ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Camden’s application of a city-wide, militarized surveillance and policing system was exceptional in vision and execution, and points to new avenues of digitally-driven municipal governance agendas underpinning ambitions for economic growth. It describes the smart city as a disciplinary tactic relying on law, digital infrastructure, and a particular vision of a city as a stage for orderly and planned economic development. The transformation of policing in Camden began with the dissolution of their longstanding city police force and the installation of a county police force in May 2013, but was only the latest stage in the city’s structural inability to fund and manage its police force, which was first an issue in 1986 and continued into the 2000s, forcing the city to rely on the state to provide financial support. The technological heart of the effort is the Camden County-operated urban control room, utilizing “Cutting Edge Crime Fighting Technology”.
