The data came from a nationally representative survey of law enforcement agencies, with supplementary information provided by the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics Survey, the Census, and the Uniform Crime Reports. Results indicate that police departments that underrepresent African Americans in the community are more likely to use or plan to implement surveillance technology, controlling for a range of agency-and contextual-level factors. One potential explanation for these findings is that surveillance technology operates as a form of social control that is differentially applied to racial minorities to manage what is perceived to be a greater proclivity toward criminal behavior. The implications of these findings are discussed. (publisher abstract modified)
The Eyes of Law Enforcement in the New Panopticon Police-Community Racial Asymmetry and the Use of Surveillance Technology
NCJ Number
253256
Journal
Surveillance & Society Volume: 16 Issue: 1 Dated: 2018 Pages: 53-68
Date Published
2018
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study examined the relationship between police-community racial asymmetry and the use of surveillance technology by local law enforcement.
Abstract