Technology, Criminality and Law Enforcement in Pre-Crime Society

2021 Fiscal Year Research-status Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K20691
• Research Institution: Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
• Principal Investigator: MANTELLO Peter・A 立命館アジア太平洋大学, アジア太平洋学部, 教授 (10454977)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-07-30 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: surveillance / technology / criminality / policing / security / computation / prediction / analytics

Outline of Annual Research Achievements

I have traced a short history of the relationship between technology, criminality, surveillance and law enforcement . I have examined how the post-hoc traditions of the criminal justice system is intimately, tied to the human body. I reconfirm that the abstraction of physical bodies into pure information, criminality is increasingly viewed as something that can be discovered in all bodies. I have conducted a comprehensive literature review of seminal works. I have left some fieldwork and as well as archival research in the US and Canada to 2022 because of COVID travel restriction and lockdowns. I have examined how the preemptive logic and risk technologies that emerged in the wake of 9/11 became the catalyst for the shift from post crime to pre-crime society. In order to do this, I conducted desktop analysis and case studies as well as preliminary interviews with legal scholars, criminologists, security analysts and policymaker.

Current Status of Research Progress

3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.

Reason

There have been ongoing delays because of global pandemic and various institutional, state and private sector restrictions on travel and research. For example field research to the US was made difficult because lock downs and remote work made access to companies and archival research difficult. Also difficult to meet with companies due to COVID measures to prohibit not critical visitation by outsiders.

Strategy for Future Research Activity

Continue research now that travel bans and lockdowns are easing. Thus, I will assesses inherent problems that predictive policing poses to civil liberties, privacy and post hoc traditions of the legal system. Specifically, how the risk management logic of predictive policing technologies and practices have the potential to encourage greater degrees of pervasive surveillance, increase hostility between law enforcement officers and targeted communities, and ultimately, widen the categories and populations deemed suspicious or dangerous to society. It also investigates the ways in which predictive policing practices are being augmented via consumer-oriented smartphone security apps such as Citizen (originally, called Vigilante) that unofficially deputize citizen-users and alert police to crimes happening or about to happen. I will use case studies, desktop analysis and interviews with security app makers and civil liberty and privacy groups.

Causes of Carryover

To make up for delays to field research, workshops and lack of institutional and corporate access for interviews caused by global pandemic. With most travel restrictions now winding down due to COVID now and employees returning to work in the private sector as well as companies allowing outside visitation by researchers the amount will be used to undergo field research activities as previously mentioned that are now opening up.