https://www.publicethics.org/post/entrapment-and-paedophile-hunters
”Is entrapment by paedophile hunters permissible? We do not think that it is morally permissible, granted the existence of a competent police force. We also do not think that it ought to be permitted legally. Even if there is a case for allowing the police to entrap, for example as part of an authorized and regulated controlled operation targeting a suspect that they already have reasonable grounds to believe is an habitual child abuser, any rationale for doing so would not necessarily extend to the actions of private individuals. Indeed, given the unregulated nature of their activity, it would seem very unlikely to do so.”
”What forms of redress are appropriate when paedophile hunters cross the line into entrapment? Options that the police and courts can or might consider include:
issuing of a police caution, to the hunters, the hunted, or both;
as in the case of like legal entrapment, discretionary exclusion of the evidence thereby obtained (Gillespie 2019);
similarly, a permanent stay in proceedings (Gillespie 2019; Stark 2018);
where applicable, prosecution of the paedophile hunters for the making, possession or distribution of indecent images of children;
court injunctions dissolving the hunter group and/or debarring individuals from future hunting expeditions;
payment of damages to the entrapped party.”