Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator" specials with Chris Hansen are fantastic

[Tequilamokinbrd]

Am I the only one that thinks so? I just can't get enough. Chris Hansen could do his own little spin off show and I'd be there every week.



There's just something so satisfying about seeing these guys getting caught, exposed, humiliated, and arrested.

[Sam T.]

Am I the only one that thinks so? I just can't get enough. Chris Hansen could do his own little spin off show and I'd be there every week.



There's just something so satisfying about seeing these guys getting caught, exposed, humiliated, and arrested.

ehh...its an ok show. My wife and I like Cops better!!

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Jon Stewart had Hanson on a day or 2 ago and said that the specials have seemingly placed him into the American lexicon of terms. Like when someone says good-bye like Walter Conkite and all. I've seen Family Guy use Hanson's : " Hello , do you know why your here ? I do ...I'm Chris Hanson from Dateline NBC and your on To Catch a Predator !"

Its a great service as well. I like watching some of these creeps run and some like one 20 something guy broke down and cried claiming he had a problem and needed help. Hanson finally had to tell him what was happening and he relunctantly walked out and was arrested.

[Shade]

I think it's great what he's doing.....I just at this point making it into "entertainment" dilutes the importance of the issue at hand. It's no longer a news story but a very very sad "reality show". It's crossed over from looking like they are doing a service to looking like "Hey look at these idiots!!"

[Royal]

Sure. I'm all about supproting cyber vigilantes called Perverted Justice and decreasing the capacity of local and state cyber crimes departments, making they're caseloads worthless due to entrapment issues.

A cyber vigilante group that has multiple entrapment and endangerment charges as well as charges for hacking local servers thrown their way and are always bailed by NBC, because they always clear sweeps.

You want to stop these activities? Support the Cyber Crimes department. Not vigilantes that change they're name legally to Xavier von Erieck.

[Shellhead]

I've watched four of these now, and that's enough for me. I am glad they are doing these busts, assuming that these guys aren't getting off the hook due to entrapment, as Royal mentioned here. But I personally can't stand to watch these creeps tell such obvious lies or crap rationalizations... like "I'm just here to warn her to stay away from strangers", or "I made a mistake and I will never do this again."

[drwho]

What always fascinates me is the guys actually let the host interview them. You feel like saying stfu. I hope the cameras are hidden or something.

[Shellhead]

What always fascinates me is the guys actually let the host interview them. You feel like saying stfu. I hope the cameras are hidden or something.

The cameras are hidden at first, but if the guy sticks around for more than a couple of minutes, Chris has a camera man come out and point a big old camera right at the perp. Only the most talkative guys stick around after that point.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

Pound 4 Pound, it's the best show on NBC.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Sure. I'm all about supproting cyber vigilantes called Perverted Justice and decreasing the capacity of local and state cyber crimes departments, making they're caseloads worthless due to entrapment issues.

A cyber vigilante group that has multiple entrapment and endangerment charges as well as charges for hacking local servers thrown their way and are always bailed by NBC, because they always clear sweeps.

You want to stop these activities? Support the Cyber Crimes department. Not vigilantes that change they're name legally to Xavier von Erieck.

You didn't watch where after a show in Georgia they upped the budget for the states cyber crime department ? Because as the Govenor said , after watching the episode he realized the state needed a bigger cyber crimes budget to catch pedophiles.

Do they make mistakes ? Yeah ...but their out there trying to do some good with this. They'll make mistakes just like other agencies and all who do work like this.

[J. Robb]

I've found it to be one of those things you really only need to see once. I loved its use on "30 Rock" though, that was hilarious.

[StoneGold]

Somehow it makes me feel sorry for sexual predators. I think it's the whole voyeuristic nature of the whole thing. It feels less set up to catch sexual predators, as to allow us to feel morally superior to these scumbags. Which most of us probably are, but I didn't need a TV show to tell me that.



That, and Chris Hanson is like a budget version of Stone Phillips. Same basic vocal intonations, but much easier to imitate.

[Royal]

You didn't watch where after a show in Georgia they upped the budget for the states cyber crime department ? Because as the Govenor said , after watching the episode he realized the state needed a bigger cyber crimes budget to catch pedophiles.


