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Vigilantism can be viewed as a form of Informal Crime Control, critically assess. - page 1
Keywords: Vigilantiism, crime control, informal
By criminology21 on 30/03/2009
Level: Bachelor Honours Degree (BA, BEng, BSc etc)
Page Number: 1 of 8 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Vigilantism can be viewed as a form of Informal Crime Control, critically assess the validity of such a view.
Throughout the years and in fact throughout the world one thing remains the same, and that is the pursuit of justice. The pursuit of justice is universal; however the crime control methods of achieving it differ somewhat across the world. Throughout this assignment reasons behind differential forms of crime control will be unmasked. The main aim of this piece is to critically assess whether or not Vigilantism can be viewed as a form of informal crime control. To successfully execute such a task it is vital that an understanding of both vigilantism and informal crime control are identified. During the process of defining the two terms, examples will be provided to assist with an understanding of the concepts. Academic thoughts on the topic will be introduced throughout and should prove useful in effectively assessing weather or not; ‘vigilantism can be viewed as a form of informal crime control’.
Johnston (1996:221) claims that ‘for several years there has been speculation that the UK is experiencing an unprecedented wave of vigilante type activity…’ The concept of vigilantism has been one that many have struggled to define, however Brown (1975) offers some assistance in this area defining it as “associations in which citizens have joined together for self protection under conditions of disorder…” In short, vigilantism is the term used when citizens take the law into their own hands for reasons this piece will later explore. To help with this understanding Johnston (1996:221) offers an example from 19th century North America. The case is about how the ‘Bald Knobbers’ of Missouri executed two men who had murdered a shop keeper. The Bald Knobbers where not a legal organisation, they were merely normal citizens who decided to take the law into their own hands. This according to Johnston (1996:222) “is an example that bears all the hallmarks of typical vigilante activity…’. Having identified a clear cut definition to vigilantism, the next step in the process will be to assess whether or not vigilantism can be viewed as a form of informal crime control, and to define informal crime control itself.
This definition can be broken down into two stages. Primarily it is important to understand what exactly crime control is. The general understanding of crime control is the process where authorities such as the police monitor, assist with prevention
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