From Robert DeNiro's mohawk-coiffed marauder in "Taxi Driver" to Batman, the original caped crusader, vigilantes have long been portrayed on the silver screen as brawny, vengeful heroes of the streets.

In the real world, however, vigilantes are often more like the grizzled consumer crusader Ralph Nader or the disgruntled author of the bestseller, "Stupid White Men," Michael Moore.

Enter the Video Vigilante, Oklahoma City's crusader against prostitution: Faster than a speeding prostitute, more cunning than a sex-seeking John, and able to film multiple sex acts on a single tape, Brian Bates has taken a video camera — and justice — into his own hands to combat prostitution in his hometown.

Like his fictional counterparts, Bates was spurred to act when it seemed he had no other recourse. It was 1996, and Bates, who was working as a marketing manager at a downtown hospital, was appalled by the public prostitution he saw in his neighborhood.

"These people would be having sex literally in your driveway or behind your house," Bates said.

He attempted to file police reports of what he saw to help convict the prostitutes, but his efforts were futile.

"It was my word against theirs," Bates recalled.

Then, after one failed court appearance, Bates says, a prosecutor told him, "Brian, unless you catch this act on tape, I don't think we're ever going to get anyone convicted." The Video Vigilante was born. "I don't think they knew how literally I was going to take the suggestion," he said.

Armed with only a video camera, Bates began scouring his neighborhood in search of prostitution. It wasn't hard to find. In lieu of seedy motels or "out-calls," in which prostitutes visit Johns in their homes, many would simply service their customers in public spaces — from parks to grocery store parking lots to neighborhood cul-de-sacs.

This glut of smut quickly led to Bates' first bust ever, when he videotaped a prostitute orally servicing a man in 1996. Since then, he has caught more than 200 prostitutes in the act over the past six years.

Most of his busts have lead to conviction, but the law is not Bates' only recourse: He has even mailed tapes of his busts to the Johns' wives and alerted the employers of Johns he caught being serviced in company cars.

Bates has received good feedback for his crime fighting tactics, but not everyone agrees with what he's doing. On a poll featured on his Web site, in fact, more than 70 percent of respondents said prostitution should be legalized.

"I believe that prostitution is a victimless crime," said Wendy McElroy, editor of ifeminists.com and a columnist for Fox News. "But there are a lot of issues [with Bates' filiming] that are quite apart from whether you approve of prostitution." McElroy cites concerns over privacy and evidence quality, and says some of Bates' tactics, such as contacting the wives of the alleged Johns, are "morally reprehensible."

But Bates says his beef is mainly with the public nature of the prostitution, he says, not with prostitution itself. "Morally I think prostitution is wrong," he said. "But as long as people keep it behind doors, you're not going to see me doing anything about it."

Some of Bates' biggest detractors may be the Johns themselves. In the line of duty, Bates says he has been attacked numerous times, maced four times, shot at and almost run over by a car. "I've been extremely lucky," the vigilante says. "Most people know who I am or what I do so they only want to get out of there."

And though he has adopted the Video Vigilante moniker, Bates is careful to set himself apart from the crusader stereotype. "Vigilante justice doesn't have to be negative," he said, pointing out that during the six years he has been on the case, he hasn't received one civilian complaint.

"I don't take the law into my own hands, I just use laws that are already there. What I hope to do is to set an example that people can become involved and they don't have to become part of the problem."

An Oklahoma City John replaces his dentures after being caught by the Video Vigilante

Bates now works full time as the Video Vigilante, and supports himself through television appearances (he has become a fixture on the Maury Povich show) and through the proceeds of a videotape he sells of the busts. Far from being reels of sin and smut, however, Bates' tapes make liberal use of pixel-blurring to obscure objectionable bits.

But none of the arrests are pretty, and some are more macabre than others.

Consider the man who had to lug his oxygen tanks after him for a hotel-room rendezvous with a prostitute. Or the man who was orally servicing a prostitute, and then reached up to place his false teeth on the dashboard of his car once he was busted by Bates.

These are only two of the two hundred Johns whom Bates says he has busted, many of which are chronicled in full color and in detail on his site.

Despite all the media attention given the Video Vigilante, Brent Rinehart, an Oklahoma City councilman who helped start a similar program, which puts Johns' mugshots on TV, says the fear of being busted can't single-handedly defeat prostitution.

"It isn't very effective by itself because a lot of the people it's targeting are a little voyeuristic," Rinehart said. "But if you put that with some other measures ... it does help."

In particular, Rinehart says, "it's more of a deterrent for Johns than it is for prostitutes."

According to the councilman, there simply is no substitute for strong laws. As a result, Rinehart has backed legislation eliminating the "own recognizance" bond, which has allowed many busted prostitutes to skip town without paying the $1,200 fine, and is hoping that the state legislature will approve a bill upping the fine from $1,200 to $2,500 for the first offense, and to $5,000, and $7,500 for third offenses.

Maybe then, Rinehart says, prostitution will abate. "It's a problem and it has been there for years," he says. Odds are, the Video Vigilante won't let up.

"I'll put myself out of business if I have to," Bates said.

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