So much of the PP technique -- if I hadn't seen it myself, I'd say, "That wouldn't work. That CAN'T work. No one smart enough to stand upright would fall for that." And, yet, somehow, it does work.
He uses a lot of real-word interrogation tactics, like the "Reid Technique", which you see on cop interrogations all the time.
Stuff like:
"So I gotta ask, you weren't here to rape Emily, were you? This was going to be consensual, right? You were only going to have sex with Emily IF she was OK with it?"
"Hey, so, you seem like a good dude. I can tell already. There are some people I've spoken to, they're just monsters. But you seem like someone who just got sucked in. You're a good person who just needs help, not like those other assholes. It's the only reason I'm talking to you."
"Speaking of those real predators, what are some of the things they've sent you? Maybe you can help me understand them? Help me catch the REAL bad guys, by explaining what happened at the start and end of the video that you definitely did not watch more than once. (I can tell you're a good dude)."
"I don't know a lot about this internet stuff. What's a Telegram? Or a Kik? Can you explain that to me? What goes on in these groups?"
are like IRL Jedi mind tricks. You wouldn't think somebody would confess to planning a sexual encounter with Emily, and give a detailed account of the horrible baby videos he's traded on his phone, ON CAMERA, to a complete stranger whose only credential is "Hi I'm Gordon, I just wanna have a talk with you buddy"...
but it works.
It works
repeatedly, and I've even seen it work on people who said they watched PP before (and are presumably aware of how Jedi tricks work).
That, in itself, is one of the reasons why the "threaten the predator" type groups aren't actually that good. You catch more and get way more convictions by being cunning and diplomatic (at least until the cuffs come out, then it's all giggles and sneedposts).