THE TECHNOLOGY OF CONTROL: THE ROLE OF TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EXERCISING SOCIAL CONTROL

The ‘risk society’ is characterized by the search for the external (i.e. reassuring) forms of security, and to handle the citizens’ crime-related fears became a high-priority criminal policy issue. The intention to moderate crimerelated fears the criminal policy has crossed its competence borders both “upwards” and “downwards” and blurs the responsibilities of police forces, national defense and social services. The field of crime control (e.g. war on terrorism, execution of sanctions) proved to be an excellent site for the development of high technologies, as well as in the security industry and property protection. The crime prevention scene with several players generates conflicts as well, as it also blurs the borders of “public” and “private”. New means of control yields higher-level production, brings up a number of information, but heightens producing the dangers concerning the competences of criminal law and human rights.