There's an excellent documentary from last year called Predators. The director is a survivor of CSA, and he was very pointed in confronting Hansen about the show creating more problems than it solved.

The show didn't need to exist in the first place. If the police wanted to run a sting and arrest people, they could do it without a primetime show. They had young adult actors playing the "bait" kids, and the actors were traumatized from witnessing people's lives being ruined. Many of the "predators" were borderline vulnerable adults, and the producers relished in filming people having nervous breakdowns, realizing their lives were ruined. Many of the "predators" admitted they had a problem and asked the producers for help finding treatment, but there was no support. IIRC the vast majority of cases resulted in no jail time, and sometimes no punishment at all.

The show was cancelled when they surrounded a guy's house and he shot himself. Since the cancellation, Chris Hansen has created several iterations on increasingly obscure channels, and the show sparked tons of vigilante copycats who just create nightmares for local police.

[–] slaacaa@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Thanks for the summary, the wikis are very sanitized and lack real info.

As somebody from Europe, I heard of the show but never saw it - checked a few clips now, and it gave me the ick. Unnecessary is indeed the right word for it, it seems to be just self-righteous vigilantism by a very self-centered person.

The situations remind me of sting operations were police nudge poor and vulnerable people until they purchase pot, then get sent to jail. Maybe these resources would be better spent chasing existing criminals and helping victims, instead of creating new ones.

[–] WolvenSpectre@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

On top of what @triptrapper@lemmy.world says, he also had an affair with a female colleague prior to the show and Primetime Live and when it came out got her fired and blackballed from local media so she had to move.

Post the Primetime "To Catch a Predator" he has done several funding campaigns to relaunch his show in new media and repeatedly did not give those funding him what they promised as perks. He skipped out on cheques and skipped paying rent on the home he got. He allegedly bribed one of the Perverted Justice volunteered to take down a 'big fish' and refused to pay when they found out he wasn't who they thought he was. He once used his position to try and force a local sheriff to help out his show by using proof they knew wouldn't stick and if he didn't that he could "bring his show to find out why he was defending predators.". One of the cases where they were trying one of the predators that they had caught on the show was headed up by technology media personality Leo Laporte, and he said on a podcast he made that they had no choice to let the guy go and actually had to consider the fact that Chris Hansen would be facing a potential lawsuit from the 'predator'.

[–] keyez@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

I also never knew this but will look up Predators

[–] Eyck_of_denesle@lemmy.zip 0 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Ohh so this movie is made with Chris's permission or no? I'm a little confused.

[–] WolvenSpectre@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I am pretty sure no, but if it is with his permission he must be beyond flat broke.

[–] Eyck_of_denesle@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 weeks ago

Can they do that in the US? Because like they are using his name and everything. I thought there was some consensual process behind movies like these unlike documentaries.