Observing the observers: Researching surveillance and counter-surveillance on ‘skid row’

Abstract

Using empirical research drawn from field studies on the policing of ‘skid row’ communities, this paper illustrates some of the theoretical, methodological and ethical problems that confront the researcher who studies surveillance and counter-surveillance within these contested settings. We begin by noting how, with the increasing use of the ‘broken windows’ policing model to regulate deviant individuals and to secure derelict urban spaces, researchers may be implicated in the use of surveillance and counter-surveillance by community stakeholders. Drawing examples from direct and covert field observations, field notes, and photographs, we demonstrate that there is a significant potential for the researcher to become identified as an agent of surveillance, and as a potential target of counter-surveillance, within such settings. We conclude by considering some of the theoretical, methodological and ethical implications of the researcher’s complicity in these dynamics for both the conduct of surveillance studies in general, and for urban fieldwork in particular.