The Eyes of Law Enforcement in the New Panopticon Police-Community Racial Asymmetry and the Use of Surveillance Technology

• NCJ Number: 253256
• Author(s): Josh A. Hendrix; Travis A. Taniguchi; Kevin J. Strom; Kelle Barrick; Nicole J. Johnson
• Date Published: 2018
• Length: 16 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2012-MU-CX-0043
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description
• Award: Research on the Impact of Technology on Policing Strategies in the 21st Century

Annotation

This study examined the relationship between police-community racial asymmetry and the use of surveillance technology by local law enforcement.

Abstract

The data came from a nationally representative survey of law enforcement agencies, with supplementary information provided by the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics Survey, the Census, and the Uniform Crime Reports. Results indicate that police departments that underrepresent African Americans in the community are more likely to use or plan to implement surveillance technology, controlling for a range of agency-and contextual-level factors. One potential explanation for these findings is that surveillance technology operates as a form of social control that is differentially applied to racial minorities to manage what is perceived to be a greater proclivity toward criminal behavior. The implications of these findings are discussed. (publisher abstract modified)