Jungle justice is a crime - police

Amid much public outcry to stop crime, the police are cautioning persons not to take justice into their own hands.

Senior Superintendent Steve McGregor told THE WEEKEND STAR that what many call 'jungle justice' is not justice at all.

"People who engage in this act are doing it for revenge and not justice," he said.

He added that the police have received many reports of people engaging in this act, and on many occasions, the vigilantes harm the wrong person.

"There was one case where persons beat a man who they thought did something, and he was not the one who did it," McGregor said.

He added that when people take the law into their own hands, they are in turn committing a crime, and the police will not tolerate it.

McGregor is appealing to persons to allow the proper authorities to do their job.

"They cannot take it upon themselves to do that. They are not in a position to decide what sort of punishment a person should get," he said.