street justice

British  

noun

1. the punishment given by members of the public to people regarded as criminals or wrongdoers

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Example Sentences

If that relationship "deteriorates significantly," Richard Rosenfeld, a criminologist at the University of St. Louis-Missouri, told Salon's Igor Derysh in February, "that simply widens the space for street justice to take hold."

From Salon • Jun. 23, 2021

The problem with street justice, as Orlanda Smith's friend Alicia Essary points out, is that it leaves the victim's family without any resolution.

From BBC • Aug. 6, 2015

Getting a little street justice, instant karma, or political payback?

From Time • Aug. 27, 2014

In a form of poetic street justice, they were trapped in a space as they tried unsuccessfully to force their way through a second door.

From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2014

I'm not the type to be rash, like Noodle, or to do it out of pride or some sense of street justice, like Brick.

From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon