To Catch a Predator

Instead of doing my homework last night I got suck into this program (as imagine most people have, due to its sudden popularity) my partner was watch. It was a Dateline special segment of investigative reporting on pedophiles, called To Catch a Predator III. I mention that it has gotten so popular, because because this the third segment of this story, for which I believe one was sufficient.
The premise behind the story is this. There is a group of police officers who lure previously conficted, and potential sex offenders, on the internet by claiming that the person on the other end of the mouse pad is a adolescent boy or girl. The catch here of course is that the person isn't an adolescent it is a police officer. Once engaged in a conversation the police officer, gets the person to agree to come meet at her house, under the guise that they will have sex.
When the men show up, usually in their forties, older, they are surprized by the host of the show, who askes them into the kitchen to talk. Here the host reveals that he has transcripts from the chat log, and ask them why they had come. This part is actually quite entertaining, its funny to see these people come up with excuses to justify theit presense in the house of some one they presumed to 15, 14, or even 12 years old. And this is how the first few segments of the show went off.
Last night in the third installment, they raise the stakes a little bit, gave it a little bit more shock, they had police waiting outside to arrest these people as they left the house after their conversation with the host. And this is where bizzare form of entertainment starts to offend my sence of fairness. Now don't get me wrong some of these people were guilty of breaking actual laws. For instance one person was on probation for a previous sex crime, this naturally violates his probation. But many of the other men, had no previous record, which or course doesn't they have never done it before, but there was no record to suggest that they had. My reason for offence is the nature of the arrest. They weren't arrested for commiting a crime, they were arrested for potentially commiting a crime. These men may have actually believed that they were speaking to a 13 year old, but the fact is they weren't they were talking to a police officer pretending to be a 13 year old. According to law, that isn't illegal.
Another problem I have is the perspective of the officers in charge. Their reaction was that these people had commited a crime, and that they may not, all go to prison, but they will at least serve jail time. With out even knowing the whole story this officer jumped to the conclusion that not only were they guilty, but that they diserved the full punishment under the law. This, to me, makes quite explicit what is important to the police. It isn't justice, or protecting the public. Instead what is important is bagging as many "criminals" as she can. This positioning of the police outside a staged crime scene, is shooting fish in a barrel for the police.
Ultimately my problem goes back to the source; the media company who put this on the air. I feel there are no redeeming values of this show, and once again, like every other show, it merely illustrates the shock value entertainment society that we live in. These people are exploited for the sake of ad space. And I am not trying to say that they are all innocent, merely that we have an unenlightened approach to this topic. The crimes that some of these men, have and possibly will be convicted of, are the symptoms of an illness that is only beginning to be recognized. These are not people who need cells, they need help.

Fo More information on this program, including the Hosts blog, check out this website
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9878187/