The Policing of Activists by Law Enforcement & Private Entities

• In Event: Surveillance in the Criminal Justice System & Society

Abstract

The United States has a lengthy history of policing and surveilling activists, especially those within leftist and social justice movements (Civil Rights, Black Panther Party, Anti-War, American Indian Movement, etc.). The involvement of private entities and corporations in these same endeavors appears to be increasing. Walby and Monaghan’s (2011) research demonstrated how an animal rights campaign, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) in Canada, was eventually demobilized through the collaborative efforts of private investigative agencies and security groups along with law enforcement departments.

In a small sample drawn predominately from Southern Nevada, activists involved in the animal rights, anti-police brutality, and homeless advocacy movements revealed that in addition to being policed and surveilled by law enforcement agencies, they were also subject to being monitored by private entities. This research will present the frequency in which the activists in the sample were surveilled based on activists’ responses to whether they experienced certain types of surveillance. The research utilized qualitative methods to obtain the data presented.

Author

• Cassandra Boyer, University of Nevada, Las Vegas