Which begs the question Why it takes vigilantes to make governments realize. Especially when it's the same vigilantes that have been pouncing on the same cases the CCD has been working months on. They had their bugets cut because of these assholes.

How you really think this makes the CCD feel right now? If I were them, i'd be fucking pissed and possibly resign.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Which begs the question Why it takes vigilantes to make governments realize. Especially when it's the same vigilantes that have been pouncing on the same cases the CCD has been working months on. They had their bugets cut because of these assholes.

How you really think this makes the CCD feel right now? If I were them, i'd be fucking pissed and possibly resign.

As we see they do their job. If they pounce on the same cases then thats a fact of life. I'm sure there are enough online cases that the CCD has so much going on and all , some welcome the help to take these sob's off the street I'm sure.

[Serik]

I'm glad they're taking down predators, but it feels wrong watching it on TV. It feels like they're trivializing the issue for the sake of entertainment.

Honestly, the show sounds like something out of Fahrenheit 451 or some other dystopian novel...

PS: I will admit that this is a hillarious parody:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deUHWKnRmEU

[Royal]

As we see they do their job. If they pounce on the same cases then thats a fact of life. I'm sure there are enough online cases that the CCD has so much going on and all , some welcome the help to take these sob's off the street I'm sure.

What part of "vigilante" do you not get?

Is it also alright for these vigilantes to mess around with the private information of their detractors as well? Is it alright to publish the addresses of a jurno of a gay magazine and a member of the CCD and call them enablers of pedophiles. Because that's what they did.

They've also created a copycat site that misdirects people from a real site that offers legal council to wrongly accused who want to issue suit against them. Is this alright?

[the film freak]

I worked on a couple of those shows. Pretty depressing experience to be honest. I really can't go into detail because some contract I signed with NBC but there were a lot things that bug me about that setup.

They did work with law enforcement on the shows I worked in though.

[DonC]

I would be amazed if any of these guys were ever actually convicted. Here I am online typing this and no one, not one person, out there can prove who I am. "Yeah, officer, I didn't type that. I was just here to warn the girl that someone was using my computer without me knowing about it."

[DDM]

Dateline is just as sleazy as the pedophiles they set-up as so-called "entertainment." It's just wrong.

It's not quite like COPS because the reporter knows the set-up; in fact, with COPS, no set-up is involved. The camera just follows them on their calls to see where it leads which could be anything to drugs, domestic issues, or something else.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

What part of "vigilante" do you not get?

Is it also alright for these vigilantes to mess around with the private information of their detractors as well? Is it alright to publish the addresses of a jurno of a gay magazine and a member of the CCD and call them enablers of pedophiles. Because that's what they did.

They've also created a copycat site that misdirects people from a real site that offers legal council to wrongly accused who want to issue suit against them. Is this alright?

I really don't know about their actions regarding the gay magazine or a CCD member. Or the copy cat website. But this post seems to dispel some of the Vigilante questions.

I worked on a couple of those shows. Pretty depressing experience to be honest. I really can't go into detail because some contract I signed with NBC but there were a lot things that bug me about that setup.

They did work with law enforcement on the shows I worked in though.

If you watch they are working alongside law enforcement now. That once the suspect leaves , he's arrested and booked.

[GRANT!]

I would be amazed if any of these guys were ever actually convicted. Here I am online typing this and no one, not one person, out there can prove who I am. "Yeah, officer, I didn't type that. I was just here to warn the girl that someone was using my computer without me knowing about it."

They can prove it. For one the decoy asks the perp to bring something with him. Something specific mention in the chat transcript so they can make an ID. Usually a particular brand of alcoholic or some food. Not only that most of them confess on camera that they intended to have sex with a kid. What usually happens is they plead no contest or guilty and settle of court.

[GRANT!]

If you watch they are working alongside law enforcement now. That once the suspect leaves , he's arrested and booked.

Yup. Watched all of that stuff. From different angles too.

[Jared]

I'm amazed nobody has taken a swing at Chris Hanson yet. I mean, they're already busted, sooner or later somebody's gotta figure "meh, why not?"

