The Paedophile Hunter
Discussion
Channel 4 will tomorrow air its most important documentary of the year. And also its most controversial.
The Paedophile Hunter documentary follows Stinson Hunter and his 'team' as they pose as young girls online to snare potential offenders.
On his website, Hunter writes that he and a friend decided they wanted to address the growing issue of internet safety.
"In 2009, a friend and I conversed about an immense concern for those on the internet, especially children, and the way in which they could be exposed to unwanted messages of a sexually explicit nature", the website reads.
"After painstaking thought, I engendered an idea to do something that would primarily help protect children online."
The idea is to act as underage girls online and to draw in potential paedophiles. Hunter states they do not engage in 'sexually explicit' dialogue with the person and remain neutral throughout the entire 'investigation'.
"Throughout the investigation, I have never and will never approach somebody first, the profile is set up and we wait for any contact. Upon receiving the very first message, it is absolute that we immediately reiterate that we are underage; if those who are informed of the age continue to communicate with the profile then that is up to them.
"We strictly do not engage in any sexually explicit chat, nor do we encourage it in any way, we simply keep our involvement neutral."
After they've lured the individual to a house, they confront the person and ask them to explain themselves while recording the whole incident on hand-held cameras.
Hunter then hands the footage to the police and subsequently publishes the clip on his website. His footage has apparently helped convict ten individuals.
However, some concerns have been raised regarding the man's vigilantism. One man - named as Michael Parkes - who was snared by the group killed himself last year after being questioned by police over footage that was posted online. His wife appears in the documentary.
The head of Channel 4's documentary department, Nick Mirsky, has said the documentary is one of the broadcaster's most important one this year.
Mirsky was asked whether highlighting the man's vigilantism may spark copycat individuals.
"It’s clearly not a decision we made lightly but the important factor is that all that is featured in this programme is in the public domain anyway."
Jim Gamble, the former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop), said he understands "the frustration" that drove Stinson Hunter to target suspected internet predators.
"Some people with very little training are proving just how easy it is to go out there and catch individuals. They are able to go online with little or no training and very quickly they're shooting fish in a barrel.
"The fact of the matter is this, that needs to be done by law enforcement and whilst I don't see any justification in reality for vigilantes doing what they do I think it provides the evidence for the Government, if it's needed, that actually this works."
The documentary airs tomorrow night at 10pm on Channel 4.
The Paedophile Hunter documentary follows Stinson Hunter and his 'team' as they pose as young girls online to snare potential offenders.
On his website, Hunter writes that he and a friend decided they wanted to address the growing issue of internet safety.
"In 2009, a friend and I conversed about an immense concern for those on the internet, especially children, and the way in which they could be exposed to unwanted messages of a sexually explicit nature", the website reads.
"After painstaking thought, I engendered an idea to do something that would primarily help protect children online."
The idea is to act as underage girls online and to draw in potential paedophiles. Hunter states they do not engage in 'sexually explicit' dialogue with the person and remain neutral throughout the entire 'investigation'.
"Throughout the investigation, I have never and will never approach somebody first, the profile is set up and we wait for any contact. Upon receiving the very first message, it is absolute that we immediately reiterate that we are underage; if those who are informed of the age continue to communicate with the profile then that is up to them.
"We strictly do not engage in any sexually explicit chat, nor do we encourage it in any way, we simply keep our involvement neutral."
After they've lured the individual to a house, they confront the person and ask them to explain themselves while recording the whole incident on hand-held cameras.
Hunter then hands the footage to the police and subsequently publishes the clip on his website. His footage has apparently helped convict ten individuals.
However, some concerns have been raised regarding the man's vigilantism. One man - named as Michael Parkes - who was snared by the group killed himself last year after being questioned by police over footage that was posted online. His wife appears in the documentary.
The head of Channel 4's documentary department, Nick Mirsky, has said the documentary is one of the broadcaster's most important one this year.
Mirsky was asked whether highlighting the man's vigilantism may spark copycat individuals.
"It’s clearly not a decision we made lightly but the important factor is that all that is featured in this programme is in the public domain anyway."
Jim Gamble, the former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop), said he understands "the frustration" that drove Stinson Hunter to target suspected internet predators.
"Some people with very little training are proving just how easy it is to go out there and catch individuals. They are able to go online with little or no training and very quickly they're shooting fish in a barrel.
"The fact of the matter is this, that needs to be done by law enforcement and whilst I don't see any justification in reality for vigilantes doing what they do I think it provides the evidence for the Government, if it's needed, that actually this works."
The documentary airs tomorrow night at 10pm on Channel 4.
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