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> Apart from the paedophile angle, there is an interesting philosophical question of whether something is a crime if there is no victim, and whether you should

> Apart from the paedophile angle, there is an interesting philosophical question of whether something is a crime if there is no victim, and whether you should go to jail for something you hypothetically might have done at some point in the future. Sentencing generally has three primary factors: - Deterrence: The harsher the sentence, the stronger a signal we send to people who might commit similar crimes in the future. - Rehabilitation: How do we help the criminal so that they don't commit crimes again in the future? - Retribution: Eye for an eye. Since there's no victim and no real harm in a sting like this, I don't think retribution should be a factor at all. Since the "crime" was a construction by the police rather than a real-life situation, I don't think deterrence really makes much sense here. That can be left for the real-life instances of the crime. So I think the overriding factor in sentencing should be rehabilitation. Getting people like this help so that they can control themselves. I'd say even prison is too much. Ideally, they should be released on parole while they're being treated and not added to any sex offender lists. Were this to be the end-result of the sting, I think this practice would be totally fine, comparable to (forgive the comparison) animal control neutering strays. Better to get people help before they commit a real crime than after.

Natsu 6y ago
You left out "containment" -- keeping people who commit crimes away from the general public and thereby denying them the opportunity to commit crimes. In this case, the age thing is about like asking a prostitute if she's a cop and complaining that she lied when getting arrested.
kergonath 6y ago
Yes, the fact that they are dumped into the American prison system, which is mainly a profit generator unfit for all three, does not help at all. I guess if the consequence was that these people had to undergo some psychological tests it would have been better. And even so, I doubt most of them would do anything in the real life, i.e. without some convenient honey trap. But then, it would be all cost and no reward for the police, so they probably would not bother.

Natsu 6y ago

You left out "containment" -- keeping people who commit crimes away from the general public and thereby denying them the opportunity to commit crimes. In this case, the age thing is about like asking a prostitute if she's a cop and complaining that she lied when getting arrested.

kergonath 6y ago

Yes, the fact that they are dumped into the American prison system, which is mainly a profit generator unfit for all three, does not help at all. I guess if the consequence was that these people had to undergo some psychological tests it would have been better. And even so, I doubt most of them would do anything in the real life, i.e. without some convenient honey trap. But then, it would be all cost and no reward for the police, so they probably would not bother.