This book examines the ability of citizens across ten European countries to exercise their democratic rights to access their personal data. It presents a socio-legal research project, with the researchers acting as citizens, or data subjects, and using ethnographic data collection methods. The research presented here evidences a myriad of strategies and discourses employed by a range of public and private sector organizations as they obstruct and restrict citizens' attempts to exercise their informational rights. The book also provides an up-to-date legal analysis of legal frameworks across Europe concerning access rights and makes several policy recommendations in the area of informational rights. It provides a unique and unparalleled study of the law in action which uncovered the obstacles that citizens encounter if they try to find out what personal data public and private sector organisations collect and store about them, how they process it, and with whom they share it. These are simple questions to ask, and the right to do so is enshrined in law, but getting answers to these questions was met by a raft of strategies which effectively denied citizens their rights. The book documents in rich ethnographic detail the manner in which these discourses of denial played out in the ten countries involved, and explores in depth the implications for policy and regulatory reform.

Criminology, or the study of crime, has developed rapidly as a subject in recent years, while crime and the problem of how to respond to it have become major concerns for society as a whole. This book provides a succinct, highly readable - and much needed - introduction to criminology for those who want to learn more, whether they are already studying the subject, thinking of doing so, or just interested to discover what criminology is about. Introducing Criminology begins by asking basic questions: what is crime? what is criminology?, before examining the ways in which crime has been studied, and looking at the main approaches and schools of thought within criminology and how these have been developed. The authors focus particularly upon attempts to understand and explain crime by the disciplines of psychology and sociology, and consider also the impact of feminist and postmodern thought on the development of the subject. In the second part of the book the authors take three very different topics to illustrate themes raised in the first half of the book, exploring the particular issues raised by each topic, and showing how criminologists have gone about their work.

The rise of CCTV camera surveillance in Britain has been dramatic. Practically every major city now boasts a CCTV system aimed at, among other things, preventing, detecting and reducing the fear of crime. Increasingly these developments are mirrored in villages, shopping malls, residential estates, transport systems, schools and hospitals throughout the country. In short, for the majority of citizens it is now impossible to avoid being monitored and recorded as we move through public space. Surveillance, CCTV and Social Control represents the first systematic attempt to account for this phenomenon. It brings together leading researchers from the fields of anthropology, criminology, evaluation, geography, sociology and urban planning to explore the development, impact and implications of CCTV surveillance. Accordingly attention is directed to a number of key questions. How does CCTV fit with the trends of late modernity? Does CCTV reduce crime or merely shift it elsewhere? How should CCTV be evaluated? What is the significance of CCTV for women's safety? How adequate is the regulation of CCTV? In the light of recent technological developments what is the future of CCTV surveillance?

Post 9/11 the need for an expansion of surveillance and greater expenditure on surveillance capabilities has been argued for by government and industry to help combat terrorism. This has been coupled with increasing incorporation of surveillance technologies into the routine practice of criminal justice. This important collection draws together key contemporary writings to explore how the surveillance gaze has been directed in the name of crime control. Key issues include theories on surveillance, CCTV, undercover police surveillance, bodies databases and technologies, and surveillance futures. It will be an essential collection for law librarians and criminologists.

The use of Closed-Circuit Television, or CCTV, has dramatically increased over the past decade, but its presence is often so subtle as to go unnoticed. Should we unthinkingly accept that increased surveillance is in the public's best interests, or does this mean that 'Big Brother' is finally watching us?
This book asks provocative questions about the rise of the maximum surveillance society. Is crime control the principal motivation behind increased surveillance or are the reasons more complex? Does surveillance violate peoples' right of privacy? Who gets surveilled and why? What are its implications for social control? Does surveillance actually reduce crime? What will developments in technology mean for the future of surveillance? What rights do individuals under surveillance have? How is the information gathered through CCTV used by the authorities?
Based on extensive fieldwork on automated surveillance in Britain over a two-year period, this book not only attempts to answer these vexing questions, but also provides a wealth of detailed information about the reasoning behind and effects of social control.

The rise of CCTV camera surveillance in Britain has been dramatic. Practically every major city now boasts a CCTV system aimed at, among other things, preventing, detecting and reducing the fear of crime. Increasingly these developments are mirrored in villages, shopping malls, residential estates, transport systems, schools and hospitals throughout the country. In short, for the majority of citizens it is now impossible to avoid being monitored and recorded as we move through public space. Surveillance, CCTV and Social Control represents the first systematic attempt to account for this phenomenon. It brings together leading researchers from the fields of anthropology, criminology, evaluation, geography, sociology and urban planning to explore the development, impact and implications of CCTV surveillance. Accordingly attention is directed to a number of key questions. How does CCTV fit with the trends of late modernity? Does CCTV reduce crime or merely shift it elsewhere? How should CCTV be evaluated? What is the significance of CCTV for women's safety? How adequate is the regulation of CCTV? In the light of recent technological developments what is the future of CCTV surveillance?

This book examines the ability of citizens across ten European countries to exercise their democratic rights to access their personal data. It presents a socio-legal research project, with the researchers acting as citizens, or data subjects, and using ethnographic data collection methods. The research presented here evidences a myriad of strategies and discourses employed by a range of public and private sector organizations as they obstruct and restrict citizens' attempts to exercise their informational rights. The book also provides an up-to-date legal analysis of legal frameworks across Europe concerning access rights and makes several policy recommendations in the area of informational rights. It provides a unique and unparalleled study of the law in action which uncovered the obstacles that citizens encounter if they try to find out what personal data public and private sector organisations collect and store about them, how they process it, and with whom they share it. These are simple questions to ask, and the right to do so is enshrined in law, but getting answers to these questions was met by a raft of strategies which effectively denied citizens their rights. The book documents in rich ethnographic detail the manner in which these discourses of denial played out in the ten countries involved, and explores in depth the implications for policy and regulatory reform.

Post 9/11 the need for an expansion of surveillance and greater expenditure on surveillance capabilities has been argued for by government and industry to help combat terrorism. This has been coupled with increasing incorporation of surveillance technologies into the routine practice of criminal justice. This important collection draws together key contemporary writings to explore how the surveillance gaze has been directed in the name of crime control. Key issues include theories on surveillance, CCTV, undercover police surveillance, bodies databases and technologies, and surveillance futures. It will be an essential collection for law librarians and criminologists.