SEATTLE — After Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson reversed a campaign position and moved forward with expanding and activating CCTV cameras in three neighborhoods, City Council is considering legislation that would restrict the rollout.
Wilson delayed the rollout, seeking insight into privacy and data-access concerns from a New York University (NYU) audit.
Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck introduced a funding amendment that would withhold money for expansion until rules on accessing those camera feeds are made.
Several Seattle residents who testified to council Friday expressed privacy concerns about the camera expansion.
“I’m extremely concerned about these risks. Loss of privacy, surveillance, our personal data and biometrics stored in ways that can’t be proven safe,” said Javi, a Seattle resident.
Rinck’s amendment would release up to $400,000 for expansion when three conditions are met:
1) Real Time Crime Center analysts must provide a case number of justification for camera access
2) Criteria be created to integrate private cameras into the RTCC network, like what Wilson asked SPD to explore at Seattle Center
3) A case number and justification must be provided to access automatic license plate readers
“No matter what you think of the surveillance, this is a simple, common sense accountability measure,” Camile, a Seattle resident, testified.
KIRO 7 requested data from Seattle police to verify how many searches are tied to cases or incidents and, while a data analyst was working on the request, was unable to fulfill the request by posting time.
KIRO 7 also asked the Seattle Police Officer Guild for comment but did not hear back.
“Washington requires a warrant for GPS tracking and a court could treat cameras that follow a person block to block the same way,” Sochi Makevich said.