NCJ Number
215220
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice Volume: 48 Issue: 3 Dated: June 2006 Pages: 397-411
Date Published
June 2006
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article argues that the post- September 11 upgrading of security and the intensification of surveillance at airports in Canada is best understood as a rational expansion of existing security measures, practices, and procedures in what can be characterized as a "surveillance society" and "safety state."
Abstract
The author makes the case that the security upgrades and intensification of surveillance post-September 11 are not new, time-limited security measures to prevent another catastrophic terrorist attack on North-American soil. Rather they constitute the expansion and intensification of existing security measures that were operating pre-September 11 in a "surveillance society." These security measures are likely to remain in place and even intensify into the foreseeable future, raising the "surveillance society" to a new and probably permanent level of intrusiveness. The rush to upgrade security by technological means has compromised the training and use of skilled and experienced personnel with the knowledge and insight to make discretionary security decisions. Technology, on the other hand, aims for the efficient processing of ever larger numbers of people through uniform security regimens. This means that larger numbers of people will be subjected to intrusive security measures regardless of any probable cause to believe that they pose any safety threat. Trained security experts who are skilled in identifying actual threats are essential to a security system that maintains civil liberties while being more cost-effective. 7 notes and 31 references