A medieval legal procedure requiring all citizens to pursue and capture criminals when a crime was discovered. Failure to join the pursuit when called upon was itself a punishable offense.
From Old French 'hu e cri,' literally meaning 'outcry and cry.' The practice combined Anglo-Saxon and Norman legal traditions, creating a community-based law enforcement system where citizens were legally obligated to help catch criminals.
Hue-and-cry was the medieval version of a citizen's arrest—when someone shouted 'Stop, thief!' everyone within earshot was legally required to drop what they were doing and join the chase! This system made every citizen a part-time police officer and sheriff's deputy.
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