NCJ Number
193270
Date Published
2002
Length
208 pages
Annotation
This book describes what happened when closed circuit television was introduced into the custody suite of a busy police station in north London.
Abstract
As part of this unique experiment in policing, cameras were installed in cells to continuously monitor the behavior of all people in the custody suite. The book includes extensive interviews with suspects, police officers, solicitors, and others involved in the care of detainees, and a detailed examination of police records. The experiment was a marked departure from most previous uses of closed circuit television (CCTV) within criminal justice and crime control, and the book raises questions about the nature and impact of new technology. It also addresses a range of broader concerns about the human rights implications of the use of such technology, and challenges the ways in which the role of the police, their governance, and the use of CCTV are currently conceptualized in criminology and social theory. The book emphasizes the need to move away from a narrow focus on the negative, intrusive aspects of surveillance and acknowledge that while watching, it has the potential to protect. Plates, figures, tables, notes, appendix, bibliography, index