[Royal]

They can prove it. For one the decoy asks the perp to bring something with him. Something specific mention in the chat transcript so they can make an ID. Usually a particular brand of alcoholic or some food. Not only that most of them confess on camera that they intended to have sex with a kid. What usually happens is they plead no contest or guilty and settle of court.

And how are we to believe an organization that answers to no one is providing full unedited transcripts?

[Royal]

Yup. Watched all of that stuff. From different angles too.

Only for arrests. The sting and setup is done by PJ and NBC.

[rick]

I think that this show proves if nothing else, that if you are going to try to have sex with some 15 year old scooter pie, you better make sure it's one that you've already met before rushing over with the big box of condoms and bottle of Jack.

Now, don't get me wrong, I've got three daughters and am not supporting the idea of nailing 15 year olds, but at the same time you have just got to be one of the biggest morons in the world to think that some "girl" you met on the internet is going to be for real.

Certainly Humbert would never have been that dumb, let alone Clare Quilty.

[jboncha]

All I gotta say is I smell ENTRAPMENT and FALSE ARREST.
From what I've seen the girls that the show uses are the ones to bring up sex first.
I wonder if the show has ever had a situation with a guy who's graduated high school and is still dating his high school girlfriend even though she is a sophomore....???
I'm with these people --> http://www.corrupted-justice.com/


J B

[StoneGold]

I wonder if the show has ever had a situation with a guy who's graduated high school and is still dating his high school girlfriend even though she is a sophomore....???


No, because it is unlikely they would travel to meet a 14-year-old girl they met on an Internet chat room. Well, maybe not unlikely, but it has nothing to do with the scenario you brought up.

[jboncha]

No, because it is unlikely they would travel to meet a 14-year-old girl they met on an Internet chat room. Well, maybe not unlikely, but it has nothing to do with the scenario you brought up.
Right after writing that I figured that it didnt relate.
The show though is treading on some very sketchy ground as far as I'm concerned.
I'm taking legal assistant classes and I cant wait to get my degree so I can know how to look into how "legal" what they're doing really is.
Too much paranoia...:P
Next thing you'll tell me is that people actually thought their friends were witches at one time.
What that actually did happen...LOL LMAO
I cant wait until the day when looking at a teen aged girl in public is gonna be illegal.


J B

[StoneGold]

Right after writing that I figured that it didnt relate.
The show though is treading on some very sketchy ground as far as I'm concerned.
I'm taking legal assistant classes and I cant wait to get my degree so I can know how to look into how "legal" what they're doing really is.
Too much paranoia...:P
Next thing you'll tell me is that people actually thought their friends were witches at one time.
What that actually did happen...LOL LMAO
I cant wait until the day when looking at a teen aged girl in public is gonna be illegal.


J B

I'm going to guess NBC's lawyers are better than you are. That's nothing against you, just I'm pretty sure they've looked into it already.

[Nate C.]

Dateline is just as sleazy as the pedophiles they set-up as so-called "entertainment." It's just wrong. .


40 year olds wanting/having sex with fourteen year olds =/= undercover journalism

[Tequilamokinbrd]

40 year olds wanting/having sex with fourteen year olds =/= undercover journalism



Quoted for truth, I personally don't think what they're doing is wrong, but I could certainly see how someone could make a case for it being exploitive. I happen to differ in opinion but hey that's America right?



However, to say that Chris Hansen and Dateline NBC are just as sleazy as child molesters is just nuts. Some of these guys are really messed up and if Dateline takes one of them off the streets, then kudos to them.


Did you see that guy that brought his three year old kid with him? NBC's as bad as that guy? :confused:

[Mike Pothier]

PS: I will admit that this is a hillarious parody:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deUHWKnRmEU

Heh, I love that one. this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKUkwh8TmM0) is good as well. Plus he has a killer Chris Hansen impression.

My view on the show: Typical sensationalist crap you'll find on any day-time talk show, only more dressed up and "sophisticated". Parading slime-balls on tv to be mocked and ridiculed just for ratings doesn't make you a good person.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

I was watching a repeat on MSNBC and one show sort of justified what Dateline and this show does. In Texas a DA ran on a platform of being hard on online pedophiles and all. That was what he ran on as a platform as well as the Govenor !

