Police inquiry as a surveillance tactic: new technologies and the criminalization of the 2013 protests

Abstract

The article seeks to analyzes the uses of new communication and information technologies (ICTs) in police inquiries against activists based on research on the criminalization of protesters in the 2013 protest cycle in Porto Alegre. Through the content analysis of the inquiry against members of the Bloco de Lutas pelo Transporte Público, complemented by interviews with civil police officers, the research identifies that the police narrative is based on an inquisitorial logic, which classifies those indicted as “leaders” who are predisposed to the commitment of crimes and linked to anarchist symbology. From the set of tactics adopted by the police forces in the investigation (infiltration in protest events; stigmatization of protesters; testimonial collection; use of images; searches and seizures; network monitoring), the ICTs are centrally operationalized in the last three to reinforce the narrative constructed by traditional information sources, resulting, as main effects, in the amplification of visibility on the protesters and on the search for police legitimacy. The inquiry is mainly mobilized for massive collection of information about activists, constituting a surveillance tactic.