1.2
Surveillance - Surveillance within criminology is known as observing
another in order to gather evidence. It is majorly important in modern
policing with around 1.5 million cameras in airports, city centres, and
stations in the UK. Each person’s captured approximately 30 times a day
on CCTV.
Overt surveillance is a type of observation that is open and not hidden
such as CCTV. People are aware they are being observed. It is especially
useful in street situations along with domestic crime scene situations such
as burglaries where the homeowner can obtain video evidence of the
offender. CCTV is very effective at tackling violent crime such as assault
as well as property crime as specific locations can have CCTV intentionally
installed to catch crimes such as vandalism. You could argue overt
surveillance helps track a suspect’s movements, therefore preventing any
alibi. CCTV evidence can also be stored safely in police stations. These
strengths are reinforced through the violent crime case of James Bulger. In
1993, two young boys, Thompson and Venables abducted, tortured and
murdered 2-year-old James Bulger. CCTV cameras at the shopping centre
captured the two boys with James and were used as one of the key pieces
of evidence during the trial, helping sentence the two boys to definite
detention. This highlights its usefulness in investigating violent crime.
Additionally, the footage was kept at a police station – reinforcing the
necessity of this location in storing CCTV footage safely and ready to be
used as evidence.
On the other hand, pressure group NO-CCTV exposes potential limitations
with CCTV as a method of overt surveillance. They state constant
surveillance is a violation of privacy and even fosters a ‘chilling affect’
making people potentially alter their behaviour in a street crime situation
possibly due to fear. The pressure group argues that cameras are reactive,
only aiding after a crime occurs – this is evident in the violent Jamie Bulger
case, the boys were not deterred. They state that CCTV is costly to install
and often underuses/misinterprets footage. Crime displacement may even
occur, CCTV may just shift crime to unmonitored areas which could lead to
more deviance in lower-income neighbourhoods. These limitations put
across highlight weaknesses in CCTV as an investigative technique.
Covert surveillance is another type of observation where the person being
observed is not aware that they are being observed/nor did they agree to
it. It is planned in advance. Some forms it can take include tapping
phones, tracking devices and undercover police operations. It is often
effective in street situations. Police can observe street-level drug deals
and monitor gang activities without alerting suspects. Law enforcement
, can gather real-time intelligence that CCTV cannot offer as effectively. In
the police station, it can be used to investigate internal corruption via
recording devices capturing crimes such as bribery. It is argued that
covert surveillance, particularly undercover work is unethical due to
factors such as deception. This is evident in the Mark Kennedy case.
Kennedy was a police officer who infiltrated left-wing activist groups under
the alias ‘Mark Stone’ – participating in anti-globalization protests. In a
2009 protest, activists were arrested based on his intelligence.
Controversially, Kennedy had several intimate relationships with activists
while undercover, which were considered a violation of ethical standards.
Some of the women involved later sued the police, claiming emotional and
psychological harm. This case suggests that covert surveillance –
particularly in street level activities – is prone to misuse. Kennedy’s case
also indicates that covert surveillance is less effective at preventing
crimes at the crime scene itself, relying more on long-term infiltration and
a built-up operation.
Forensics - Forensics within criminology is known as the application of
scientific methods and principles to support the legal process. It rose to
prominence at the beginning of the 19th century partly thanks to Edmund
Locard who opened the first crime scene investigation laboratory in 1910.
He was instrumental in the conviction of a man who committed violent
crime - he was considered to have an alibi but thanks to Locard
forensically analysing the victim’s make-up under the man’s fingernails, a
conviction was secured. This laboratory analysis paved the way for
forensics.
One type of forensics is toxicology. This is analysing the effects of drugs
and poisons. It is involved in a range of cases from simple drink-driving
offenses to violent murder investigations. Toxicologists aim to establish if
toxicants are present and if they contributed to death/influenced the
crime through behavioural change – they are often called in as expert
witnesses. One example of a violent crime case where toxicology was
crucial is the case of prolific serial killer Harold Shipman – a doctor with an
estimated 284 victims. He targeted vulnerable elderly people and killed
them with a fatal dose of drugs including diamorphine. Motives are
unclear but people speculate he was seeking to avenge the death of his
mother, others say he was practicing euthanasia or seeking to gain money
from his victim’s wills. His final victim’s body was exhumed, and
toxicologists found traces of diamorphine through lab analysis. In 2001,
Shipman was found guilty of 15 counts of murder. This violent case
highlights the strengths of toxicology as without toxicologists crucially
Surveillance - Surveillance within criminology is known as observing
another in order to gather evidence. It is majorly important in modern
policing with around 1.5 million cameras in airports, city centres, and
stations in the UK. Each person’s captured approximately 30 times a day
on CCTV.
