The Invisible Implications of Techno-Optimism of Electronic Monitoring in Portugal
In recent years, offenders’ supervision has emerged as a new facet of the penal landscape in most Western countries, growing in scale, reach and scope. In Portugal, in addition to community sanctions and prison sentences, electronic monitoring stands out as a way of monitoring offenders. This penal...
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| Julkaisussa: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cs, |
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| Päätekijä: | |
| Aineistotyyppi: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Kieli: | Anglais |
| Julkaistu: |
Comunicação e sociedade
2022
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| Aiheet: | |
| Linkit: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:cs_6350 |
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openedition |
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openedition-oai:revues.org:cs_6350 en https://journals.openedition.org/cs/6350 2022-04-27T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/eyqk https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ The Invisible Implications of Techno-Optimism of Electronic Monitoring in Portugal Comunicação e sociedade Centro de estudos de comunicação e sociedade info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2183-3575 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1645-2089 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cs Granja, Rafaela família tecno-otimismo vigilância eletrónica malha penal violência doméstica family techno-optimism electronic surveillance penal sphere domestic violence In recent years, offenders’ supervision has emerged as a new facet of the penal landscape in most Western countries, growing in scale, reach and scope. In Portugal, in addition to community sanctions and prison sentences, electronic monitoring stands out as a way of monitoring offenders. This penal instrument is associated with high expectations created by political discourses and media messages that portray electronic monitoring as an instrument that enables the reduction of overcrowding and pressure of the prison system and its costs. In addition, it is also argued that, by maintaining offenders in the community, electronic monitoring also favours the maintenance of social ties, avoids the potential criminogenic effects of prison, and facilitates resocialisation processes. In this article, drawing inspiration from social studies of science and technology and surveillance studies, I explore the invisible implications of techno-optimism of electronic monitoring in Portugal. Through documentary analysis, based on parliamentary hearings, media pieces, opinion articles, official reports, and scientific literature, I reflect upon how techno-optimism makes the expansion of the penal sphere invisible. Moreover, techno-optimism about electronic monitoring in Portugal also implies the co-optation of family in the criminal sphere and the transmutation of the domestic space into a confinement space. Regarding domestic violence, techo-optimism around electronic monitoring also contributes to the characterisation of this social phenomenon as having a technoscientific solution, thus narrowing the public debate on its prevention. Nos últimos anos, a supervisão de ofensores nas comunidades tem-se vindo a constituir como uma nova faceta da paisagem penal na maioria dos países ocidentais, assistindo-se ao seu crescimento em escala, alcance e intensidade. Em Portugal, a par das penas e medidas na comunidade e das penas de prisão, destaca-se a vigilância eletrónica como forma de monitorizar ofensores. Este instrumento penal é associado a elevadas expectativas criadas por discursos políticos e mensagens mediáticas que retratam a vigilância eletrónica como um instrumento que permite reduzir a sobrelotação e a pressão sobre o sistema prisional e os custos associados. Ao mesmo tempo, também é argumentado que, ao manter os ofensores na comunidade, a vigilância eletrónica favorece igualmente a manutenção dos laços sociais, evita os potenciais efeitos criminógenos da prisão e facilita os processos de ressocialização. Neste artigo, inspirando-me nos estudos sociais da ciência e tecnologia e nos estudos da vigilância, exploro as implicações invisibilizadas do tecno-otimismo em torno da vigilância eletrónica em Portugal. Por via de análise documental, baseada em audições parlamentares, peças jornalísticas, artigos de opinião, relatórios oficiais e literatura científica, reflito sobre a forma como o tecno-otimismo tem invisibilizado a ampliação da malha penal; implicado a cooptação da família na esfera penal e a transmutação do espaço doméstico num espaço de reclusão; e, no que concerne à violência doméstica, a caracterização deste flagelo social como tendo uma solução tecnocientífica, estreitando, assim, o debate público sobre a sua prevenção. |
| collection |
OpenEdition Journal |
| language |
Anglais |
| format |
Article ou chapitre numérique |
| building |
0/Bibliothèque numérique/ 1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/ |
| topic |
família tecno-otimismo vigilância eletrónica malha penal violência doméstica family techno-optimism electronic surveillance penal sphere domestic violence |
| spellingShingle |
família tecno-otimismo vigilância eletrónica malha penal violência doméstica family techno-optimism electronic surveillance penal sphere domestic violence Granja, Rafaela The Invisible Implications of Techno-Optimism of Electronic Monitoring in Portugal |
| description |
In recent years, offenders’ supervision has emerged as a new facet of the penal landscape in most Western countries, growing in scale, reach and scope. In Portugal, in addition to community sanctions and prison sentences, electronic monitoring stands out as a way of monitoring offenders. This penal instrument is associated with high expectations created by political discourses and media messages that portray electronic monitoring as an instrument that enables the reduction of overcrowding and pressure of the prison system and its costs. In addition, it is also argued that, by maintaining offenders in the community, electronic monitoring also favours the maintenance of social ties, avoids the potential criminogenic effects of prison, and facilitates resocialisation processes. In this article, drawing inspiration from social studies of science and technology and surveillance studies, I explore the invisible implications of techno-optimism of electronic monitoring in Portugal. Through documentary analysis, based on parliamentary hearings, media pieces, opinion articles, official reports, and scientific literature, I reflect upon how techno-optimism makes the expansion of the penal sphere invisible. Moreover, techno-optimism about electronic monitoring in Portugal also implies the co-optation of family in the criminal sphere and the transmutation of the domestic space into a confinement space. Regarding domestic violence, techo-optimism around electronic monitoring also contributes to the characterisation of this social phenomenon as having a technoscientific solution, thus narrowing the public debate on its prevention. |
| author |
Granja, Rafaela |
| author_facet |
Granja, Rafaela |
| author_sort |
Granja, Rafaela |
| title |
The Invisible Implications of Techno-Optimism of Electronic Monitoring in Portugal |
| title_short |
The Invisible Implications of Techno-Optimism of Electronic Monitoring in Portugal |
| title_full |
The Invisible Implications of Techno-Optimism of Electronic Monitoring in Portugal |
| title_fullStr |
The Invisible Implications of Techno-Optimism of Electronic Monitoring in Portugal |
| title_full_unstemmed |
The Invisible Implications of Techno-Optimism of Electronic Monitoring in Portugal |
| title_sort |
invisible implications of techno-optimism of electronic monitoring in portugal |
| publisher |
Comunicação e sociedade |
| publishDate |
2022 |
| container_title |
URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cs |
| url |
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/cs/6350 |
| _version_ |
1877293205588803584 |