Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

The evolution, devolution and distribution of UK Biometric Imaginaries

Lawless, Christopher James

The evolution, devolution and distribution of UK Biometric Imaginaries Thumbnail


Authors



Abstract

This article critically examines UK biometric policymaking by charting the bodies identified by the 2018 Home Office Biometric Strategy as playing key roles in the oversight of biometric data used in law enforcement and other related functions. The article argues that oversight actors are embedded in biometric imaginaries promoted by the UK Home Office and the devolved Scottish administration. By mapping oversight of UK biometrics policy together with developments in Scotland, the article challenges sociotechnical imaginaries studies which assume the power of national governments to project dominant, cohesive and instrumental visions. The article peels away that image to reveal UK biometric policy as located within a patchwork in which embedded commissioners, regulators and advisors challenge biometric imaginaries through interpretive flexibility and standpoint. By identifying technical, operational, legislative and ethical issues, these actors challenge the UK government imaginary and act as channels of critique between it and wider stakeholder communities. The article further challenges assumptions concerning the cohesion of national imaginaries by highlighting a diverging approach to biometric governance in Scotland. The article uses these observations to sketch a means to further characterise the notion of the biometric imaginary and to address biometric policymaking more widely.

Citation

Lawless, C. J. (2022). The evolution, devolution and distribution of UK Biometric Imaginaries. BioSocieties, 17(3), 506-526. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41292-021-00231-x

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Apr 12, 2021
Online Publication Date May 5, 2021
Publication Date 2022-09
Deposit Date May 26, 2021
Publicly Available Date May 5, 2022
Journal BioSocieties
Print ISSN 1745-8552
Electronic ISSN 1745-8560
Publisher Palgrave Macmillan
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 17
Issue 3
Pages 506-526
DOI https://doi.org/10.1057/s41292-021-00231-x
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1247723

Files

Accepted Journal Article (266 Kb)
PDF

Copyright Statement
This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in BioSocieties. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Lawless, Christopher James (2021). The evolution, devolution and distribution of UK Biometric Imaginaries. BioSocieties, 10.1057/s41292-021-00231-x is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41292-021-00231-x






You might also like



Downloadable Citations