Publisher: The Conversation (Brittany Friedman and Raquel Delerme, USC)
Date Published: February 21, 2025
Relevant To: Fusion centers research; theoretical framing
Verification Status: Verified
Notes: Academic experts in “social control” argue mass surveillance historically targets specific racial/ethnic/religious groups to “contain” them (arrest, imprison), and trace a specific pattern: (1) manufacture moral panic via exaggerated rhetoric, (2) label a minority group as villains to justify surveillance expansion, (3) deploy tools like fusion centers. Cites the New Jersey Regional Operations Intelligence Center (a police fusion center covering NY/NJ/CT) as a case study — a Rutgers report found its “threats” are concentrated in Black, Latino, and Arab communities and areas with high political organizing (BLM groups, immigrant aid orgs), with increased arrests but no evidence of actual crime/terrorism prevention. References historical precedent: Chicago PD’s “black sites” (2009-2015, disappearing detainees without attorney access), Guantanamo. Directly complements the Imperial Boomerang and fusion-center entries already cataloged — same theoretical throughline (surveillance techniques targeting minority populations) applied specifically to fusion centers.