Policing Markets: The Contested Shaping of Neo-Liberal Forensic Science

Lawless, Christopher

doi:10.1093/bjc/azr025

Cited by 29 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The use of forensic genetics in the governance of crime also involves other social actors, whose scope of action has diverse social, political and cultural implications: for instance, the companies which supply equipment, instruments and other materials to laboratories, without forgetting that some of them provide forensic genetics analysis for courts of law (Lawless, 2011;Wienroth, 2018). Another type of social actors are the groups who deal with ethical and legal issues linked to the use of forensic genetics for criminal identification, namely through their role as entities who supervise and monitor the activities of databases which contain thousands of genetic profiles of citizens (Nuffield Council on Bioethics, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another example of the articulation between the macro and micro levels is the study by the sociologist Christopher Lawless (2011). In the aftermath of the closure of the Forensic Science Service (FSS), the leading provider of scientific support to police investigations in the UK, Lawless explored the impact of neoliberal policies in the evolution of the relationship between science and the criminal justice system.…”

Section: Consolidation Of the Social Studies In Forensic Geneticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Sociological Gaze

Machado

Granja

2020

Forensic Genetics in the Governance of Crime

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This chapter provides an explanation and context for situating the particular approach of sociology to the social phenomenon of the uses of forensic genetics in criminal justice systems. The aim is to describe, in an accessible manner, why the governance of crime using science and technology is a fertile domain for sociological enquiry and identify its distinctive features. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the main lines of enquiry and concepts of sociological paradigms, namely by focusing on the continuum, tensions and translations between distinctive levels of analysis: micro-macro and objective-subjective. The presentation of the lines of social thought and concepts is accompanied by a brief reference to practical cases of empirical research related to the use of forensic genetics in the criminal justice system. The chapter will enable the reader to acquire theoretical and analytical skills which may be applied in academic research into the various topics and themes addressed in the book's different chapters.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Consolidation Of the Social Studies In Forensic Geneticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sociological Gaze

Machado

Granja

2020

Forensic Genetics in the Governance of Crime

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“…By bringing the new digital forensics field (and all its subfields) into an already fragmented environment, the complexity of the situation increases. Different systemic constraints governing police, science, and justice organizations potentially amplified by the marketization of forensic science are exacerbating factors (Kolowski, ; Lawless, ; Lawless & Williams, ).…”

Section: Near‐to‐be‐resolved Forensics Crisis?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Is the (traditional) Galilean science paradigm well suited to forensic science?

Crispino

Roux

Delémont

et al. 2019

WIREs Forensic Science

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For more than 10 years, forensic science has been at best, criticized for its lack of scientific foundations and at worst, presented as an oxymoron. An exclusive focus on standard operating procedures and quality management could cause forensic science to fall short of addressing the epistemological issue initiated by judges. This is particularly so in rapidly changing times, including digital transformation of society and decentralization of forensic services. As a consequence, the present understanding of forensic science by both scientists and its stakeholders is questioned. It is argued that that forensic science fundamental principles and, more broadly, forensic science philosophy are pivotal to the reliable application of science to address security and justice questions.

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“…The interdependence of regulatory bodies, other organizations, politicians and experts creates tensions that, we suggest, are not always well understood. Further interrelationships follow from government initiated changes in the past decade such as the marketization of state‐owned bodies in the UK (Lawless 2011a) and the trend to proliferate layers of regulation . These processes have the potential to set up competing interests and blocks to information flow within as well as between organizations, with consequences for regulation that may not have been fully anticipated but may be exposed at a time of crisis.…”

Section: Risk Regulation: Context and Dilemmasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk, interest groups and the definition of crisis: the case of volcanic ash

Hutter

Lloyd-Bostock

2013

British Journal of Sociology

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safety, but what can be learnt about regulation itself 1 and why unrealistic expectations often appear to be placed on regulatory bodies in contemporary society. We argue that a sociological understanding of regulation requires an appreciation that regulation and the debates and conflicts surrounding it are embedded in -indeed created by -social and cultural environments. The social processes of defining and reacting to risk and crisis both reveal and generate dilemmas and challenges in regulation. We focus on the interface between risk and risk events as socially constructed and the insights that 'critical situations' give us into 'the routine and mundane' (Giddens 1979: 127), the otherwise taken for granted assumptions underlying risk regulation.

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Policing Markets: The Contested Shaping of Neo-Liberal Forensic Science

Cited by 29 publications

References 20 publications

The Sociological Gaze

The Sociological Gaze

Is the (traditional) Galilean science paradigm well suited to forensic science?

Risk, interest groups and the definition of crisis: the case of volcanic ash

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