to a sense of hysteria than anything else, since most abuse cases involve children being molested in the home.
"Sexual predators running around, picking up children off the 'Net are not an epidemic … ["To Catch a Predator"] focuses on the equivalent of a sexual straw man, turning the stranger-predator into the 'epidemic,'" said Pierre Tristam, a columnist at the Daytona Beach News-Journal in Florida, who recently wrote a controversial article on the popular "Dateline" series and says the shows epitomize "tabloid pulp."

"[NBC's predator series] should quit borrowing from the shabby techniques of reality TV and return to the ethics and demands of journalism," Tristam said.

"Because people feel vulnerable and angry, shows that appear to be taking steps to solve the problem [of sexual violence against children] are appealing," added Jill Levenson, a professor at Lynn University in Florida who studies social policies dealing with sex offenders. "But [the shows] are not representative of 'typical' child sexual abuse cases," in which children are victimized by someone they know and trust.

She also said the vast media attention has made it appear that the rate of sex crimes is rising. "In actuality," she said, "sex crime rates, like other serious, non-sexual crimes, have declined substantially over the past decade, based on both official crime reports and victim reports."

According to Justice Department statistics, most sexual perpetrators are well known to their victims. Strangers committed only seven percent of sexual assaults against children in 2002. In 2000, child sex-abuse victims identified their abusers as family members in 34 percent of cases, and as acquaintances in 59 percent of cases.

"Journalists tend to oversimplify a problem that exists," Lombardi said. " ... The more that people get to know about what


Tristam's article said:
From: someone
When anchor chairs are filled by the likes of Katie Couric and Charles Gibson, it's more about putting a good face on the news than breaking it.


No wonder the networks' news divisions are indistinguishable from their entertainment function. One running example stands out as an illustration of the networks' degradation -- and irresponsibility.

On Nov. 11, 2004, NBC's Dateline aired a segment called "To Catch a Predator." Reporter Chris Hanson went on the prowl in a New York City suburb with tabloid journalism's standards -- the hidden camera, the ambush, the crucifixion on camera -- and with a little help lured 18 men in three days to a house where the men thought they might have sex with a teen they'd chatted with online. The "teen" was actually one of a stash of adults at an organization called Perverted-Justice, a Web-based organization that turns the table on would-be predators. A few staffers and many volunteers at Perverted-Justice pose as boys or girls, open themselves up to sexually explicit online chats with adults, then set up stings with the police, or Dateline, to nab them. NBC's segment was such a ratings success that Dateline did it again in November 2005, then again in February 2006, then made it a running series, with four shows between April 27 and May 31. At least one of those drew more than 10 million voyeurs -- I mean viewers.
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Simon Lameth
Business Fox
Join date: 8 Oct 2005
Posts: 111
08-09-2006 14:26
HORRAY TO FOX NEWS!
For telling it like it is!
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Simon Lameth,
Metaverse Media CEO.

METAVERSE MEDIA FORUMS:
metaforums.forumer.com
Liona Clio
Angel in Disguise
Join date: 30 Aug 2004
Posts: 1,500
08-09-2006 14:30
Y'know, CBS News has already been on SL. Is it only a matter of time before we see a virtual Chris Hansen slipping into Luskwood to catch child catgirls in the act of grooming themselves???

And the insanity continues. :P
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"Well, my days of not taking you seriously have certainly come to a middle."
Cindy Claveau
Gignowanasanafonicon
Join date: 16 May 2005
Posts: 2,008
08-09-2006 14:33
From: Liona Clio
Y'know, CBS News has already been on SL. Is it only a matter of time before we see a virtual Chris Hansen slipping into Luskwood to catch child catgirls in the act of grooming themselves???

And the insanity continues. :P

To heck with Luskwood - that's tame. Wait'll they find the diaper rooms in Misty's Starship.
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Liona Clio
Angel in Disguise
Join date: 30 Aug 2004
Posts: 1,500
08-09-2006 14:39
From: Cindy Claveau
To heck with Luskwood - that's tame. Wait'll they find the diaper rooms in Misty's Starship.


