It is difficult to imagine a more heinous crime than the sexual abuse of children. Yet, terrifyingly, a new case of child sexual abuse is reported every seven minutes. In response to this crisis, self-appointed groups of citizens are fashioning themselves as 'paedophile hunters.' Operating outside the law, these groups use social media to bait and expose those seeking to engage children sexually, both on- and offline. Their work has been remarkably effective, but at what cost? Following four years of unprecedented access to the UK's most prolific team of paedophile hunters, Mark de Rond offers balanced and insightful answers to the perplexing question of why these groups persist in using extreme methods to hold predators to account in view of less harmful alternatives. In doing so, he invites us to consider the societal impacts of paedophile hunters on our laws and institutions, as well as societal cohesion and safety.

‘Dark Justice is an ethnographic barnburner, a moral bombshell and a narrative page-turner all rolled into one. It will make you revise all your cherished beliefs about evil, justice and citizenship in the age of out-of-control social media.’

Loïc Wacquant - author of Body and Soul: Notebooks of an Apprentice Boxer and Punishing the Poor

‘Mark de Rond may be the best writer in social science today. His book on paedophile hunters grabs your attention from the first line. He is also one of the most intrepid practitioners of deep ethnography. He describes a world full of dangers - violent, criminal-legal and moral - where the wrongs are emphatic but doing something about them risks even more wrongs. The moral ambiguities of today’s world of interaction by internet are here clearly on display.’

Randall Collins - author of Explosive Conflict: Time-Dynamics of Violence

‘This book is incredible! In Dark Justice Mark de Rond tells a gripping account of his time with a group of citizens who take it upon themselves to hunt online child predators. Writing like a novelist with his stream-of-consciousness style, he delivers an unflinching examination of what motivates people to personally fight child exploitation. Through a narrative of personal reflections and nail-biting firsthand accounts, Dark Justice is a compelling, deeply moving account that lays bare the complexities and ethical quandaries faced by those who pursue predators in their quest for safeguarding innocence.’

Katy DeCelles - Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies, University of Toronto

‘Mark de Rond’s newest book provides important insight into the work of vigilantes who track and entrap paedophiles. Embedded for years on paedophile hunting teams, de Rond’s compelling storytelling explores the many narratives of these hunters including their tenuous relationship with police forces. He forces us to rethink our own relationship with the justice system as we seek to make sense of its grievous failures in protecting children from the most abhorrent crimes. de Rond’s work pushes us to engage in broader conversations around citizen activism and accountability as we absorb a brilliant and uncomfortable look into the largely invisible work done by paedophile hunters.’ 

Tina Dacin - Professor & Stephen J.R. Smith Chair of Strategy & Organizational Behaviour, Queen’s University, Canada

‘Dark Justice is a deeply insightful and important exploration of a morally ambiguous world, one wherein the desire of small citizen activated groups to protect innocent children from harm collide with the duplicitous scripts they follow to stamp out predatorial behaviour. A personal and reflexive ethnography that holds little back, recounting the grim and troubling activities of UK and Scotland hunters and decoys as well as their targets. Deftly written around the captivating but nuanced accounts of varied encounters – ‘stings’ – taking place in the enigmatic sphere of identifying and tracking down paedophiles. A treatment of the good, the bad and the ugly as told by a compassionate narrator who draws on four years of participant observation with several groups deemed successful at what they do as well as knowledgeable police officials familiar with the domain and types of encounters inscribed. This vivid narrative is something of a shadow parable for our internet age since so much of the activities of the hunters and their prey relies on social media.’

John Van Maanen - author of Tales of the Field

'Dark Justice - an unflinching account of those dedicated to exposing and confronting paedophiles - is not for the faint of heart. For anyone concerned with the sharp rise of child sexual abuse and seeking to understand the actions of those operating outside formal institutions to intervene, this book offers profound insights. More broadly, it is critical reading for scholars of work and occupations, particularly those interested in covert and subversive forms of labour. Fast-paced yet unerringly reflective, Dark Justice immerses readers in the clandestine and deeply disturbing world of paedophile hunting, bringing us so close to the hunters and their targets that we feel we are alongside the author, bearing witness to every confrontation. de Rond’s distinctive voice and vivid description provide a richly layered narrative of the motivations, methods, and social complexities that define the work of paedophile hunters, as well as the unforeseen consequences of their actions. This extraordinary study offers a raw, visceral exploration of some of society’s most challenging issues and will leave a lasting impression on all who read it.'

Sally Maitlis - FBA, Professor of Organisational Behaviour and Leadership, University of Oxford