Are the B.C. vigilantes a pro or a comic con?
IT’S A BIRD, it’s a plane, it’s—a man in costume confronting a sexual predator?
In recent weeks, four men in Chilliwack, B.C. have bombarded the Internet with a curious case of working-class heroism. The men, who range in age from 17 to 20, have been posing online as underage girls and luring sexual predators to locations in their area. The vigilantes then don superhero costumes and head to a meeting point, camera in hand, to confront the predators they’ve ensnared.
While popular opinion seems to be the group’s approach is unique, the everyday heroes have garnered both immense praise for taking social issues into their own hands and scathing criticism for acting without proper legal authority and potentially endangering their community.
World needs more vigilantes
What these guys in B.C. are doing is a noble idea, but noble ideas aren’t always good ideas. The “To Troll a Predator” team seems to be in it for laughs as much as out of the goodness of their hearts, and don’t seem to realize all of the things that are wrong with what they’re doing.
We need to acknowledge and praise the brave acts of these four B.C. boys. Though their actions are unconventional, theirs is a job well done. Their approach to solving social issues is comical, but at the same time, it carries a direct message to the potential sex offenders they target. Rather than blatantly dismissing their actions as downright unacceptable, the police should side with the residents of the city regarding the vigilantes’ fearless attention to exposing local offenders.
The fear that these men are just having fun doing something that pumps their adrenaline is reasonable, but as much as their motivation may be questionable, authorities should not be too quick to judge. These men are creating awareness about sex crimes and that should be taken seriously. They are volunteering their time, money, and energy to enforce social justice, which they are in no way obliged to do.
Unskilled amateurs are used in television shows to reveal underground criminals every day and they get the support and protection of cops. This case should not be handled any differently. At the very least, the authorities can refrain from charging the men with any offence. These unprofessional vigilantes deserve two thumbs up.
—Tiolu Adedipe
We have the police for a reason
The men got their idea off of the well-known Dateline program To Catch a Predator. The biggest difference between the show and these men is when Chris Hansen goes to confront a potential sex offender, he is backed up by a full film crew and law enforcement agencies rather than a fake Batman utility belt.
These guys in superhero suits show up alone to confront someone about their soon-to-be crime. These men can’t actually arrest their targets and can’t get the police involved to do it, because it would violate entrapment laws. This leaves the group alone confronting someone who could easily become violent. The vigilantes are already provoking people to commit a sex crime—it’s just a matter of time before one of them turns on the vigilantes and commits a violent crime, too. Dressing like Superman doesn’t make anyone bulletproof.
It’s also worth noting the vigilantes’ targets are not actually criminals. In order to lure them out, the “heroes” need to pose as young girls online and go out of their way to convince potential criminals to meet. They could find someone who’s a real predator—a repeat offender who’d do this stuff anyway—but are just as likely to lure someone who may have considered going after a minor, but would never have acted on it without their bait. This could easily make a criminal of an innocent person and vilify them on the Internet for something the so-called vigilantes caused themselves.
This group needs to understand the seriousness of what they’re doing and that life isn’t a comic book. I respect these guys for wanting to make a difference, but I can’t support the way they are going about it.
—Brennan Bova
