ABSTRACT

Drawing upon quantitative and qualitative data gathered during a four-year ethnographic study of 44 British homicide investigations, this paper advances the sparse literature on how closed-circuit television (CCTV) contributes to criminal investigations and the risks associated with its use. Based on insights gleaned from interviews with homicide detectives, analysis of case files and observations of live homicide investigations, we examine how CCTV is used during homicide investigations focusing principally on two key investigative moments – identifying and charging suspects. Our quantitative data indicate that CCTV is used more frequently than any other kind of forensic science or technology to both identify and charge suspects. Nevertheless, our qualitative data reveal numerous challenges associated with how CCTV footage is recovered, viewed, shared, interpreted and packaged for court. We reveal the individual and organisational processes and workarounds that have emerged in a socio-technical landscape that lacks clear standards and principles. We discuss the implications of these findings for practice and policy and their relevance to questions about the socially constructed nature of forensic scientific knowledge.

摘要

本文利用在对 44 起英国凶杀案调查进行的为期四年的民族志研究中收集的定量和定性数据，推进了关于闭路电视 (CCTV) 如何有助于刑事调查及其使用相关风险的稀少文献。根据对凶杀案侦探的采访、对案件档案的分析和对现场凶杀案调查的观察，我们研究了在凶杀案调查中如何使用闭路电视，主要关注两个关键的调查时刻——识别和指控嫌疑人。我们的定量数据表明，CCTV 比任何其他类型的法医科学或技术更频繁地用于识别和指控嫌疑人。然而，我们的定性数据揭示了与如何恢复、观看、观看闭路电视录像相关的许多挑战，共享、解释和打包供法庭使用。我们揭示了在缺乏明确标准和原则的社会技术环境中出现的个人和组织流程和解决方法。我们讨论了这些发现对实践和政策的影响，以及它们与法医学知识的社会建构性质问题的相关性。