Should police work with anti-paedophile vigilantes?

Role of unauthorised volunteers in convictions is growing, but serious concerns remain

A community playground outside a housing estate in Fulham
(Image credit: Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

The UK’s chief police officer for child protection has said that police may be forced to work with vigilante anti-paedophile groups to avoid them unintentionally sabotaging criminal investigations.

Chief constable Simon Bailey says that vigilante organisations are “not the answer”, despite figures obtained by the BBC showing that an increasing number of child sex offence cases are using evidence gathered by volunteer “paedophile hunters”.

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