Photo Documentation While Brown: Fear and Data Collection in (white male) USA

Abstract

In late summer of 2018, I embarked on a project that involved analyzing probation and parole offices. The original purpose was to understand how architectural features of these offices keep them hidden from the public. As no such data set existed, I created my own by driving to offices and photographing them. This paper discusses the challenges of conducting this photo documentation project, paying special attention to how concerns of fear and safety impacted the data-generation process. I provide an embodied account of how my personhood relates to a social science research question and offer a methodological intervention on the risks of conducting visual criminological studies. I conclude by discussing the broader implications for qualitative criminological research and the field.