As an American who has been a victim of both violent crime (a street mugging) and nonviolent but nonetheless upsetting crime (a burglarly) in a city where I used to live (but no longer do, for obvious reasons), and as one who would rather not be preyed upon by the sort of folks who were rounded up in Operation Falcon or have them free to prey on others, I have absolutely no problem with it. I always suspect that most of the people who are concerned about the rights of criminals have never been the victim of one. Was this a publicity stunt? Of course, but one aimed at potential perpetrators in the hope of making at least a few of them think twice before making someone else a victim.