I’d like to nominate so called “On line vigilantes” such as Dark Justice. These are members of the public who go on chat sites pretending to be a child and then try to inveigle men to meet them for underage sex. When the man turns up they film him and his arrest.
Now right from the start I’ll declare that I am not involved,or know anyone involved,in this kind of thing. I am however genuinely interested in Cunters’ thoughts. Would these men have committed the offence if not encouraged? I know that over the years my thoughts have contained just about every crime from murder down to parking in a handicapped bay. Would I have acted on any if given encouragement?
How do the police stand on these,dare I say,entrapment cases? Is such filming of an arrest even legal? There was a man I read about who committed suicide after being caught by one of these groups and the footage put up on the internet.He died before being convicted,should these people have anonymity until conviction?
I also wonder about the motivation of some of these vigilantes,I’m sure that some do it with the best intentions,but I also wonder if some do it for self-glorification or even some vicarious thrill?
Nominated by Dick Fiddler