The impact of surveillance on private life. The example of electronic surveillance in the criminal justice system

Devresse, Marie-Sophie [UCL]

The aim of this contribution is to discuss the impact of some practical issues about electronic monitoring of offenders. On the basis of empirical data collected by interviews or observations we will point out how, in everyday life, electronic tagging troubles the offender’s environment and affects in some way his private life and privacy. First, we’ll talk about the relationship between criminal justice and the privacy issue: sentences served in the community are indeed special from this point of view. Afterward, we’ll discuss the offender’s acquaintance involvement in the penalty process. We’ll focus then on the transfer of some aspects of state governance to civil actors and we’ll show how a special "situational" design of the penalty is shaped by technology. Finally, we’ll talk about the “spread” of penalty in social & public space and we’ll draw attention to the effects of such a phenomenon.