Discretion in the Surveillance State

Abstract

This chapter reviews debates regarding the impact that developments in surveillance technologies are having on practitioner discretion across state activities, including health care, criminal justice and social work. It suggests that the utility of surveillance in attempts to answer or solve practical social questions and problems is hampered by inherent epistemological issues. The notion of biopolitics is utilized to make sense of how shifts in the means and extent of surveillance are affecting the extent and nature of practitioner discretion, situating current concerns within enduring debates regarding the proper role and limits of the state.