Paedophile hunters help to bring 150 offenders to justice

PAEDOPHILE hunters helped convict 150 sex offenders, a seven-fold rise in two years, despite police pleas for them to stop.

The groups operated by using “decoys” to pose as under-age children who then waited to be contacted by adults. Once the hunters had identified those attempting to groom young people, they would track them down and often live stream the confrontations on social media.

However, Simon Bailey, of Norfolk Police, said they were taking “unnecessary risks”. He said that of the 1,000 stings carried out by hunters in the past 12 months that he was aware of, just 15 per cent had resulted in convictions.

“They are using tactics which are inappropriate,” Mr Bailey said. “One group used their own daughter [who was] 13 or 14 as the honey trap. What about safeguarding around children?

“When you look at the numbers these vigilante groups have provided evidence for it is a drop in the ocean.

“They should be allowing us to get on with our job.”