Law - in the hands of "the people"

Vigilantism.



They very word conjours up images of torch toting riotous mobs with pitchforks out for the latest hoodlum to have casued a disturbance in the local town. Kind of a bum rap if you ask me - so I write the following with these premises in mind;


1) Law enforcement agencies and departments are finite - they cant always be where we (the general public) think they should be when we need them most.


2) Camera surveialnce systems dont always see everything - only what they're pointed at, not to mention the insane ammount of subjective review and analysis by human operators at some point.

Here's the premise plain and simple. Vilgilantism is a necessary function of law and order and by very fact, ordained and supported by the law itself. I present the following as evidence.



Thank You to Wikipedia for the following:


"Etymology - The term vigilante is Spanish for "watchman" or "watcher," ultimately from Latin "vigilans"- the present participle of "vigilare" (to watch). It was introduced into English from the Southwestern United States. Vigilantism is generally frowned upon by official agencies, especially when it gives way to criminal behavior on the part of the vigilante.

Vigilante behavior - An impetus of vigilant behavior must exist to facilitate a subjective definition of vigilantism.
"Vigilante justice" is sometimes spurred on by the perception that criminal punishment is insufficient or nonexistent to the crime. Some people see their governments as ineffective in enforcing the law; thus, such individuals fulfill the like-minded wishes of the community. In other instances, a person may choose a role of vigilante as a result of personal experience as opposed to a social demand. Most significantly, some vigilantes specifically target authoritarian entities such as government.
Persons seen as escaping from the law, or "above the law" are sometimes the targets of vigilantism. It may target persons or organizations involved in illegal activities in general or it may be aimed against a specific group or type of activity, e.g. police corruption. Other times, governmental corruption is the prime target of vigilante freedom fighters."

In Pennsylvania the crimes code does allow for "citizen's arrest" - in short it allows persons of the general public to apprehend and detain persons who have committed crimes (although this specifically applies to Felony offences).

Without a measure of public - read private activism - involvement, the law enforcement agencies in existance would not be able to address all criminal issues. It is widely known that priority is given to cases which are of a felony degree, followed by misdemeanor, and lastly summary offences. Often the lack of understanding by the public yeilds frustration at "the system" for crimes that appear to go unpunished. "Where is a cop when you need him!!?"

But I suggest that the very law we become disenfranchised with, has given each person the very authority to act - within reason. For those who observe a crime, report it. For those who have cameras - record it. But do NOT do NOTHING. In some instances civilians who opperate annonymously may be able to provide information that otherwise would be tied up by legislative or judicial constraints. Said information is technically called "good samaritan" effort or clause and does not require the same type of burden of proof that is needed by officers.

The kind of vigilantism that I am advocating is simply providing information to lawenforcement that otherwise they might not necessarily discover on their own. I AM NOT advocating the Judge, Jury, and Executioner mentality by any stretch of the imagination. So with that said, when you see somthing that "just isn't right", do the right thing and report it - take action. The pettiest of crimes affects us all.

Peace Thru Superior Fire Power!