The History, Means, and Effects of Structural Surveillance

Abstract

The focus on the technology of surveillance, while important, has had the unfortunate side effect of obscuring the study of surveillance generally, and tends to minimize the exploration of other, less technical means of surveillance that are both ubiquitous and self-reinforcing — what I refer to as structural surveillance — and their effects on marginalized and disenfranchised populations. This Article proposes a theoretical framework for the study of structural surveillance which will act as a foundation for follow-on research in its effects on political participation.

Keywords: Constitutional law, privacy, law & society, law & technology, race & ethnicity, legal history, social control, surveillance harms, information society, bureaucracy, public safety, broken windows policing, CCTV, monitoring of poor, stop and frisk, mistrust of institutions, civic disengagement