Police Accountability in an Age of Uberveillance

Andrew Goldsmith, University of Wollongong
K. Michael, University of Wollongong

Abstract

This paper looks at the use of various recording technologies by police as well as members of the public whereby contemporary policing activities are being rendered more transparent and potentially more publicly accountable. Policing is less 'low visibility' today than it was a generation ago. Devices such as digital cameras, mobile phones, and voice recorders are enabling both the police and members of the public to render interactions between police and citizens more visible. The recent capture on digital camera of the apparent clubbing of a protester by a police officer in London in April 2009 is just one case among many whereby not just was the event made accessible in recorded visual form for the purposes of subsequent formal investigation, but it was also synoptically displayed through the release of the private recording of the event to the media. These technologies, in conjunction with the broadcasting capability of the media, have the capacity to subject the actions of the police to enormous scrutiny and public criticism. But these technologies are also increasingly being used by the police proactively, as a defensive measure against potential personal attacks, citizen criticisms and complaints. In the paper, we consider the various trends in the use of these technologies with respect to policing, and consider the double-edged, frequently ambiguous implications of the deployment of these technologies for police accountability.