To Catch a Predator
Hidden cameras confront men seeking sex with minors.
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To Catch a Predator is an American reality television series that aired as part of the news magazine program Dateline NBC, featuring hidden-camera confrontations between host Chris Hansen and adult men who arrived at a sting house expecting to have sex with a minor.
History and format
To Catch a Predator began as a series of segments on Dateline NBC under the title Dangerous Web in 2004, growing to become the most popular segment on the program and inspiring satirical references in comedies such as The Simpsons and 30 Rock. Host Chris Hansen clarified that the subjects should be labeled as potential sexual predators rather than pedophiles, as pedophilia has a specific definition involving prepubescent sex. The first two investigations did not involve law enforcement on site, allowing individuals caught in the sting to leave voluntarily, though Dateline provided video and transcripts to police and suspects were eventually arrested. Arrests were sometimes made dramatically by officers with Tasers, and in the Fort Myers investigation a police officer in camouflage sometimes arrested perpetrators as they left the sting house.
Investigations
The first installment drew 18 men over two and a half days to a sting house in Bethpage, New York, including a New York City firefighter who used a firehouse computer while on duty to lure a decoy. Fifty-one men were caught in Mira Loma, California over three days. The sheriff's department in Harris County, Georgia arrested 20 men over four and a half days in Fortson.
Suicide of Bill Conradt
Conradt had been caught talking to and exchanging pictures with a Perverted-Justice volunteer posing as a 13-year-old boy, and after he failed to appear at a prearranged meeting, NBC and local police tracked him to his home. As police and an NBC camera crew entered his home, Conradt fatally shot himself, and the scene was captured by the filming crew. The sting prompted protests from local residents opposed to law enforcement attracting sexual predators to their neighborhood, while others countered that such predators were already in the area.
Criticism
The series was accused of making news rather than reporting news, blurring the line between a news organization and an agency of law enforcement. Brian Montopoli of the CBS News Public Eye blog argued that broadcasting suspects on national television constituted a form of punishment the media had no right to inflict, and suggested NBC News was more concerned about ratings than bringing predators to justice. In the United Kingdom, columnist Charlie Brooker wrote that the show made viewers feel sorry for potential child-rapists, commented on an overpowering whiff of entrapment, and noted the disturbing selection process for the actress portraying a minor.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: To Catch a Predator (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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