Monitoring Crowd Events: Surveillance of Public Demonstrations in Brussels and Rio de Janeiro

Public demonstrations are a frequent practice in Brussels, which is partly explained by the city being known as the "capital" of the European Union. Since June 2013, Brazil has also experienced a growth in popular protests that started as a reaction to price increases of public transportation. These demonstrations were particularly numerous in Rio de Janeiro, where frustrations were exacerbated by the dissatisfaction with the way the city is preparing for the two forthcoming mega-sporting events (Football World Cup in 2014 and the 2016 Olympic Games). Both in Brussels and Rio de Janeiro, the police have systematically intervened during demonstrations to maintain public order, and have increasingly utilized surveillance technologies as part of their crowd management tactics. This presentation will focus on the different strategies engaged by both cities to deal with crowd events, with particular focus on the way surveillance is used to manage and control public demonstrations. Surveillance technologies discussed here include video surveillance, police camera vans, drones, and the monitoring of social networks, among others. Surveillance will be considered in three stages: monitoring activities that occur before protests (in the preparation stage), during the events, and after them (in the management of the collected data). Moreover, I will discuss how in both cities the phenomenon of Black Bloc challenges the concept of order and how these individuals try to remain anonymous in an increasingly monitored public space. Finally, I will comment on the methodological strengths, complexities and limitations of comparing two such different cities and contexts.