:eek:

Wait, NBC'd never allow it to air. They'd lose their lucrative Pampers and Huggies commercial deals....
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"Well, my days of not taking you seriously have certainly come to a middle."
Lorelei Patel
was here
Join date: 22 Feb 2004
Posts: 1,940
08-09-2006 14:40
From: Cindy Claveau
As I read this, I found myself waffling back and forth between hatred of predators and despising over-zealous journalists who disregard the rule of law and Constitutional rights.

'Gotcha' Shows Aimed at Nabbing Sexual Predators Raise Controversy


Ok, that's one side. The story also tells the other side (emphasis is mine):


Tristam's article said:



I actually used to hang out at Perverted Justice a few years back, and not without some mixed feelings.

If you go to that site, though, you can read the chat logs. The predators are the initiators and often doggedly pursue a real-life meeting with people they assume to be kids. So, if you're worried about entrapment, I don't think that's too much of a concern.

The moral quandry for me is what happens next. P-J members then try to find the real-life identity of the predator. Information gathered is passed on to law enforcement -- which is OK -- but also family members, neighbors and employers. That's the vigilante aspect that made me uncomfortable.

As far as concentrating on that and not what happens within a family -- true. I suppose, though, that you could look at this as the low-hanging fruit. It's easier to catch someone this way than to parse what might be going on behind the walls of what looks like the All-American Family. Abuse within a family and abuse from an outsider are both terrible. I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with using a tactic that only works to end one form of the abuse.
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Broadly offensive.
Liona Clio
Angel in Disguise
Join date: 30 Aug 2004
Posts: 1,500
08-09-2006 15:07
From: Lorelei Patel
I actually used to hang out at Perverted Justice a few years back, and not without some mixed feelings.

If you go to that site, though, you can read the chat logs. The predators are the initiators and often doggedly pursue a real-life meeting with people they assume to be kids. So, if you're worried about entrapment, I don't think that's too much of a concern.

The moral quandry for me is what happens next. P-J members then try to find the real-life identity of the predator. Information gathered is passed on to law enforcement -- which is OK -- but also family members, neighbors and employers. That's the vigilante aspect that made me uncomfortable.

As far as concentrating on that and not what happens within a family -- true. I suppose, though, that you could look at this as the low-hanging fruit. It's easier to catch someone this way than to parse what might be going on behind the walls of what looks like the All-American Family. Abuse within a family and abuse from an outsider are both terrible. I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with using a tactic that only works to end one form of the abuse.


Okay, here's a controversial idea...

Do these vigilante websites ever work on getting help for the predators they do sting ops on? I'm willing to bet a lot of the people they catch were abused or molested as children themselves...it's only a small step to go from victim to victimizer.

In reality, it's not the innocent teenybopper unsafely surfing the net that needs the assistance. It's the grown up adults who've borne so much crap in their lives that their views on morality have been twisted...those are the people who need talking to. And not in angry, judgemental, you-are-going-to-Hell tones. People just need to know there are others who understand their hurt, and are willing to stand up for them doing things right.

Course, there are unrepentant, I-don't-give-a-fuck monsters who revel in their depravity...like Charlie Manson. If you're not willing to stop doing evil* things...that's when you need to be put down.

(* Evil in the absolute meaning, like murdering for the joy of taking a life, and not the subjective meaning, like "homosexuality is evil".)
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"Well, my days of not taking you seriously have certainly come to a middle."
Lorelei Patel
was here
Join date: 22 Feb 2004
Posts: 1,940
08-09-2006 15:26
From: Liona Clio
Do these vigilante websites ever work on getting help for the predators they do sting ops on?


IIRC, yes, they have on occassion.
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Broadly offensive.
Achilles Antonelli
Registered User
Join date: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 18
08-09-2006 16:42
From: Liona Clio
Okay, here's a controversial idea...

Do these vigilante websites ever work on getting help for the predators they do sting ops on? I'm willing to bet a lot of the people they catch were abused or molested as children themselves...it's only a small step to go from victim to victimizer.



I'm not sure that you can get help for these individuals any more than you can get "help" for someone who is straight/gay or any other designation. And while it's true that some who are abused subsequently go on to abuse others could conceivably have been helped by counselling, there are others that no amount of counselling will help. I find it hard to imagine that this is a lifestyle choice. More a (hideous) compulsion.