Long story short....somehow he gets busted by this Dateline sting but they didn't show it on TV . They just detailed the case and how he was arrested. They showed the SWAT team coming to his house and when he wouldn't come out , they busted down his door. He held a gun to himself and was finally convinced to give himself up.

Say what you will about it. But damn , thats someone who was in a position of power and likely would have never been caught and he was. Its a scary thought that someone like that could be in charge and be a pedophile themselves.

[GRANT!]

Only for arrests. The sting and setup is done by PJ and NBC.

Yeah. But PJ turns all the evidence over to the cops and DA. It's uneasy alliance for sure. I think the police would be happier if PJ wasn't involved.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Yeah. But PJ turns all the evidence over to the cops and DA. It's uneasy alliance for sure.

But its working . I don't have a kid but those who do have children gotta be scared if they go online and have people like that seeking little kids out. The people shown maybe moronic for falling for this but isn't it like a warning when this airs to your children in a way ? That there are f-cked up people out there so be careful who ya talk to online.

[GRANT!]

I'm glad they're taking down predators, but it feels wrong watching it on TV. It feels like they're trivializing the issue for the sake of entertainment.

That's kind of my problem with it. You get the feeling they are doing this for the wrong reasons. Like Royal said I rather have more money put in the police departments to monitor this rather then an outside vigilante group with their own axe to grind and a network looking for ratings.

On the other hand I made a shitload of overtime working on those things. So that was awesome.

[ubergeekette]

Personally, I think they should jail as much guys as they can catch, but the problem for me is that the show is getting extremely repetitive. I also noticed that the quality of the show has diminished. The very first time they did it, they gave the bio, information, how police are trying to settle stuff, yadda yadda yadda, now they just say "yeah 29 year old guy, sandwich maker, see how we ask him some lame questions about condoms and crap."

Another thing I felt kinda guilty repetitively watching it. I beleive the predators should get punished by the full extent of the law, but for my entertainment? At first the program was about alerting us ABOUT predators, now its just entertaining us with predators.

[Erik Lehnsherr]

The reactions by the more upstanding types that have tons to lose after beign exposed never gets old.

[DonC]

They can prove it. For one the decoy asks the perp to bring something with him. Something specific mention in the chat transcript so they can make an ID. Usually a particular brand of alcoholic or some food. Not only that most of them confess on camera that they intended to have sex with a kid. What usually happens is they plead no contest or guilty and settle of court.


I'm all for dudes who want to bang kids going to jail, being raped a couple times then shived. These dudes also need a little bit of common sense. As Rick pointed out, no girl you just met on the internet is going to be willing to give it up that easily. Don't bring the booze she wants and don't admit in front of five TV cameras that you were there for some underage lovin.' Cover your ass.

[lboinyamouf4sho]

That's kind of my problem with it. You get the feeling they are doing this for the wrong reasons. Like Royal said I rather have more money put in the police departments to monitor this rather then an outside vigilante group with their own axe to grind and a network looking for ratings.

On the other hand I made a shitload of overtime working on those things. So that was awesome.

i don't know, regular cops are fat and lazy, imagine the cyber cops. regardless of these dateline guys true motivations(ratings, fame, whatever)atleast they have motivation to do more than beat up female bartenders.

at the same time there's a privacy issue, it may start with busting pedophiles as justification but where will it end, if it makes for good tv who else will they go after??

i'm also interested to know how many of these guys get convicted, look at that guy who used to own ROH, he got busted in 1 of these sting operrations and he's still doing buisness online.

[Shellhead]

The only arrests on these shows that bother me are the ones where the guy never even gets out of his car and still gets arrested. In some states, it is apparently illegal for the guy to even solicit sex over the internet, so pulling up in front of the house is sufficient reason for the arrest. There should be some leeway for somebody to change their mind before actually commiting a crime, or else we are veering into Minority Report territory. If we can't have freedom of speech on the internet...

[i_mmmchocolate]

I love this show a lot and I think what they're doing is great.

I usually miss it on NBC, so I watch it on MSNBC instead.