The Times profiles a New York City police detective who spends time undercover in internet chat rooms, posing as a teenage boy or girl, to find pedophiles. The article reveals that some of the adults trying to lure young kids are trying to figure out if they are really corresponding with a teenager, necessitating the need for other resources:
His correspondents sometimes test him, sending him scurrying to find female colleagues and ask them things like "I'm 13 and weigh 102 pounds — what size pantyhose do I wear?" or "What's a brand of nail polish remover?" The job requires deep research into trivial subjects: on his desk is a copy of Men's Health magazine, open to an article about the significance of the location of women's tattoos.
"One of the hardest questions I got was how many tampons in a box," Detective Smith said. "I didn't know. Nobody knew."
Previous Gothamist coverage on teenage acronyms
