Surveillance%20in%20Society

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Surveillance in Society
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Control in Modern Society

• Traditional societies were small, intimate
• Rule breaking was easily detected and punished
• Modern societies are large anonymous and,
  therefore, highly private
• Fewer social controls, less scrutiny
• How are order and trust to be maintained in the
  face of privacy and anonymity?

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The Answer SurveillanceSteven Nocks Essay

• Anonymous societies rely on reputation
• Conformity -gt good reputation
• Deviance -gt bad reputation
• Strangers have no prior reputation to us
• We rely on credentials (group memberships,
  resumes) and ordeals (drug tests, lie detectors,
  electronic searches, etc.) to assess them

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The potential for scrutiny is a powerful form of
social control that induces conformity
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Culture of Surveillance

• NYC over 2,000 public video cameras
• Nearly 90 of U.S. manufacturers test for drugs
  among their employees
• A Mass. company tracks web surfing habits of over
  30 million internet users

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The Functions of Surveillance

• Manifest function Detect deviance
• Catch the bad guys (who can disagree?)
• Latent function Deter deviance
• For most, the threat of detection will deter
  (threatens ones stakes in conformity)

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TechnocorrectionsDepartment of Justice Report,
May 2000

• Need for cost-effective ways to supervise
  criminals enhance safety
• Electronic tracking and location systems
  (bracelets, skin implants)
• Pharmocological control of behavior
• Genetic risk assessment -gt gene management
• Risk assessment

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It Could be Anyone

• We are all potential suspects!
• How much surveillance is too much?
• Should we have hidden cameras in classrooms to
  prevent cheating? How about dorm rooms to
  prevent drug use, property damage, or premarital
  sex?

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Should We Care?

• Fourth Amendment, U.S. Constitution The right of
  the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
  papers, and effects, against unreasonable
  searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and
  no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause,
  supported by Oath or affirmation, and
  particularly describing the place to be searched,
  and the persons or things to be seized.