Mob Justice On The Rise! But This Is Wrong In Law!
SIR— There is a frightening increase in mob justice and sometimes extremely serious crimes are committed by these mobs.
SIR— There is a frightening increase in mob justice and sometimes extremely serious crimes are committed by these mobs. A mob is simply a disorderly gathering of people without a lawful purpose. Mobs are usually favoured by the absence of law enforcement agencies or any other civil authority such as LCs, chiefs, village elders or members of the local administration.
They usually have no leaders to direct their activities. A mob’s intentions can be seen in its dominant mood. That’s why, once a mob has achieved its objectives, it generally melts away like snow.
Persons caught up in a mob face many dangers. The mob usually feels that it is operating legally because of the feeling that its actions have the support and approval of those around it. This is dangerous because individuals will commit crimes, some of them as extreme as murder, but they may feel at the time that their actions have been justified because of this feeling of mob approval.
Apart from the common crimes of assault and theft, there are many more crimes that members of the mob could find themselves being convicted of. They include murder, assault, arson, robbery, malicious damage to property, theft, rape and inciting violence.
The law empowers the general public to arrest any suspected criminal or person who is seen committing crime or is reasonably suspected to have committed crime. However, any person so arrested should not be assaulted in any way. He should without delay be handed to the proper authority (Police, LCs, chiefs or local administration) for appropriate management. Otherwise, serious crimes have been committed in the past where suspects who are later found innocent are murdered
The Police are the competent authority to investigate crimes and are trained specifically to see that the suspects are charged and taken before court so that justice is seen to be done according to the laws of the land. The public must only avail themselves to the Police as witnesses and present their evidence in courts if required to do so. It is not for the public or even the Police to decide the guilt of a criminal suspect, that is the duty of the courts.
The authorities and members of the public have roles to play in order to fight “mob justiceâ€.
They can do this by
(for example) reasoned
argument or by quickly
alerting the authorities before it becomes a “disorderly mob†out of control and operating beyond normal reason.
Quite simply, “mob justice†cannot under any circumstances be allowed. Every
suspected person is presumed innocent until proven guilty by courts of law, and no person should be condemned unheard.
Let us all play our respective roles to avoid mob justice.
Name Withheld
They usually have no leaders to direct their activities. A mob’s intentions can be seen in its dominant mood. That’s why, once a mob has achieved its objectives, it generally melts away like snow.
Persons caught up in a mob face many dangers. The mob usually feels that it is operating legally because of the feeling that its actions have the support and approval of those around it. This is dangerous because individuals will commit crimes, some of them as extreme as murder, but they may feel at the time that their actions have been justified because of this feeling of mob approval.
Apart from the common crimes of assault and theft, there are many more crimes that members of the mob could find themselves being convicted of. They include murder, assault, arson, robbery, malicious damage to property, theft, rape and inciting violence.
The law empowers the general public to arrest any suspected criminal or person who is seen committing crime or is reasonably suspected to have committed crime. However, any person so arrested should not be assaulted in any way. He should without delay be handed to the proper authority (Police, LCs, chiefs or local administration) for appropriate management. Otherwise, serious crimes have been committed in the past where suspects who are later found innocent are murdered
The Police are the competent authority to investigate crimes and are trained specifically to see that the suspects are charged and taken before court so that justice is seen to be done according to the laws of the land. The public must only avail themselves to the Police as witnesses and present their evidence in courts if required to do so. It is not for the public or even the Police to decide the guilt of a criminal suspect, that is the duty of the courts.
The authorities and members of the public have roles to play in order to fight “mob justiceâ€.
They can do this by
(for example) reasoned
argument or by quickly
alerting the authorities before it becomes a “disorderly mob†out of control and operating beyond normal reason.
Quite simply, “mob justice†cannot under any circumstances be allowed. Every
suspected person is presumed innocent until proven guilty by courts of law, and no person should be condemned unheard.
Let us all play our respective roles to avoid mob justice.
Name Withheld