Why don't you have a seat over there?
Offline Ok, I have heard of Chris Hanson and his apparently now defunct series, through the internet and via parody like South Park. But until today I'd never seen an episode, and actually didn't even know it was a Dateline series. Kinda assumed it was like Cops or AMW or Rescue 911 for us "older" folk.
After the first episode I was compelled to find and watch more, and not because of the subject of the series (catching child predators), but by the responses of the individuals immediately after being confronted by Chris. The most telling are the individuals who are confronted on the beach, as there is no sense of confinement outside of a house. To a T, (though we aren't shown every single case) every single time Chris walks up and the decoy leaves, the target calmly accepts, WITHOUT any more suggestion than Chris wearing a tie, that Chris is a cop or detective of some kind (except those who have watched or heard of the show), and assume they are already under arrest.
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None of them try and resist him. Many stick around for a chat despite no attempts by Chris to suggest they are being held against their will. In fact, even those who leave immediately, ask for permission before walking out the door!
I am simply amazed that from appearences, the vast majority of people caught in the act of crime could be peaceably arrested by a guy in a suit who asks you quite simply, with self confidence and only the slightest hint of authority, to "Please have a seat over there".
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These are not violent type people per sa, they are planning to quitly seduce a willing child, then an adult shows up with a film crew. That has to be very disorienting, but the adults are being polite; he is not being thrown to the ground and handcuffed after all. Now he is going to try and talk his way out of a realy embarrassing situation; the perverts situation isn't yet sinking in; who expects to run into an NBC News crew in a suburban kitchen, an irate parant maybe but not "I'm Chris Hanson fron NBC news would you have a seat over there?"
I bet if Hanson & crew walked into an armed robbery in progress or a drug deal going down that there would be nothing polite about the interactions. Those bad guys are violent per sa and they don't like being caught in the act.
Hanson and NBC stopped doing those storys after the last one, police had surrounded a house to arrest the pervert and the news producer was telling the SWAT team cheif to wait untill his video team was in place first. The suspect shot himself dead in the meantime. The suspect was a local prosicuter and his next of kin are sueing NBC and the police for wasting time and allowing the suicide.
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Ouch. Sounded like an interesting show concept, but clearly there are ethical lines that need to be drawn to prevent that kind of shit from happening. (Why do they need a fucking SWAT team anyway?) The police should never actively collaborate with the media like that. That's unethical for sure. Talk about church/state separation. I guess there needs to be a much stronger media/state separation too.
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They collaborated after the first two episodes after floods of viwers called asking why the predators were let go after the confrontation.
The guy who killed himself did so long after the "interview", and the suicide happened at the guys own house. He would have off'd himself whether NBC was there or not.
I don't have a problem with the media being used this way, as long as they are willing to take the risk they don't get shot.
And yes, obviously in situations with organised crime none of the film crew would walk away, but most crimes are not related to organised crime. So it isn't like the predators are the rare type of criminal who are desperate to stay free (though considering what's in store for them I am surprised they aren't).
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One of those pervs showed up to eat at the food joint I work at. He sat at the most isolated small two top, and kept staring at the wall every time I passed him. When I first saw him, I couldn't place the face. But the shirt he was wearing gave him away. It was either an army or marine shirt, I forget. But he was the guy who ended up begging on his knees to Hansen to let him go.
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