Overt surveillance is a type of observation that is open and not hidden
such as CCTV. People are aware they are being observed. It is especially
useful in street situations along with domestic crime scene situations such
as burglaries where the homeowner can obtain video evidence of the
offender. CCTV is very effective at tackling violent crime such as assault
as well as property crime as specific locations can have CCTV intentionally
installed to catch crimes such as vandalism. You could argue overt
surveillance helps track a suspect’s movements, therefore preventing any
alibi. CCTV evidence can also be stored safely in police stations. These
strengths are reinforced through the violent crime case of James Bulger. In
1993, two young boys, Thompson and Venables abducted, tortured and
murdered 2-year-old James Bulger. CCTV cameras at the shopping centre
captured the two boys with James and were used as one of the key pieces
of evidence during the trial, helping sentence the two boys to definite
detention. This highlights its usefulness in investigating violent crime.
Additionally, the footage was kept at a police station – reinforcing the
necessity of this location in storing CCTV footage safely and ready to be
used as evidence.
On the other hand, pressure group NO-CCTV exposes potential limitations
with CCTV as a method of overt surveillance. They state constant
surveillance is a violation of privacy and even fosters a ‘chilling affect’
making people potentially alter their behaviour in a street crime situation
possibly due to fear. The pressure group argues that cameras are reactive,
only aiding after a crime occurs – this is evident in the violent Jamie Bulger
case, the boys were not deterred. They state that CCTV is costly to install
and often underuses/misinterprets footage. Crime displacement may even
occur, CCTV may just shift crime to unmonitored areas which could lead to
more deviance in lower-income neighbourhoods. These limitations put
across highlight weaknesses in CCTV as an investigative technique.
Covert surveillance is another type of observation where the person being
observed is not aware that they are being observed/nor did they agree to
it. It is planned in advance. Some forms it can take include tapping
phones, tracking devices and undercover police operations. It is often
effective in street situations. Police can observe street-level drug deals
and monitor gang activities without alerting suspects. Law enforcement
, can gather real-time intelligence that CCTV cannot offer as effectively. In
the police station, it can be used to investigate internal corruption via
recording devices capturing crimes such as bribery. It is argued that
covert surveillance, particularly undercover work is unethical due to
factors such as deception. This is evident in the Mark Kennedy case.
Kennedy was a police officer who infiltrated left-wing activist groups under
the alias ‘Mark Stone’ – participating in anti-globalization protests. In a
2009 protest, activists were arrested based on his intelligence.
Controversially, Kennedy had several intimate relationships with activists
while undercover, which were considered a violation of ethical standards.
Some of the women involved later sued the police, claiming emotional and
psychological harm. This case suggests that covert surveillance –
particularly in street level activities – is prone to misuse. Kennedy’s case
also indicates that covert surveillance is less effective at preventing
crimes at the crime scene itself, relying more on long-term infiltration and
a built-up operation.
Forensics - Forensics within criminology is known as the application of
scientific methods and principles to support the legal process. It rose to
prominence at the beginning of the 19th century partly thanks to Edmund
Locard who opened the first crime scene investigation laboratory in 1910.
He was instrumental in the conviction of a man who committed violent
crime - he was considered to have an alibi but thanks to Locard
forensically analysing the victim’s make-up under the man’s fingernails, a
conviction was secured. This laboratory analysis paved the way for
forensics.
One type of forensics is toxicology. This is analysing the effects of drugs
and poisons. It is involved in a range of cases from simple drink-driving
offenses to violent murder investigations. Toxicologists aim to establish if
toxicants are present and if they contributed to death/influenced the
crime through behavioural change – they are often called in as expert
witnesses. One example of a violent crime case where toxicology was
crucial is the case of prolific serial killer Harold Shipman – a doctor with an
estimated 284 victims. He targeted vulnerable elderly people and killed
them with a fatal dose of drugs including diamorphine. Motives are
unclear but people speculate he was seeking to avenge the death of his
mother, others say he was practicing euthanasia or seeking to gain money
from his victim’s wills. His final victim’s body was exhumed, and
toxicologists found traces of diamorphine through lab analysis. In 2001,
Shipman was found guilty of 15 counts of murder. This violent case
highlights the strengths of toxicology as without toxicologists crucially
