1st Edition
Genetic Surveillance and Crime Control Social, Cultural and Political Perspectives
Genetic Surveillance and Crime Control presents a new empirical and conceptual framework for understanding trends of genetic surveillance in different countries in Europe and in other jurisdictions around the world.
The use of DNA or genome for state-level surveillance for crime governance is becoming the norm in democratic societies. In the post-DNA, contemporary modes of criminal identification are gradually changing through the increasing expansion of transnational sharing of DNA data, along with the development of highly controversial genetic technologies that pose acute challenges to privacy and generate fears of discrimination, racism and stigmatization. Some questions that guide this book are: How is genetic surveillance in the governance of crime intertwined with society, ethics, culture, and politics? What are the views and expectations of diverse stakeholders –scientists, police agencies, and non-governmental organizations? How can social sciences research about genetic surveillance accommodate socio-cultural and historical differences, and be sensitive to specificities of post-authoritarian societies in Europe?
Taking an interdisciplinary approach focused on challenges to genetic privacy, human rights and citizenship in contemporary societies , this book will be of interest to students and scholars of social studies of science and technology, sociology, criminology, law and policing, international relations and forensic sciences.
Acknowledgments Preface Introduction 1. Forensic genetics and genetic surveillance in Europe: a historical and sociological analysis 2. Transnational genetic surveillance in the EU: the case of the Prüm system 3. Genetic surveillance in European post-communist countries 4. The uses of familial searching in Europe: at the crossroads between expanding suspicion and historical reparation 5. Expanding genetic informativity through emerging technologies: the cases of forensic DNA phenotyping and next generation sequencing 6. Non-governmental organizations and the critique of genetic surveillance Concluding remarks
Biography
Helena Machado is Professor of Sociology at the University of Minho, Portugal.
Rafaela Granja is a researcher at the Communication and Society Research Centre (CECS), University of Minho, Portugal.
"A valuable contribution to STS and ongoing discussions on forensic genetics and the governance of crime. The empirical study that informs this book is particularly important in its quest to address social, cultural and political repercussions of using surveillance technologies in our societies."
Diana Miranda, Lecturer in Criminology & Criminal Justice, Northumbria University, UK
"This amazing book brings original empirical and conceptual work on forensic genetic technologies in Europe into a dialogue with insights from surveillance studies, critical race theory, Science and Technology Studies, and other relevant fields. I highly recommend it to everyone with an interest in changing notions of social control and citizenship in Europe and beyond."
Professor Barbara Prainsack, Department of Political Science, University of Vienna
