Losing Control: The Contractions of Control in the Twenty First Century

• In Event: Strain and Control Across Social Contexts

Abstract

Control is both central to criminology and an ongoing societal project. In the early twenty-first century as technology has increased the reach of control via CCTV, GPS and biometric scanning for instance, there is an assumption of increased control. However, as we seek to control in more areas there are countervailing tendencies that see diminutions of control in others. We discuss the many ways control is taken away, withers away, is given away, and where we never had it in the first place, and we explore the implications for how we think about it.

Authors

• Patrick Carr, Rutgers University

• Martin Innes, Cardiff University