ABSTRACT
This chapter considers some of the many individuals and organisations involved in policing but in a voluntary capacity. Johnston (1992a) divided voluntary policing into two categories: ‘responsible citizenship’ and ‘autonomous citizenship’. The criteria he uses to make this distinction are based on whether the policing activity concerned is sanctioned by the state or not. This chapter, therefore, begins by looking at some of the many voluntary activities that are sanctioned (and often encouraged) by the state. These activities include such things as joining police reserves in a voluntary capacity and participating in Neighbourhood Watch, to some of the activities the media and other organisations partake in to support policing. The chapter then goes on to examine some of the many individuals and organisations that do not have the sanction of the state. These vary from spontaneous acts of vigilantism to more organised forms of policing. The chapter also considers Johnston’s (1996) criminological assessment of what vigilantism is and it explores those things that have caused vigilantism to emerge.
