id: ronda-campesina-patrol
title: Ronda Campesina Patrol
description: >-
  A peasant patrol and justice practice from northern Peru in which
  community members take turns patrolling and resolving disputes, with no
  state police involvement. The rondas campesinas emerged in the 1970s in
  Cajamarca and are recognised under Peruvian law as a form of indigenous
  justice.
source: Rondas Campesinas / Instituto de Defensa Legal (IDL)
source_url: https://www.idl.org.pe/
tags: [peruvian, rondas, indigenous-justice, patrol, andes]
forked_from: null
image: null
steps:
  - headline: Organise the rotation
    description: >-
      The community organises a rotating patrol (ronda) in which all
      adult male members take turns, with no permanent police. Each
      night's patrol is drawn from a different sector.
  - headline: Patrol the community
    description: >-
      The night's ronda patrols the community, deterring livestock theft
      and responding to disturbances. They report at dawn to the
      rondal and the community.
  - headline: Receive disputes
    description: >-
      The rondal and senior members receive disputes brought by community
      members — theft, boundary conflicts, domestic disputes — and convene
      a hearing.
  - headline: Hear and resolve
    description: >-
      Both parties are heard. The ronda facilitates a resolution oriented
      to repair — restitution, apology, community service — rather than
      punishment. Decisions are public.
  - headline: Enforce collectively
    description: >-
      The community collectively enforces the resolution. There is no
      separate enforcement body; the ronda's authority rests on communal
      participation.
outcome: >-
  Community security and dispute resolution are maintained through
  rotating participation, with justice oriented to repair and enforced
  collectively.
practice: >-
  The rotation is what makes the ronda legitimate — no one is police over
  another. The form depends on universal participation; if some never
  serve, it becomes a private force.