TY - JOUR
T1 - This is What a Police State Looks Like
T2 - Sousveillance, Direct Action and the Anti-corporate Globalization Movement
AU - Bradshaw, Elizabeth A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Anti-globalization activists were not the only groups who were coordinating in anticipation of the G-20 meetings. Beginning in July, the Pittsburgh City police, Allegheny County police, county Sheriff’s Office, Port Authority Transit and University of Pittsburgh police, alongside medics and firefighters, all underwent training funded by the Department of Homeland Security in preparation for the protests (Sherman 2009). Furthermore, Pittsburgh City police officers were each outfitted with full riot gear as well as gas masks, filter canisters and air purifying respirators. A federal grant of $200,000 allowed the Pittsburgh City and Allegheny County police to each purchase two Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD)—unleashed for the first time on summit protestors—which emit high-frequency sirens and orders to disperse in multiple languages. Additionally, the G-20 summits afforded the Pittsburgh City police with the opportunity to outfit their headquarters with video surveillance and security systems. Finally, one particular benefit of the summit for city police and officials was the development of a comprehensive traffic plan for the city of Pittsburgh which effectively quarantines the downtown area, while still allowing emergency vehicles to gain access.
PY - 2013/11
Y1 - 2013/11
N2 - Activists across the globe have increasingly incorporated digital communication technologies into their repertoire of direct action tactics to challenge state and corporate power. Examining the anti-corporate globalization protests at the September 2009 Group of Twenty (G-20) meetings in Pittsburgh, this paper explores how activists used sousveillance and counter-surveillance as direct action tactics to make excessive force by police more visible to the public. Collaborative endeavors such as the G-20 Resistance Project, the Tin Can Comms Collective and independent media centers provided activists with the necessary tactical and strategic communication networks to coordinate direct actions during the G-20 protests. Through the use of surveillance technologies widely available to the public such as video cameras, cell phones and the internet, activists created an environment of permanent visibility in which the behaviors of police were subjected to public scrutiny. The images captured by anti-globalization activists raises a salient question: Is this what a police state looks like?
AB - Activists across the globe have increasingly incorporated digital communication technologies into their repertoire of direct action tactics to challenge state and corporate power. Examining the anti-corporate globalization protests at the September 2009 Group of Twenty (G-20) meetings in Pittsburgh, this paper explores how activists used sousveillance and counter-surveillance as direct action tactics to make excessive force by police more visible to the public. Collaborative endeavors such as the G-20 Resistance Project, the Tin Can Comms Collective and independent media centers provided activists with the necessary tactical and strategic communication networks to coordinate direct actions during the G-20 protests. Through the use of surveillance technologies widely available to the public such as video cameras, cell phones and the internet, activists created an environment of permanent visibility in which the behaviors of police were subjected to public scrutiny. The images captured by anti-globalization activists raises a salient question: Is this what a police state looks like?
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84885390416&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10612-013-9205-4
DO - 10.1007/s10612-013-9205-4
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84885390416
SN - 1205-8629
VL - 21
SP - 447
EP - 461
JO - Critical Criminology
JF - Critical Criminology
IS - 4
ER -