Emergent policing practices: Operation Shop a Looter and urban space securitisation in the aftermath of the Manchester 2011 riots

This paper looks at the emergent policing practices deployed in the immediate aftermath of the recent UK riots in Manchester in August 2011. The paper critically discusses the police's own use of social media for identification and apprehension of suspects, and in proactive policing. It problematises the increased police reliance on a set of technologies, databases and networked analytics-from CCTV and forensic DNA technologies to Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems used to deploy real time urban exclusion zones. The paper highlights some of the key complexities and ambiguities generated by the integration of such technologies and practices, and reflects on the resulting embedding of specific constructions of suspicion and riskiness in the investigation and prevention of crime and disorder.