The Panopticon Effect: the surveillance of police officers

Abstract

Purpose – Police officers from a police force in Australia were interviewed about the types and level of surveillance they experience in their work, with the recognition of technology contributing to an increased level of such. The concept of the Panopticon and the Looking-Glass Self offer useful frameworks for understanding the experiences of those police officers interviewed. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Based on 14 in-depth unstructured interviews with police officers, this study is an exploratory piece of research. Findings – This study presents findings in which police officers spoke of the surveillance they encounter from the perspective of the police organisation; their own self-surveillance as well as being monitored by other police officers. This paper argues that the Panopticon Effect can negatively impact on individual officers as well as overall police practice. Originality/value – This paper is an exploratory study based on the experiences of rank and file police officers currently in service. The paper considers the surveillance and scrutiny of police officers from within the organisation and recognises the impact of technology.

From spatial value to panopticon: study of organizational changes in riverside areas in Poznań

“…This biopolitical approach to the analysis of power relations allows us to assume, what is important for the methodology of this article, that disciplinary techniques are available for direct observation. Moreover, their visibility forms the basis for the governance of human communities (Foucault, 1995, 2010; Barratt, 2002; Dalgliesh, 2009; Vickers et al , 2016). The author of the article focuses on the analysis of disciplinary techniques based on material and thus fully visible changes in the organization of urban space.…”

Are organisational responses by police forces appropriate to adequately safeguard police officer wellness? A review of the scientific evidence

“…More broadly, the work of Kyron et al (2022) found from a survey conducted with police officers that 10.7% of participating police officers had post-traumatic stress symptoms and 30.6% were shown to have high or very high distress levels. It is generally accepted, across the academic literature and within the profession of policing, that police work is a highly stressful and traumatic profession, and several research studies have sought to identify specific stressors (Brown et al , 1999; Vickers et al , 2014; Craven et al , 2020). In 2016, the Australian New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA), which is the council of all chief police officers across the two countries, issued a good practice framework for mental health and well-being in first responder organisations.…”