to think paedo hunter gangs aren't necessarily a good thing?

[GhostPerfume]

I am torn on this. I have a lot of friends who share these posts on facebook, I have never shared them and do not follow their pages.

I was sexually abused by a teacher growing up - I am in no way a paedophile sympathiser AT ALL. Just before someone comes on and flames me!

What worries me is the families of these people - they are often filmed at their family home. Also I tend not to watch the videos of the "stings" that people share but I watched one today as it was very local to me. The gang seemed to have a huge stack of evidence and they apprehended the suspect and called the police. It is what happened after that I am struggling with. They then spent the whole time until the police came repeatedly goading the offender. They kept repeating "We won't hurt you unless you hurt us/run away" But I felt like they were goading them into that. 4 of them standing round shouting and swearing, shouting if they didn't answer, then if they did answer they mocked the answer and said it was the wrong thing to have said. There is NOTHING the suspect can do to justify their actions, (rightly,they often admit it and there is no way they can have any reason)

Members of the public who comment saying to stop shouting and swearing in public get a mouthful from the gang threatening to put their faces on the live facebook feed, and whipping up crazy levels of anger from those watching online who then make threats to the passers by.

The gang seem to be made up of people who have had no official training at all.

On the other hand these "stings" often do result in prosecutions of the offender. The police do not have the man power/resources to do all this work. But the way they go about it really is getting OTT, swaggering about shouting "we are on a sting FUCK off anyone who doesn't agree is a paedo sympathiser"

I can share the link to the one that was near me that I mean where they seemed to be repeatedly goading the man into wanting him to fight so they could have a reason to batter him. Not sure if I am allowed to share the link. (The man was admitting it and IMO is an utterly VILE human who deserves prison) but they could have stood quietly with him while waiting for police instead it was them screaming and shouting and causing a huge scene.

Is this the one in Forfar?
I do think the vigilante group were novices and need training on how to deal with it professionally but i think its good they are weeding out dangerous people.

The thing is, they aren’t always right. Remember Bijan Ebrahami:

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/bijan-ebrahami-refugee-murdered-iran-killed-paedophile-bristol-avon-somerset-police-council-gang-a8116341.html

They are not a good thing at all. We often get them refusing to pass "evidence"
to the police investigation. So they can get their 5 minutes of fame on social media they force these offenders underground. They are glory hunters.

As someone who has a relative who works for the police doing it all properly, I personally can't abide vigilantes who take it upon themselves as unfortunately because the evidence isn't collected within strict guidelines given by the courts, very little of it is actually admissible when or if the case goes to court.

There are people who are tasked with doing this professionally for a living, leave it to them.

The thing is, they aren’t always right. Remember Bijan Ebrahami:

^That had nothing to do with paedophille hunters. That was a paranoid neighbour and mob mentality.

But nobody, other than these self-appointed vigilantes, has ever suggested they are a ‘good thing’.

Attention seeking drama hunters often made up of Tommy Robinson types.

I don't watch them because I get a grubby, self serving vibe from the vigilantes.

More about their capture and public shaming than preventing real harm by just informing.

I agree with you OP. I always worry that the evidence isn't then usable in court if it hasn't been obtained correctly, or that it will have an impact on a jury and then not lead to a proper trial etc. Yes of coursr it's great that these people have been caught but not if it has an impact on a conviction.

I don't like them. I always wonder about their motives especially when they "live stream" all over facebook. I hate vigilantism in any shape or form - I don't think we have any right to take the law into our own hands.

That had nothing to do with paedophille hunters. That was a paranoid neighbour and mob mentality

What exactly do you think paedophile hunters are? The live videos on Facebook, the exposure and publicity, the glory hunting. It’s mob mentality at its very worst!

If they did it quietly and efficiently, without publicity and handed all of the evidence to the police I might have some sympathy with them.

As it is, they’re often wrong, and do it solely for attention.

Sparkle these paedophile hunters are quite organised now, not just going by local gossip anymore - they usually have a decoy who spends months on social media pretending to be an underage child, usually a girl. They hang out in chat rooms and wait to be approached by older males.

The decoys don't initiate any sexual talk but respond I think, and go along with everyday chat about school/family.

Offender arranges to meet up with decoy (who to their knowledge is underage) usually at travelodge type place, then once they have confirmed the offender is the correct person they box the car in, call us and detain offender.

When we arrive they hand over reams of evidence and often statements etc

I have dealt with two in the last few months. Police are quite grateful ime.

We don't have the resources to initiate this but I think on the whole IF it is a well run job with no goading/aggression we're happy to take it off them.

I think that they can be a good thing but only if they follow certain rules. For example the way they collect evidence. Many methods aren't admissible in court and are therefore useless. There must be a set rule for collecting evidence the right way. Also no violence against the person, that's important otherwise they are also committing a crime. Another one is no releasing any details about the alleged offender until they have been convicted. People get it wrong and to spread this persons name/identity across social media/the internet could really ruin someones life if they turned out to be innocent. And filming at someone's house/involving their family is wrong. It's not the families fault and they shouldn't be paraded over the internet either.

I do not agree whatsoever with vigilante groups. Where do you draw the line, and how do you know you've got the right person where you're basically an armchair detective?

I find with the "paedo hunters" couldn't give a shit about children, they target mostly Asian men because they are racist and want an excuse to justify it

Yes we don't like the live stream ones but they don't all do that either!

Is this one in Forfar? Can someone pm the offenders name or photograph if it can’t be posted on the thread. For personal reasons rather than public, last thing I’ll do is be within a hundred miles.

They are absolutely not a good thing.

I had assumed they were pretty universally a bad thing! Prepared to be educated though...

greendale17 it’s still a group of vigilantes taking the law into their own hands, so I would disagree with you

DontBuyANewMumAnyLUSHProduce that might be the case but I still have issues with vigilante justice and the risks associated with it.

Don't think this has been mentioned yet but what about their families? I am all for paedophiles and hebephiles being filtered out and put behind bars, however I don't think these vigilantes have any respect for the families of these people. Imagine being married to, or a child of, someone you had no idea was a paedophile, and suddenly everyone on your street knows the ins and outs of what is going on before you've even had time to get your head around it? I can't imagine what that must be like.

There was one local to us, a convicted paedophile chased by a gang and it ended up causing riots. So the police moved him, and it happened again, and again and again.

It changes nothing, and takes up resources.

I think paedophiles are beyond help and unable to be rehabilitated and deserve a bucket to the back of the head BUT I can’t stand vigilante behaviour , the ‘evidence’ they gather is rarely able to be used in court as it isn’t collected on the right way and they don’t seem to understand how long it takes he police to investigate these people and build a good case against them , I don’t agree with all defending upon a families home they don’t seem to care if family members are dragged through the mud .