The study explores and compares the incidents of vigilantism in two selected communities in Port Elizabeth. However, the word ‘vigilantism’ as utilized in the study can be explained as the group of people in a community who take the law into their own hands and punish alleged societal offenders on the spot. Vigilante activities have become a regular occurrence in many communities in Port Elizabeth and in South Africa as whole. This phenomenon as reported by several authors has destroyed many young men’s lives and ambitions. This is a paradoxical situation that violates human rights because South Africa is a country with a Constitution that prioritizes human dignity for all, and citizens that are totally free from violence of any kind. The aim of the study is to explore, analyze and compare the incidents of vigilantism in New Brighton and Kwazakhele communities in Port Elizabeth. The intention is to educate and enlighten the members of the selected communities, together with the public about vigilantism and its impact on communities. The researcher achieved the aim of this study by asking the following questions: • What are the motives of individuals/communities who take the law into their own hands? • What impact do vigilante incidents have on communities? • Which effective preventative measures can be utilized to combat vigilantism? To answer these questions, questionnaires for data collection were utilized. The study was conducted using a total population of one hundred (100) participants who were divided by two. Each community had a sample of fifty (50) participants. The participants were selected by utilizing purposive sampling technique which is non-probability sampling. The participants were the community members of the selected communities. The researcher applied a qualitative research methodology in order to obtain in-depth information and utilized content thematic analysis and SPSS software for the analysis of the data gathered. Two theories a) Differential Association Theory and b) Social Learning Theory were employed to interpret the findings of the study. iv The results of the study demonstrate that there has been an escalation in vigilante activities in Port Elizabeth communities since 2000 and 2010. In many vigilante actions that occurred, males (ages between 18 and 30 years) were found to be the majority of the people who were more likely to be victims of vigilantism because of the crimes they commit. The results also demonstrate that an increase in vigilante incidents in New Brighton and Kwazakhele have been reported to be a result of the ineffectiveness of visible policing, easy bail conditions and frustration and anger of the community members, who do not see the criminals being arrested. These vigilante activities have been reported to have negative impact in these communities specifically on children. Based on this issue of vigilantism, several strategies that could assist to combat vigilante actions were made. The participants suggested that government should improve the criminal justice system as a whole in order to reduce vigilantism. The respondents also indicated that government should create jobs for the youths because other people become involved in criminal activities, because of poverty and lack of employment opportunities. Furthermore, the participants proposed that government should enact tough laws on offenders. v.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufh/vital:29216 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Loqani, Anelisa |
| Publisher | University of Fort Hare, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, Degree |
| Format | 196leaves, pdf |
| Rights | University of Fort Hare |
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