Surveillance: who's really in control?

Abstract

The use of reasonable, proportionate and well-regulated surveillance is an essential tool in the armoury of the police and security services. Increasingly, however, the regulation of surveillance, which must take account of the right of citizens to a private life, is being subjugated to the interests not so much of the state, but of a third party – the corporate sector. Many of the advances in surveillance technology have been pioneered by the private sector with the government its principal customer, but their interests do not always coincide and there are dangers in using systems advanced by commercially interested parties without assessing their potential impact not just on the rights and freedoms of citizens but also on society as a whole.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Abie Longstaff

Abie Longstaff is a non-practising barrister and Policy Analyst at the Police Foundation

John Graham

John Graham is Director of the Police Foundation