SEATTLE — After hearing from dozens of people during a public commentary period, the Seattle City Council has voted 7-2 in favor of expanding the city’s closed-circuit television (CCTV) network.
The existing 50-plus cameras were installed less than a year ago, in October of 2024.
These cameras are in the downtown core, the Chinatown-International District, and on Aurora Ave. N.
The new cameras will be added to areas of Capitol Hill, the stadium district near Pioneer Square and near Garfield and Nova High Schools.
It’s unclear how quickly these new cameras would be put up.
Members of the public who spoke out against the cameras voiced concerns of privacy violations and how the surveillance video would be used.
“This will put my community at risk. It will put the most vulnerable members of our city in harm’s way,” one person said, against the cameras.
“We need a more detailed video and a capability to deploy a drone to hone in on a perpetrator attempting to run or drive out of the area,” someone said in favor.
“Why are we rushing to do this when the data we requested hasn’t even been collected? And why are we doing this at time when the Trump Administration will go to any means necessary to take this exact data to target trans people, immigrants and people seeking reproductive healthcare,” said Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Position 8.
“I literally have to answer to the people who have lost families and loved ones.... I do believe this could be a tool and technology to help with investigation and for our city and certain areas that we see a rise in certain and crime and activities,” said Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth, District 3.
The city says it has helped with dozens of investigations already and that it has allowed police to respond quickly.