ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the transnational pan-European system of automated DNA profile exchange between European Union Member States, known as the Prüm System. Prüm is exemplary of how public discourse has seized on the prevention and investigation of cross-border crime and terrorism as the main driving force and justification for the proliferation of surveillance systems. Our main goal in this chapter is to map and comprehend the workings behind Prüm’s operations. We address the complexity of epistemic cultures, identities, interests, and power relations that characterize the actions and expectations of the two distinct professional groups directly involved in the operations of the Prüm system: on one side, the National Contact Points conducting laboratory work, working with DNA analyses and DNA databases; on the other side, the National Contact Points working within law enforcement international cooperation forces. These two professional groups contribute to the visions and expectations regarding the role of genetic surveillance in the governance of crime, through a combination both of collective and shared beliefs, while at the same time maintaining their specific professional positioning and protecting their particular expertise.
