Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Prepare for your exams
Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points to download
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Community
Ask the community for help and clear up your study doubts
Discover the best universities in your country according to Docsity users
Free resources
Download our free guides on studying techniques, anxiety management strategies, and thesis advice from Docsity tutors
vigilantism is a category of non-state or self-policing. It is characterised by reactive, ad hoc and often violent methods of crime control. A vigilante is a group of committed people at the micro level of the community, set up to collate information on suspected criminals in its area, for use by the police in the detection and prevention of crime. It is often made up landlords, tenants, community associations and leaders of the neighbourhood, who keep watch over their area and report
Typology: Essays (university)
1 / 11
This page cannot be seen from the preview
Don't miss anything!
(Criminologist/Member Africa Security Forum, ASF)
Introduction The Concept of Vigilantism What is Crime? Elements of Crime Categories of Crime Clues in the Scene of Crime What is Interrogation? Techniques of Interrogations Who is a Suspect? Who is a criminal? Reasons for Punishment Proactive Measures Opportunity theory of crime
Provision of adequate security is a social pre-requisite for the survival of any society. Every society takes appropriate measures to protect the lives and properties of people living within its boundaries. Business and social activities may not go on freely without adequate security. This fundamental essence of security may be the reason why societies from time immemorial made efforts to police their neighborhoods in order to secure them from criminal victimization. Security has to do with the act of preventing and protecting in order to ensure that certain facilities, equipment, persons or activities are safe from damage, pilferage, destruction, murder or disruption. According to Baker (2003), vigilantism is a category of non-state or self- policing. It is characterised by reactive, ad hoc and often violent methods of crime control. A vigilante is a group of committed people at the micro level of the community, set up to collate information on suspected criminals in its area, for use by the police in the detection and prevention of crime. It is often made up landlords, tenants, community associations and leaders of the neighbourhood, who keep watch over their area and report suspicious people to the police (Albert, Awe, Herault, Omitoogun, 1995: 53). Thus, every society has rules and regulations that guide the conduct of individuals. Violation of these rules calls for punishment or sanction by the society. However, the need to enforce the rules and regulations in the society gave rise to vigilantism, (Dambazau, 2010). THE CONCEPT OF VIGILANTE GROUP Vigilante groups as security outfits mostly composed of volunteers, operating under the mandate of communal consensus to fight crime. As the waning capacity
The term crime needs to be properly understood since the focus of Vigilante Group is on crime and its various ramifications in society. Crime does not have a straight jacket definition due to its variegated connotation. What is crime in one place may not constitute crime in another place. That means, crime is relative to time and place. According to Tappen (1978:14), crime as an intentional act or omission in violation of the criminal law, committed without defense or justification, sanctioned by the state as a felony or misdemeanor. Felonies are serious crimes that the government punishes by death or incarceration in a prison for at least a year. This group includes such crimes as murder, rape, robbery, and burglary. Misdemeanors are non-serious, minor crimes that the government punishes by confinement in a local jail for a year or less. Examples include petty theft, simple assault, disorderly conduct, and disturbing the peace. “Crime must be distinguished from sin and any act of wickedness or immorality”. Murder is considered a sin and it is also a crime but not all sins constitute crime. For instance, it is a sin for a Christian to engage in idol worshipping, fornication, or to consult an oracle. These acts do not constitute crime because they are not forbidden by criminal law. What was lawful behavior in the past may be criminalized (made criminal behavior) due to changing of social, economic and political conditions. Before the advent of colonial administration in Nigeria, the Igbo, for example, indulge in human sacrifice and killing of twins to appease the gods. These inhuman faces were outlawed by the colonial administration. In a way, what was criminal behavior in the past may be “decriminalized” (removed) over time. “Police work is more of a man to man context in the criminal empire, where the fugitive eludes, the detective trace”.
