Outlying Kenai Peninsula communities have seen positive effects from banding together to combat property thefts.
On Tuesday, two Sterling men chased and physically held a Nikiski man wanted for multiple alleged break-ins in Sterling until Alaska State Troopers could arrive Tuesday.
Megan Peters said there is a fine line between being community watchdogs and vigilantism but in this case the Troopers appreciated the efforts of the Sterling men.
Peters: “There are situations where it is best to let the Troopers handle the situation but there’s also been times in the past where citizen involvement has been very crucial. The involvement of the citizens doesn’t necessarily have to go to the extent of grabbing somebody for us, even just calling in tips on incidents or just reporting suspicious behavior kind of like a community watch. A lot of times, people see something and think ‘oh, somebody else will take care of it.’ Then nobody reports it and then people get mad thinking law enforcement doesn’t do anything.”
Vigilantism is defined as a group or member of a group which takes the law into their own hands, sometimes violently, without legal authority because legal agencies are thought to be inadequate.
