ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the enabling legal mechanisms, and the 'referral triggers'. It highlights the question of whether there are sufficient inbuilt controls, including whether the process contains protection for children and parents from excessive State interference. Targeted surveillance is the House of Lords explain several meanings of 'surveillance'. The e-Government agenda explains the commitment to a rise in the use of surveillance generally. The chapter focuses on managing the perceived risk to the adult and considers other family members including any children involved. It provides sufficient safeguards for parents and children by restraining State actions within clear limits whilst the legal and procedural framework surrounding the use of mass surveillance of families should be sufficiently robust to achieve its aim. The practicalities of identifying the right families for referral into the social work system are legally and socially complex.
