Marriott, Thomas. 2023. Design Led Criminology: An Investigation into Police Use of Body-Worn Video Cameras in England & Wales. Doctoral thesis, Goldsmiths, University of London [Thesis]

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Abstract or Description

Research into police body-worn video cameras (BWCs) is a burgeoning field. However, on the whole, research tends to be quantitative and positivist. This thesis considers how else we might know about this piece of technology suggesting design as way of doing so. The project exists at the juncture of design and social research, building theoretical and methodological connections between design, cultural and critical criminologies, and science and technology studies. Drawing on Actor-Network Theory (ANT) the thesis argues for paying empirical attention to the objects of crime and its control. The thesis draws both empirical, methodological, and theoretical conclusions about BWCs. It suggests that the BWC can be thought of as ontologically multiple and that any political salience it might have is as a result of its performance or enactment. Based on this the thesis argues that, rather than being conceived only a disciplinary device, BWCs instead have many possibilities. The practical aspects of this research spanned various research sites and involved three interlinked approaches: making, observing, and speculating. Making, I argue, offers a way to make sense of material, stack various ontologies, and produce outcomes. These outcomes, used during, and in conjunction with, observational research with research participants can engender specific conversations, and invite speculation. Empirically, the thesis outlines three distinct but related enactments of BWCs by police: BWCs are enacted to provide professional and emotional security to officers; BWCs are enacted with TASER devices, making a particular model of policing possible; and BWCs reinforce and support a particular kind of police culture. Methodologically, the thesis suggests various ways in which design and social research can work productively to examine technology in such contexts. Theoretically it argues that the notion of ontological multiplicity might be productive for considering how police technologies are understood.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Keywords:	design, criminology, technology, policing, science and technology studies
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Design
Date:	2023
Item ID:	34204
Date Deposited:	23 Oct 2023 14:05
Last Modified:	23 Oct 2023 14:05
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/34204

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