Global progressive policing

Covert surveillance and undercover policing: Are they still legitimate policing tactics in a democratic society?
(Ended 9th Nov 2021)

Online

9th Nov 2021 to 9th Nov 2021

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The UCL Jill Dando Institute for Global City Policing and Canterbury Centre for Policing Research at Canterbury Christ Church University are pleased to announce the next event in their joint seminar series.

There has been much recent public discourse about current policies and the legitimacy of covert surveillance and undercover policing tactics. These activities are considered controversial and, in a democratic society, should be part of the wider public conversation about policing in the UK and beyond. In contrast to other areas of policing, these topics have received much less attention, with very little empirical research to help better understand the inherent risk to legitimacy.

In this seminar, leading researchers in the field provide a critical reflection on covert surveillance and undercover policing tactics. The seminar will discuss four broad questions: Are covert policing tactics necessary and legitimate in a democratic society? How well do the police use these tactics? How can legitimacy in these areas be improved? And how do these activities become part of the public discourse?

Speakers:

Professor Gary Marx

Title: Undercover: Still a necessary evil?

Gary T. Marx is Professor Emeritus, M.I.T. He is the author of award-winning books such as Windows into the Soul: Surveillance and Society in an Age of High Technology; Undercover: Police Surveillance in America and Protest and Prejudice. His articles have appeared in major research journals and popular media and have been widely cited, reprinted, and translated. He has been an editor or co-editor for more than 20 journals. He has written 14 introductions, or after-words, for colleague’s books. His webpage www.garymarx.net has received almost 3 million visits. He is rooted in the sociology of knowledge and in the centrality of reflexivity, but with the firm conviction that there are transcendent truths to pursue and fight for. Figuring them out is what it is all about.

Dr Bethan Loftus

Title: Covert Surveillance: A normalised and expected feature of contemporary policing

Dr Bethan Loftus is Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Bangor University. Her research interests lie in socio-legal and comparative understandings of policing and security. In particular: policing cultures, covert surveillance and undercover policing; the operation and governance of private security; and border enforcement. She has conducted two ethnographic field studies, both of which involved conducting prolonged observations of police officers (uniformed and covert) as they went about their ordinary duties. Bethan is the author of Police Culture in a Changing World (Oxford University Press) and articles in major Society and Criminology journals.

Dr Colin Atkinson

Title: May the force be with you? Covert and undercover policing in science fiction

Dr Colin Atkinson is a lecturer in criminology at the University of the West of Scotland. He was previously a counter-terrorism intelligence analyst in Scottish policing. His published academic research includes works on counter-terrorism, organised crime, and the use of covert informants in policing operations.

Richard Garside

Title: The impenetrable wall of police silence

Richard is the Director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies is an independent educational charity that advances public understanding of crime and criminal justice. Through diverse, inclusive and durable collaborations, we work to advance knowledge of crime and criminal justice, to champion evidenced and just policy and practice, and to support good legislation. Richard joined the Centre in 2003 and became the Director in 2006. Prior to joining the Centre, Richard worked in communications at Nacro, and, before that, at Survival International. Between 2010 and 2020 Richard was the lead author of the Centre’s keynote annual publication: UK Justice Policy Review. He has also written a range of articles and is in demand as a conference speaker. He appears regularly in national print and broadcast media as a commentator on crime and criminal justice.

Professor Robert Dover

Title: Juvenile-CHIS: Untapped resource or ethical taboo?

Professor Robert Dover is currently Head of Department in Criminology and Sociology at the University of Hull. He has previously held posts at King’s College London, Bristol, Leicester and Loughborough. If Rob is known for anything it is for an impactful research agenda, that has sought to improve policy and practice. He has discharged this agenda alongside practitioners, for which has he previously been commended. Rob was the recipient of the Political Studies Association’s Wilfrid Harrison Prize for Best Paper in Political Studies for his work on intelligence in the legal arms trade. He currently sits on the NPCC Intelligence Practice and Research Consortium, along with other academics and law enforcement practitioners.

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