Eigenverlag/Self

Abstract:
The use of police drones in Switzerland has significantly increased since the early 2000s. However, Swiss citizensremain largely uninformed about the multifold uses of drones by the police. Whilst many public institutions today advocate moretransparent decision-making processes in security matters, this paper demonstrates that the acquisition of police drone systemsresults from a set of interdependent socio-technical mediations that are inherently opaque, and that bring together both formaland informal mechanisms. Drawing upon qualitative interviews and observational research conducted with Neuchâtel police(Switzerland), this analysis highlights the importance of the practical and relational mechanisms that interlink various publicand private actors with the objects in question. This raises a series of informality issues surrounding the acquisition of policetechnologies more generally.