surveillance theory (sociological)

• Foucault the panopticon:

  • KEY IDEA = todays society people engage in self surveillance. we are also under self surveillance. it has become an increasingly important form of crime control
  • THE PANOPTICON = prison designed so guards could see all prisoners but prisoners did not know if they were being watched or not
  • SELF SURVEILLANCE = prisoners had to assume they were being watched and behave properly just in case
  • DISCIPLINARY POWER = Foucault argues this design is now everywhere in society and disciplinary power and self surveillance now reaches every individual
• Mathieson: Synoptic Surveillance

  • KEY IDEA THE SYNOPTICON = as well as surveillance from above we are now surveilled from below as everybody watches everybody
• Actuarial Justice and profiling:

  • Actuarial = comes from insurance industry. an actuary is someone who calculates the risk of certain events happening.
  • FEELY AND SIMON = actuarial justice is a new form of surveillance. it aims to predict and prevent future offending. it uses statistical information to reduce crime by compiling profiles of likely offenders
• strengths of surveillance theories:

  • researchers have identified other forms of surveillance such as actuarial justice and profiling
  • Foucault's work has led to more research into surveillance and disciplinary power. especially the idea of an electronic panopticon
• limitations of surveillance theories:

  • surveillance may not change peoples behaviour as Foucault claims. For example, studies show CCTV may fail to prevent crime because offenders take no notice of it
  • Foucault exaggerates the extent of control. Goffman shows how some inmates of prisons and mental hospitals resist controls
• key vocab:

  • synopticon = everybody watches everybody
  • panopticon = "ALL SEEING"
  • surveillance = close observation of suspected criminal
  • self surveillance = people have to regulate own behaviour because they know they could be being watched
• general criticisms of sociological theories

  1. OVERPREDICTION = don't explain why not every disadvantaged person turns to crime
  2. UNDERLYING CAUSES = sociologists disagree with each other about causes of crime
  3. BIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS = neglect factors that might explain why one person might turn to crime but another person in same social position wont