Cause and Effect:\nI) The colony’s residents’ society has decided to post volunteers to keep vigil at night.\nII) The police have failed to control petty thefts in the city.

Introduction / Context:
We test whether a perceived lapse in policing plausibly causes residents to institute their own vigil, or the reverse. Community self-help measures typically arise in response to a felt gap in enforcement.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• I: Residents decide on night vigilance.
• II: Police failed to control petty thefts.
• Residents act to address a safety problem.

Concept / Approach:
The natural sequence is II → I: enforcement failure motivates community action. The opposite (I → II) would suggest community patrols cause police failure, which is illogical.

Step-by-Step Solution:
1) II → I: Clear rationale—residents compensate for inadequate policing by deploying volunteers.2) I → II: No rationale—volunteers do not cause prior police failures.

Verification / Alternative check:
Real-world patterns align with the chosen direction.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
They either invert the causal flow or presume unrelatedness despite the evident linkage.

Common Pitfalls:
Overlooking obvious response–countermeasure relationships.

Final Answer:
If statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect