SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Science And Technology Are Represented In A Range Of Contemporary Media Crime Forms

Science And Technology Are Represented In A Range Of Contemporary Media Crime Forms

The Simpsons episode 'Homer Badman' sees our 'hero' accused of sexual assault by a young woman. In reality he was pulling a sweet (the Venus de Milo Gummi Bear!) from the back pocket of her very tight jeans in pursuit of his notorious greed. He is only saved a finding of guilt by the eventual appearance of video footage shot by a neighbour which shows greed not lust to be his sin of choice. His wife, Marge, declares: 'The Courts may not work but when everyone is videoing everyone else justice will be done'. The neighbour admits to regularly filming couples in cars and is later denounced on the very TV show that was to submit Homer to its TV 'stocks' or 'pillory' (See Peelo and Soothill, 2000 on the public scaffold and the part of the media as 'crowd'). We see Homer watching the show at home and joining in the denunciation of his saviour/neighbour. The denouement to Ben Elton's novel Dead Famous (2001) - based on the Big Brother TV show format - transfers the detective/suspects showdown from the sofas of the vicarage drawing room to the sofas of the live studio of House Arrest. These examples are indicative of the widespread acceptance of surveillance cameras as part of the (street) furniture. That is like the good documentary film- maker they merge with the wallpaper better than a fly on the wall. A running joke of two flies (on the wall!) discussing the programme was how the second Big Brother series used the 'gap' between programme and adverts where the sponsor is named.

Away from the popular cultural field in the less-surveyed alleys of criminology investigations tend to focus on the effectiveness of CCTV distracted only by the occasional complaints of the civil liberties lobby. The first part of this paper will examine some of that criminological literature and the civil liberties arguments. Criminology tends to the pragmatic and civil liberties towards political principles. However, a lot of that literature ignores the growing body of social theory on surveillance. The second section therefore examines some of that developing social theory and additionally to related cultural/media and film theory. We then turn in the third section to issues of a specifically socio-cultural nature: the extent to which - whether CCTV works or not, at catching or deterring criminals, whether our civil liberties have been compromised or not - CCTV has become part of the mental and physical landscape. The concluding fourth section offers the Director's Cut - not the studio version tested on audiences but not the last word either. Editing is an infinite process. It is in the plasticity of digital media that resistance might secure a walk-on part. Those who are familiar with the criminological might skip this section and readers familiar with social theory of surveillance can skip the second ...