There are certain conditions that should be present before an act could be considered as a crime. According to Hale (1960) enunciate seven interrelated and overlapping conditions that make an act a crime. The conditions are referred to as seven “differentiate” of crime and have been summarized by Edwin Sutherland and Donald Cressy (1978), but we are going to focus on the major two, which are:- a. Mens Rea Mens rea is the mental element of a person's intention to commit a crime; or knowledge that one's action or lack of action would cause a crime to be committed. It is a necessary element of many crimes. b. Actus Reus Actus reus, sometimes called the external element or the objective element of a crime, is the Latin term for the "guilty act" which, when proved beyond a reasonable doubt in combination with the mens rea," CATEGORIES OF CRIME In criminal law, crimes are categorized as either mala in se or mala prohibita , a term that describes conduct that is specifically forbidden by laws. Although the distinction between the two classifications is not always clear, crimes mala in se are usually common-law crimes or those dangerous to life or limb. These are: a. Mala in se b. Mala prohibita
information and the most significant persuasion in this is to get the other person to collaborate. TECHNIQUES OF INTERROGATIONS a. Mutt and Jeff or Friend and Foe b. I know it all technique c. Change of identity technique d. Silent technique WHO IS A SUSPECT? In law enforcement criminal jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Anyone who is suspected of having committed a crime is called a suspect. This requires actual indications giving rise to a so-called initial suspicion. Such a suspicion can result, for example, if a report is made to the police. If the authorities now start to investigate the suspect, he is called the accused. This is an important distinction, as the accused has certain rights and duties. For example: the accused main proceedings are opened after the conclusion of the investigation, the accused becomes the defendant. WHO IS A CRIMINAL? A criminal is a person who has committed a crime or has legally convicted of a crime. It could also mean someone who has been prosecuted and convicted by a jurisdiction for committing an offence. A person is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty by the court of law. A mere suspect should not be referred to as “criminal” to avoid legal implications on the side of the prosecuting counsel. When
certain acts or people are involved in or related to a crime, they are termed as criminal. For example: “criminal conspiracy,” “criminal taking,” a “criminal gang. REASONS FOR PUNISHEMENT Retribution Retribution forces criminals to pay their debt in the society. The debt must matches with what has been done, or must weigh the crime committed. It is an eye for an eye rather than an eye for a leg. The punishment must be swift, certain and proportional that whoever engages in the same act will face the same baptism of fire. A Threat of punishment to violators is a necessary prerequisite for effective crime control in contemporary society. Prevention Prevention is punishment theories that look forward and punishes the criminal. This theory is in an attempt to prevent or deterred people from committing the same crime. Following the famous saying that “prevention is better than cure” that means the first duties of the police or security officer should be to prevent crime, and if and when they fail to do so, to detect it becomes necessary. PROACTIVE MEASURES Crime prevention is any proactive initiative or policy, which is targeted at reducing or eliminating the aggregate level of victimization or the risk of individual participation in crime. OPPORTUNITY THEORY OF CRIME
noted five outstanding organizational problems which the vigilante groups are facing. These problems are:
Ajaokuta Local government should encourage vigilante activities. Incentives and adequate logistics should be made available to vigilante groups. This is to ensure effectiveness in their operation. To enhance the relationship between the police and vigilante groups, there should be adequate legislative frame work for the operation of vigilante groups. Vigilante group members should be trained in aspects of crime detection and knowledge of the law. This is to enable them to operate within the provision of the law. Security committees should be set up at the Local Government level and should also be headed by the Divisional Police Officer (D.P.O.). The committees should organize periodic meetings to discuss security issues. REFERENCES Adler, F. Muller, G.O.W and Laufer, W.S. ( 2017 ) Criminology (3rded.). Bosten: Mcgraw Hill. Abrahamsen, R., & Williams, M. (2012). The globalization of private security: Country Report: Nigeria. Dept of International Politics, University of Wales, Aberystwyth. Adejoh, P. E. (2013). 'An assessment of the Performance of informal security structures in community crime control in metropolitan Lagos' British Journal of Arts and Social Sciences. Available at http/www.bjornal.co-uk/paper/BJASS www.google.com
