A modesty patrol is a type of criminal gang which fights what it deems violations of Tzniut

Tzniut

Tzniut is a term used within Judaism and has its greatest influence as a concept within Orthodox Judaism...

 (modesty) in the Haredi public through violence and intimidation. Such groups are said to operate in several predominantly Haredi communities in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. Alleged members of modesty patrols have been arrested by the Israel Police

Israel Police

The Israel Police is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism...

, and at least one has been sentenced to prison for assault. Within the Haredi public, both support for and opposition to modesty patrols has been reported. According to Haaretz

Haaretz

Haaretz is Israel's oldest daily newspaper. It was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in Berliner format. The English edition is published and sold together with the International Herald Tribune. Both Hebrew and English editions can be read on the Internet...

, some violent incidents attributed to modesty patrols may be linked to the Committee for Preserving Our Camp's Purity, a Haredi organization in Jerusalem headed by Rabbi Yitzhak Meir Shpernovitz. Shpernovitz himself has stated that modesty patrols are a journalistic myth and do not exist.

Incidents attributed to modesty patrols

• In June 2008, a modesty patrol in Beitar Illit was suspected of spilling acid
  Acid throwing
  Acid throwing is a form of violent assault.. It is defined as the act of throwing acid onto the body of a person "with the intention of injuring or disfiguring him out of jealousy or revenge"...
  
   on a teenage girl for wearing trousers
  Trousers
  Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...
  
  .
• In August 2008, the Israel State Prosecutor's office indicted seven men, allegedly from a Jerusalem modesty squad, for beating a woman and threatening her with death regarding her relationships with men. The ringleader was charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, aggravated assault, and extortion. In the same month, a man said to be a member of a chastity squad was arrested for alleged involvement in the torching of a store selling MP4 players.