1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910813483303321

Autore

Gerlach Neil

Titolo

The genetic imaginary : DNA in the Canadian criminal justice system / / Neil Gerlach

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Toronto, Ontario ; ; Buffalo, New York ; ; London, England : , : University of Toronto Press, , 2004

©2004

ISBN

1-281-99454-5

9786611994549

1-4426-8135-7

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (264 p.)

Collana

Digital Futures

Disciplina

614/.1/0971

Soggetti

DNA fingerprinting - Canada

Evidence, Criminal - Canada

Criminal justice, Administration of - Canada

Electronic books.

Canada

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Introduction: risk, biogovernance, and the genetic imaginary -- Creating the conditions of possibility: scientific, social, and legal contexts -- Framing DNA: negotiating the DNA warrant and data bank system in the public sphere -- Corrective justice: media events and public knowledge of DNA in the criminal justice system -- Opening and closing the black box: DNA typing as a regime of practice -- From crime control to crime management: DNA and shifting notions of justice -- Conclusion: toward genetic justice.

Sommario/riassunto

"DNA testing and banking have become institutionalized in the Canadian criminal justice system. Their widespread use has been accepted with little critique or debate in a broad public forum on the potential infringement of individual rights and civil liberties. Neil Gerlach's The Genetic Imaginary addresses this deficiency, critically examining the social, legal, and criminal justice origins and effects of DNA testing and banking. Drawing on risk analysis, Gerlach explains



why Canadians have accepted DNA technology with barely a ripple of public outcry." "Re-examining promises of better crime control and protections for existing privacy rights, Gerlach analyses police practices, courtroom decisions, and the changing role of scientific expertise in legal decision making and finds that DNA testing and banking have indeed led to a measurable erosion of individual rights. Biogovernance and the biotechnology of surveillance almost inevitably lead to the empowerment of state agent control and away from due process and legal protection. The Genetic Imaginary demonstrates that the overall effect of these changes to the criminal justice system has been to emphasize the importance of community security at the expense of individual rights."--Jacket.