To Catch a Predator reality show

[mothball]

"To Catch a Predator is a reality television show that features a series of hidden camera investigations by the television newsmagazine Dateline NBC devoted to the subject of identifying and detaining potential child sexual abusers who contact minors (or individuals whom they believe to be minors) over the Internet for sexual liaisons."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Catch_a_Predator


Personally, I have absolutely no sympathy for any of these people, but should their faces also be pasted across the globe?


[youtube:3igb2jb9]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB-9QnGNvxg[/youtube:3igb2jb9]

[CitiZenJon]

Jebus H Wombat, this is surreal. Lots of chat about this show, I thought it was a drama till I saw the YouTube link.
Clearly there's an issue concerning entrapment, but is it check'd by the obvious public interest in exposing such deviants and their modus operandi?
Far out, I'm ashamed to admit I was enthralled.

[NeilW]

They can be difficult to catch though. These people can be devious and cunning. Some of them disguise themselves as schools...

[youtube:2dkb1n92]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlEcGHxfltE[/youtube:2dkb1n92][/quote]

[CitiZenJon]

They can be difficult to catch though. These people can be devious and cunning. Some of them disguise themselves as schools...

LoL :mrgreen: Chris Morris is Legend

[Twin Towers]

These people can be devious and cunning.

[Tizona]

I've watched that program and found it rather voyeuristic. I think its less about 'catching a predator' than gaining ratings through voyeuristic humiliation.

The whole thing is based on entrapment, and the predators more often appear to be fools rather than manipulative or evil masterminds. Why do I end up feeling disgust and pity for the married schoolteachers grovelling on the kitchen floor for mercy when they realise they've been had - when I should really hate their guts? Something just feels wrong about the whole set up.

[The OD]

I've watched that program and found it rather voyeuristic. I think its less about 'catching a predator' than gaining ratings through voyeuristic humiliation.

The whole thing is based on entrapment, and the predators more often appear to be fools rather than manipulative or evil masterminds. Why do I end up feeling disgust and pity for the married schoolteachers grovelling on the kitchen floor for mercy when they realise they've been had - when I should really hate their guts? Something just feels wrong about the whole set up.

I'd agree - at the end of all this, its all about ratings using the age old tactic of fear. If these people really are a threat there is an onus on the broadcaster to ensure any and all admissable evidence is used to bring a conviction, not to sell advertising slots.

At times, you would wonder who was worse, the execs who like to sell the threat of rape, murder and abuse as entertaining public service or the abuser themselves.

I dont however, have the slightest bit of sympathy for anyone who views children as sexual objects to exploit nor do I have any sympathy for tv execs who walk in front of buses. Come to think of it, how many entertainment people view children as sexual objects to exploit? Britney Spears debut video anyone????

[easygoing]

I watched an episode and was surprised that most of the guilty men were from the Indian subcontinent.

[NeilW]

I watched an episode and was surprised that most of the guilty men were from the Indian subcontinent.

Are you sure they werent from the USA?

[múscailte]

Personally, I have absolutely no sympathy for any of these people, but should their faces also be pasted across the globe?

Absolutely, the child sex offenders register doesn't go far enough. Shows like this are mere vouyeuristic ratings-grabbing exercises but there is merit to the idea. Child sex offenders, and sex offenders in general, should be publicly named and shamed and their pictures should be prominently displayed online and on centralised notice boards in their local areas. All efforts should be employed to protect the community from criminal, sexual predation.