Policing, Surveillance and Social Control

Reporting the results of research carried out in a London police station on the role and impact of closed-circuit television (CCTV) in the management and surveillance of suspects, this book is the most thorough example of the use of CCTV by the police in the world. Research methods involve the analysis of CCTV footage, analysis of suspects' backgrounds, and extensive interviews of both suspects and police officers. The research is situated in the context of concerns about the human rights implications of the use of CCTV, and challenges criminological and social theory in its conceptualization of the role of the police, their governance and the use of CCTV. It raises key questions about both the future of policing and the treatment of suspects in custody.