NCJ Number
201103
Date Published
2002
Length
236 pages
Annotation
This book discusses the range of issues raised by the rapid growth in the use of visual surveillance systems; it analyzes the growth of CCTV systems in relation to the central concerns of theorists of modernity and provides a micro-sociological account of the operation of these systems in a range of different locales and institutional settings.
Abstract
The rise of CCTV and surveillance technologies has been a key development in contemporary society. However, its impact has often been analyzed in a fragmented manner. This book attempts to provide a detailed account of the construction of a CCTV network in one English city. It looks at the use of visual surveillance in several locations and institutional settings. The book is divided into four parts. Part one seeks to foster an understanding of the growth of visual surveillance systems in the context of many of the key concerns of theorists of modernity. Part two examines the construction of a public-private surveillance network in Northern City. It looks at how the surveillance web constructed in Northern City works in practice. In addition, it describes the operation of a surveillance web by examining the electronic and human linkages between 30 CCTV systems in 1 city. Part three of the book provides three case studies that detail observational studies of the operation of CCTV control rooms in two shopping malls, the workplace, and high-rise housing schemes. Finally, Part four concludes with a discussion of the implications of the present study for theories of time-space, surveillance, and social control. The relationship between surveillance and society is a two-way process. The introduction of a surveillance system always has a social impact. However, equally, the way new surveillance technologies, new modes of governance, and exclusionary practices are applied in practice depends upon how they fit in with the existing social relations, political practices, and cultural traditions in various and different locales and institutional settings. References