Surveillance Flashcards
Who came up with the panopticon model?
Foucault
What does the Panopticon allow?
allows the few to watch the many
what does the panopticon show
how power operates in society as a whole
The panopticon demonstrates how power operates in society using prisoners: this means
the prisoners do not know if they are being watched, or that they might be being watched.
How do the prisoners act due to the panopticon?
they behave at all times
panopticon: term for prisoners behaving at all times:
self-surveillance
panopticon: surveillance has expanded to:
mental asylums, factories, workhouses, schools. this affects all of society.
AO3 panopticon: effectiveness
surveillance like CCTV cameras are not always effective in preventing crime.
panopticon AO3: who investigated the effectiveness of cctv cameras?
Norris (2012)
Panopticon AO3: what did Norris (2012) find?
While CCTV reduced crimes in car parks, it had little or no effect on other crime, and may even cause displacement.
Who came up with the Synoptic surveillance model?
Mathiesen (1997)
What does synoptic surveillance allow?
Allows many to watch the few in today’s modern society.
‘everybody watches everybody’
synoptic surveillance: Mathiesen criticises Foucault’s account of surveillance saying:
Foucault only tells half of the story when applied to todays society.
synoptic surveillance: the media and technology today allows:
the many to watch the few
Synoptic surveillance, the synopticon: in Late modern society, there is…
an increase in the top-down, centralised surveillance that Foucault discusses, but also surveillance from below.
ordinary citizens are now able to ‘control the controllers’
Synopticon: Example of the public monitoring each other:
dash cams/ cameras mounted on helmets. this collects evidence in the event of an accident.
SS AO3: the idea of the synopticon is limited eg:
under anti-terrorism laws, the police have powers to confiscate cameras and mobile phones of ‘citizen journalists’
SS: AO3 faults in SS:
dash cams may have no more memory.
Who came up with liquid surveillance?
Bauman and Lyon (2013)
LS: What do Bauman and Lyon argue?
in today’s modern world, surveillance has become fluid.
LS: why has surveillance become fluid?
because in today’s society, citizens, workers, travellers and consumers are constantly on the move, so modern societies have become fluid like liquid.
LS: surveillance slips into a liquid state to:
monitor, track and trace people’s movements.
Liquid surveillance is f_____ and m______, it is spreading into more areas of life.
flexible
mobile
how is LS spreading into more areas of life?
- as travellers
- as consumers
- as users of social media
LS: Travellers eg…
passport control with body scanners and biometric checks.
chips in passports.
checking in with smartphone.
LS: consumers eg…
monitoring searches and cookies.
customer databases.
using smartphones for scanning codes and purchasing goods.
LS: users of social media eg…
by exchanging personal information such as personal profiles.
What does Liquid surveillance act as?
Big Brother. where people are constantly being watched whilst on the move, but don’t know when.
AO3 LS: what does LS lead to?
Labelling and discrimination
AO3 why does LS lead to labelling and discrimination?
CCTV operators make discriminatory judgements about who of the thousands of potential suspects appearing on their screens they should focus on.
LS AO3: Norris and Armstrong found:
there is a massively disproportionate
targeting of young black males for no other reason than their membership of that particular social group.
What is the effect of liquid surveillance?
the thought of being watched can control our behaviour. We are increasingly conscious of the fact that we are actually being watched.
An example of being watched by LS:
supermarket carpark displaying number plates with arrival time.
hand over loyalty cards to same supermarket.
targeted with customised promotions based on our spending habits.
Net outcome of LS:
prevent us from committing crime because we are convinced that someone is monitoring everything we do.
What are the three types of surveillance?
- The panopticon
- the synopticon (synoptic surveillance)
- Liquid surveillance
