Covert and Overt Surveillance in Law Enforcement:

Surveillance has long been a cornerstone of effective law enforcement. Advances in technology have transformed the surveillance landscape for both overt and covert capabilities as well as the challenges of counter-surveillance.

While directed and intrusive surveillance has been subject to governance through the Regulatory of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA, 2000), surveillance by law enforcement more generally faces a range of technological, psychological, social and behavioural challenges.

L-PACE, in collaboration with NABS+, are interested in funding a 12-month project that seeks to re-examine questions that have long been associated with law enforcement surveillance – but which may have taken on different forms in the light of modern technological developments. Questions of interest include: How do officers determine the veracity of surveillance data that comes from different modalities (e.g., visual audio, sensor) and different spaces (e.g., public/private); all of which may be vulnerable to being ‘faked’ or manipulated? How might extensive surveillance data impact the complexity of decision-making for officers? How do contextual factors, such as time pressures, interact with officer handling of surveillance data? How we can better support staff to manage the social and behavioural challenges of covert surveillance in the digital age?