ABSTRACT
The introduction presents the social and scientific relevance of social sciences research about the role of technological innovations of forensic genetics for the governance of crime in 21st-century societies. The concept of genetic surveillance is detailed, offering the reader an overview of two main aspects: in the first, the main domains of social life engaging genetic surveillance (the juridico-scientific, operational, and ethico-political domains), the stakeholders, the practices, and the potential issues involved. In the second aspect are the main forms of genetic surveillance (reconstructive and prospective) and the corresponding technologies and respective ethical challenges. This introductory chapter also presents methodological details about the empirical study that is the basis of this book, along with a description of the main topics that are addressed along the different chapters.
