Spotsylvania deputies arrest alleged online child predators but they aren’t local

In my capacity as a police reporter for most of my career, I was seeing a lot of search warrants issued to AOL and other online agencies for this very purpose of finding out identities of people caught in online chat rooms, where they are accused of communicating with young teenagers.

Here is the scoop. Spotsylvania County deputies are named as some of the chief investigators of this Internet Sting, as they posed as young girls online.

Post tags: Internet Sting

Permalink: http://news.fredericksburg.com/spotsygovt/2009/09/22/spotsylvania-deputies-arrest-alleged-online-child-predators-but-they-arent-local/

lgross

I think we need to go after predators but when it
goes beyond a jurisdiction I have some issues
with it.

First.. it probably ought to be done by the State
Police or some organization that has jurisdiction
of the area of operations.

Second, when I hear the Sheriff saying that he
really needs more money and without it, he’ll
have trouble providing adequate coverage for the
county with out it.. this kind of operation gives
the appearance that he’s got enough extra folks
to conduct this kind of operation.

Perhaps it’s done on a grant basis but I still have
problems with the jurisdictional issue.

am I wrong?
spotsylady

But if it were real instead of a sting, then you have people from “elsewhere” praying on children here. That’s what keeps it in the jurisdiction. If a Minnesota man uses the internet to pray on and sexually harass a child in Florida, then Florida prosecutes because that’s where the victim lives.

I think that’s what you were asking about, Larry. Somebody else correct me if I’m wrong, please.
lgross

pulling over people speeding in Spotsylvania or
vice versa?

I’m all for going after the predators – but I think
it needs to be done at the right level of
government and enforcement.

For instance, in Spotsylvania, how much money
should we devote local taxes to in the pursuit of
predators across Va?

How much is too much? How much is too little?

How many people should Spotsylvania taxpayers
pay for in the Sheriffs office whose duties extend
beyond our county?

If we have predators within our borders then we
need to deal with them like we would spouse
abusers, reckless drivers and the such.

If the State Police find folks in this county then
they have jurisdiction also and I would support
that.

I would support Spotsylvania residents paying
into a defined fund for a State Police Task force
with Spotsylvania support.

wrong?
gramps

If your jurisdictional problem is that they operate somewhere without proper jurisdiction; I think they are deputized in the new jurisdiction.

However, in certain cases, law officers are allowed to “chase” perps in another jurisdiction if the perp committed a crime in their jurisdiction. For instance, a speeder in Spotsy is chased into Caroline by a Spotsy deputy; there is not time to stop and be deputized.
lgross

how many deputies should Spotsylvania citizens
pay for that will be dedicated to this task?

one, two, twenty, forty?

what’s the right number?

or should we let the State Police do this with a
task force that the Sheriff supports when the trail
leads to Spotsylvania?

This is a question about cost-effective
government more than jurisdiction but the
jurisdiction issue points to it.

wrong?
gramps

larryg, your term “cost-effective government” is an oxymoron.

In any case, it seems clear to me that there are situations where just doing the right thing is the correct thing to do; regardless it meets some cost-effectiveness standard. CE standards are created by humans and therefore subject to error in many ways.
lgross

so… how many Spotsy deputies should be devoted to
this task? one, two, ten, twenty?

we do have objective measures of cost-effectiveness, I
would argue.

for instance, the Sheriff can give you a number that
equates with response times for deputies.

and if you want faster response times, he can likely tell
you how many more deputies he will need – and the cost.

so I am asking – on a cost-effective basis – how much
should Spotsy citizens be paying for this service?

should we be paying for one, two, ten or twenty deputies?

what is the right number?
gramps

larryg…as I have observed about you on other occasions; you tend to make things too complicated and obtuse. The answer to how many deputies is; however many the sheriff sees fit for the job. That is what we pay him to do.

Not all things can or should be reduced to a mathematical equation. Logic is a tricky thing and it can lead you to conclusions that are not always useful in real life situations.

Now, if your goal here is to have the last word; be my guest, but your clever arguments are not going to change my mind. Taking these child abusing monsters off the street is something I applaud. I will not criticize those that do that job for society no matter what jurisdictional or cost effectiveness blockades you throw up.
lgross

so i think I’ll retire to contemplate my naval for a
while….

woe is me.
gramps

I seriously doubt that. However, please learn how to spell my name. I would appreciate that courtesy. Thanks.
lgross

Paleezzeee.. that ‘s getting complicated for me…
gramps

Complicated???? Now it is complicated when someone thinks it is a simple courtesy to spell ones name correctly? Hmmmm.
lgross

You’re correct. How would you like to be addressed?
lgross

I was serious.. I had though that Bhaas or Gramps
was okay but I would respect your wishes as to what
name to use.
gramps

Scroll back to your 4:16 pm post on 9/23. Look carefully.
lgross

oops… bhass is not bhaas.

Okay… my apologies…

but I have to tell you guy.. that’s the kind of error
than I’m likely to repeat… I just have trouble with
sequences of words like that…
gramps

Thank you.

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Spotsylvania deputies arrest alleged online child predators but they aren’t local