Lloydminster RCMP has addressed attempted vigilante justice going on in town.
On April 13th, a press release was called at the Detachment, where Inspector Suki Manj described the issue as dangerous.
The release follows a number of social media posts by an organization called, Creep Catchers, who out alleged pedophiles that prey on young girls over the web, which operates both here in town, and with counterpart organizations across the country. Manj says it’s not a task for citizens to handle, and should be left for police.
“I liken it to whatever career people have: like if you’re a mechanic, you’re not going to get a child to do your work for you, right? You need some expertise in what you’re doing and people might think it’s a brave or heroic thing to be doing, I personally think it’s jeopardizing your safety, and I don’t think it does anybody any good. We have trained people out there on a daily basis that are working on this type of thing.”
Manj also said that one of the RCMP’s investigations that was ongoing has actually been disrupted by the actions of the group.
Manj clarified that the public are still always encouraged to offer tips to the RCMP or meet with members when they feel it necessary to discuss an issue. He also assured that the RCMP do follow up on all leads and tips, and that they do have officers monitoring suspected online predators.
“I think they will stop and I think that we, as a society, need to put an end to it ourselves. We can put an end it it; we just don’t have to follow these types of things. I believe that this individual, and these individuals, thrive off this type of attention. And so, I’m not here to tell you, one way or another, what to do, but personally, I don’t pay a lot attention to it because I know what we’re doing. And the public have faith in what we’re doing and that’s all I really care about.”