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Originally Posted by jonn3
That is great about Long Beach -
I understand that there is an issue with some of places where guys have gone at it right in the public bathroom or the like -
But to send police out to act interested and see if the other guy responds - or to go into adult bookstores and theaters and arrest guys for indecent exposure is just wrong.
And the worst part is the publicity those stings receive - names and often pictures printed in the paper when it is a "victim less crime" where no one gets hurt - except the poor guy whose life was just ruined by them printing it in the paper!
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Most European jurisdictions do not allow sting operations for all the obvious reasons.
You are sending a law enforcement officer to lure other men into lewd behavior. Even if the other men do not respond, the officer may be prone to insisting that they did because he has a vested interest in accomplishing his mission. The dude has got to pay his bills, too, and a promotion would not hurt him either. We would not call it a shining example of perfect integrity but the legal system cannot purely rely on the individuals and their sense of integrity alone.
We have all been witnessing the end of many of the old, tried and tested cruising areas. We have seen so many ABSs, adult theaters, gay bars, clubs and spas close within the past several years. No doubt, the things are changing. Your average Joe Gay is really not picking up his NSA ONS at the neighboring public facilities or less and less so in any of the usually cruisy venues. The apps & Co. are easier, faster, cheaper.
Hence, the gay-related 'lewd behavior' as a somewhat 'massive' problem is largely a matter of the past. No one wants to send in 3 cops to work for 10 hrs each to make one dubious arrest if any.
Sure, printing the names and the pictures of people accused of lewd behavior led to many suicides, serious professional and family ruptures, etc. To some extent, things are changing here, too. Many men ARE very openly gay. 'Outing' them is really not possible any more. And quite a few gay men are self-employed. Bad as this may be, I do not see them firing themselves on those charges.
If it does not pay off, why do it?
KD