Vigilantism

Vigilantism is the practice of preventing, investigating, or punishing perceived offenses without legal authority to do so, often summarized as taking the law into one's own hands. Political scientist Regina Bateson defines it as the extralegal prevention, investigation, or punishment of offenses, distinguishing it from lawful assistance to law enforcement such as a citizen's arrest. Collective vigilantism describes organized group action, sometimes involving or threatening force, undertaken in response to a perceived threat to community norms or safety. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/