A TELLING TALE - A CASE OF VIGILANTISM AND ITS AFTERMATH IN AN ENGLISH TOWN

This paper considers one 'vigilante' episode in an English town in 199 3 and its subsequent appearances in the press and in local 'crime-talk '. In so doing it a) proposes as an alternative to most current constr uctions of 'fear of crime' an interpretive approach grounded in place; b) considers the intersections between the generic 'law and order' pr eoccupations of the national press and the salience in local knowledge of a particular sequence of events land their consequences for their dramatis personae); c) raises conjecturally some preconditions favouri ng the adoption of the 'vigilante' option amongst available styles of security-seeking action. Theoretically, the paper demonstrates the rel evance of locally-circulating stories of crime and low-level street di sorder to the contemporary understanding of crime, place and community .