Assessing Community Perceptions about Mob Action in Response to Suspected Crime in Mbarara City, Rwizi Region

Abstract Introduction: This study was about Assessing Community Perceptions about Mob Action In Response to Suspected Crime in Mbarara City, Rwizi Region. The objectives of the study were; (1) To examine the factors facilitating mob action (2) To assess the effect of mob action (3) To examine ways of preventing of mob action in Rwizi subregion with specific reference to Mbarara city. The study was guided by The Deterrence Theory (DT) propounded by Cesare Beccaria in 1764. Methods: The study adopted a phenomenological qualitative study design where a total of 54 people participated in the study (48 in the Focus Group Discussions and 6 in the Key informants Interviews). Purposive sampling was adopted for this study and data were collected up to the point of saturation. Approval to conduct the study was sought from the Bishop Stuart University research ethics committee. Data were collected using interview guides. Data was transcribed verbatim by researcher and compared with the audio recordings to verify fidelity of the transcription. Thematic analysis was adopted for this study. Findings: On the factors that are responsible for mob action in the community the main finding included; perpetual criminality, weak or lenient laws, corruption, lack of trust in the justice system, drug influence and poverty. Loss of lives and property, massive arrests by police, desertion of community, bad social modelling, revengefulness, lawlessness, insecurity and deterrence of further criminality were the major effects of mob action were the main effects of mob action in the community. Findings showed that community sensitization, community policing, employment creation and building of public trust in the legal and justice system would help in undermining the occurrence of mob action in the community. Conclusions It was concluded that the seriocomic characteristics of the society played a significant role in the occurrence of mob action ne can conclude that the social. Therefore, it is recommended that interventions that improve the socioeconomic characteristics of the society be designed and implemented such as income generating ventures. Also, interventions that boost the confidence and trust of the public in the law and justice system be designed and implemented.