The Mark of Cain: Tattoo Surveillance and its Consequences in Brazil

Abstract

Criminality and tattooing have been linked in the public imagination throughout human history. Over the years, tattoos have experienced some additions to its popular image — at times characterizing rebellion, counter-culture, and now a stylish trend of the middle class — but have never been able to shake their original link to crime. This paper delves into the specific history of tattooing and its association with a crime in the particular socio-political context of democratic Brazil. Looking specifically at a booklet used by police officers in the state of Bahia to profile (mainly black and brown) individuals with tattoos, we will understand the consequences of this unrelenting connection between tattoos and crime. I will argue that this link is key to understanding the modern-day phenomena of tattoo surveillance. Individuals with tattoos are considered criminal, simply for deciding to be tattooed, which allows law enforcement agencies to justify the development of technology that surveil the practice. Tattoo surveillance poses one of the greatest threats to the freedom and liberty of tattooed individuals in Brazil and beyond.