Paedophile Hunting Groups: Right or Wrong?

I saw this article in today’s BBC and thought it was an interesting one.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-43024711

It appears that self-appointed groups in Northern Ireland are hunting down suspected paedophiles, effectively taking things into their own hands. Some are being trapped and tracked online and then hunted down and detained. Is it right?

The first thing that springs to my mind is that given that this should be the work of the police, what does it say about the police when random guys off the street are more effective than the police at catching these guys? How come police operations take millions to get the job done whilst these guys with presumably lesser IQ and an internet connection are pulling off some great results? Perhaps there is a question there for the police to answer. Maybe they could adopt these cheaper techniques to get the job done better and more often?

It does of course raise the question of standard of treatment of these people when caught. I would have a strong suspicion that the police use a more humane way of dealing with these paedophiles than a few gangs in Northern Ireland. A stronger beating or two I am sure are dished out to these people than the police would give. Some would see the police methods as being more civilized. But there is a flip side to that coin. If paedophiles take their chances more because they believe that the police are less effective at catching them, and more humane in dealing with them, then would the fear of being caught by vigilantes act as a stronger deterrent I wonder? Think about the Jamie Bulger case. That guy commited the same offence again. I could quite easily turn a blind eye if this gang were to make that guy disappear.

Another big problem is the balance of proof in deciding who to hunt down. We can see from the Ched Evans case, something I highlighted when it all kicked off, that many witch hunts are a result of people believing the accuser too often and then the emotions allow the witch hunt to snowball. It happens too often. As it transpired, Ched Evans was later decided to be wrongly convicted, but the political pressure and public noise was allowed to get carried away. The political pressure to protect people sometimes overrides the balance of proof in criminal law – innocent until proven guilty. I very much doubt that these paedophile hunters bear that in mind, even if I sympathise with their methods when the suspected paedophile has a previous conviction or was caught doing what he was doing.

The one other thing I would say is that these gangs I would suspect are related to the paramilitaries. I can well imagine that bored para-gangs from the past would find this quite an interesting venture to keep them from being bored. What is to say that silly accusations bounce back and forth between the Catholic and Protestant communities? I wouldn’t be surprised if that was side story to come out of this one.

If the police are not doing a good enough job I can easily see why the public would quietly back some of these activities. But if it gains traction in Northern Ireland, I wouldn’t be surprised if they start popping up elsewhere. It’s a slippery slope.