Assessing the Patterns and Causes of Vigilantism in the Turffontein Area of Johannesburg, South Africa.

The rise in crime levels in South Africa has led to the rise in vigilante actions, as concerned citizens institute mob justice in instances where they feel let-down by the criminal justice system. This study sought to explore the forms and causes of vigilantism in the Turffontein area of Johannesburg, South Africa. A mixed-methods design was adopted on a total of 121 purposefully sampled respondents (110 questionnaire survey and 10 in-depth interviews). Quantitative data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) while qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis. Findings revealed that vigilantism is mainly manifesting through public retaliatory attack after provocation by other political groups, instant justice for criminals caught in the act, violent society’s collective punishment of suspected criminals, and individual retaliatory attack after provocation. Lack of trust in the judiciary and the police, high crime rate in society, and police unresponsiveness when crime is reported were cited as the leading contributory factors to vigilantism. To deal with vigilantism, the study recommends effective crime control strategies, underpinned by sound police-public relations; criminalisation of vigilante acts; an effective judiciary; and mass public awareness on the criminal justice process.