Making (In) Visible: CCTV, "Living Cameras," and Their Objects in a Post-Apartheid Metropolis

• NCJ Number: 221988
• Journal: International Criminal Justice Review Volume: 17 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2007 Pages: 289-303
• Author(s): Christine Hentschel
• Date Published: December 2007
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This examination of the various forms and placements of surveillance of people and their behaviors in Durban, South Africa, focuses on how surveillance pertains to social inclusion (acceptable "user" of space) and exclusion (unacceptable "intruder" into space).

Abstract

The author concludes that surveillance for the purpose of security in Durban is performed not only by professional public "watchers" but also by private lay "watchers." The professional watchers are the police, who use a variety of surveillance tools, such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) and crime-mapping tools that analyze where various types of crimes are occurring in the city. The private lay watchers include private police employed by businesses and communities and volunteer watchers who report to the authorities on suspicious behavior they observe. These watchers make assessments about the people and behaviors they observe in the spaces they watch. Their assessment of what is observed is based on whether the people and behaviors are acceptable in the space being watched or are intruders whose presence and behaviors in the space are unwelcome. Thus, the people of Durban are being constantly watched and assessed as they move throughout the city and engage in social and economic transactions. Those assessed as being intruders in particular spaces are encouraged or forced to become less visible or invisible by moving their activities indoors or out of the area under surveillance. In a subtle way, post-Apartheid Durban continues its social classifications through surveillance and assessments of who may and may not belong in and use various spaces in particular ways. Data for this study came from political statements, newspaper articles, administrative guidelines, and internal discussion papers from and interviews with various agents of the Durban security apparatus. 13 notes, 47 references