The term “uniformed predators” was used in an interesting online blog post referring to police who over-zealously investigate common teenage misbehavior.

The post referred to a recent case out of Iowa, where a 14 year old girl had texted pictures of herself which at best could be described as “suggestive” but by no means were pornographic or even nude. When the pictures were sent to a male friend and reciprocated, word got out and quickly blew out of proportion.

Officers announced that they were “investigating a teen “sexting” ring” and soon came the interrogations and eventually the 14 year old was the subject of a criminal complaint for “sexual exploitation of a minor”… herself!

If the irony sounds unbelievable, believe it! It happens quite commonly. Almost a quarter of those convicted of sexual offenses are minors themselves. Many of which are engaging in curious, experimental behavior that others their age are also doing or where they don’t have the experience or maturity to appreciate the consequences of.

When “uniformed predators” get their hands on them, the ensuing criminal process, punishment and registration does more harm to the offender and the victim (or in the case of this 14 year old girl who was both the offender and the victim) than the “crime”. In one recent case officers tried to get a subpoena to photograph a child’s erect penis in order to prosecute him!

Instead of teaching our children that police are there to protect them, we now need to teach our children not to cooperate with police, don’t let them see your phone without a warrant, if they ask to question you, insist on having an attorney present.

With this stuff happening, it’s not difficult to understand why there is so much conflict between citizens and the police.