'Caught on Camera': The media representation of video surveillance in relation to the 2005 London Underground bombings

This paper explores the representation of video surveillance by the print media in the immediate aftermath of the London Underground bombings in 2005. It presents the findings of a mixed methods analysis, drawing on content and discourse analysis to present the main themes that arise in the print media at the time. The paper shows that there is a recurrent theme of ‘them’ and ‘us’ during this time; a broader theme also found in the traditional sociological literature and other analyses of surveillance. Coverage of the use of video surveillance during this time is resoundingly positive, with only a few dissenting voices drawing out the ethical and social implications of the strong calls for increased surveillance in the immediate aftermath of the bombings (both in the UK and worldwide). Finally, the paper focuses on the dichotomy that exists in the print media at the time; a juxtaposition of visibility and invisibility of the bombers. Alongside this dichotomy there is also a contradiction. There are repeated calls for increased surveillance despite recurrent statements that however much surveillance there had been on the Underground, the bombings would not have been preventable.